(a)Notice. Notice of each hearing must be given to all parties, and any foster parent or other out-of-home care provider, within a reasonable time before the hearing. Notice to a foster parent or out-of-home care provider must be provided by the Department. Actual notice within a reasonable time before the hearing satisfies this rule. The child's attorney, or the guardian ad litem if the child does not have an attorney, shall notify the child who is age 10 or older of the right to be present and participate in the hearing. Notice to a child under the age of 10 is satisfied by notifying the foster parent or out-of-home care provider. At each hearing the court shall determine if the child has received notice of the hearing and may continue the hearing if notice was not provided.(b)Presence of the Child. The child has a right to be present at all hearings and to address the court and participate. The right to be present may be waived unless the court requires the child to be present. If the child is age 10 or older, the right may be waived by the child through the child's attorney, if one has been appointed, or through the guardian ad litem. If the child is younger than age 10, the right may be waived by the child's guardian ad litem.(c)Presence of Grandparent or Out-of-Home Care Provider. A grandparent of a child and the out-of-home care provider are entitled to be heard at any hearing at which the person is present. However, the court may limit the presence of these persons in a hearing that has been closed to the public under (f)(2) of this rule to the time during which the person's testimony is being given if the court determines that such a limitation is necessary under the circumstances listed in (f)(2)(C) of this rule. (d)Parties Excluded.(1) The presumption of this rule is that children have the right to attend CINA proceedings. The court should not routinely exclude children from CINA proceedings. The court may exclude a child during a proceeding, or parts of a proceeding, if the child would be materially harmed by attendance. If the court excludes the child, the court shall make specific findings explaining why the child was excluded.(2) The court also may exclude a parent, guardian, or Indian custodian during the child's testimony to protect the child from material harm, provided that the parent, guardian, or Indian custodian may listen to a recording of the testimony to prepare for further examination and rebuttal.(e)Exclusion of Witnesses. Witnesses may be excluded from a hearing pursuant to Evidence Rule 615. (f)General Public Access to Hearings.(1) Except as provided in (2) of this paragraph, and unless prohibited by federal or state statute or regulation, court order, or other court rule, hearings areopen to the public. (2) The following hearings are closed to the public: (A) the initial court hearing after the filing of a petition that begins the child-in-need-of-aid case; (B) a hearing following the initial hearing in which a parent, child, or other party to the case is present but has not had an opportunity to obtain legal representation; (C) a hearing, or a part of a hearing, for which the court issues a written order finding that allowing the hearing, or part of the hearing, to be open to the public would reasonably be expected to stigmatize or be emotionally damaging to a child; inhibit a child's testimony in the hearing; disclose matters otherwise required to be kept confidential by state or federal statute or regulation, court order, or court rule; or interfere with a criminal investigation or proceeding or a criminal defendant's right to a fair trial in a criminal proceeding. (3) Before ruling on a request under (2)(C) of this paragraph concerning potential interference with a criminal investigation or proceeding, the court shall give notice and an opportunity to be heard to the state or a municipal agency that is assigned to the criminal investigation or to the prosecuting attorney. (4) If the court closes a hearing to the public under (2)(C) of this paragraph, the court shall close only the portions of the hearing necessary to prevent the potential harm listed in (2)(C) of t his paragraph. If a hearing, or part of a hearing, is open to the public, the court shall hear in camera any information offered regarding the location, or readily leading to the location, of parent, child, or other party to the case who is a victim of domestic violence or whose safety or welfare may be endangered by the public release of information. Access to testimony heard in camera under this subparagraph is limited to the court and authorized court personnel. (5) Notwithstanding any other provision of this rule, the court shall issue an order to prohibit all persons in a hearing open to the public from disclosing to any person a name, picture, or other information that would readily lead to the identification of a child who is the subject of the proceeding. If a person violates the order, the court may impose any appropriate sanction, including contempt and closure of any further hearings to the person. (6) A party to the proceeding may move the court to close to the public a hearing, or part of the hearing, to avoid the harm specified in (2)(C) of this paragraph. A member of the public may request in writing to be served with a motion filed under this subparagraph. If such a request has been filed in advance of the filing of the motion, the party filing the motion must also serve the member of the public who requested notice under this subparagraph. The court may waive the service required under this subparagraph to a member of the public if a motion to close the hearing, or part of the hearing, is made under this subparagraph immediately before or during the hearing and the court finds that (A) the need for closure was not reasonably foreseeable sufficiently in advance of the hearing to allow for notice; (B) there is good cause not to delay the hearing in order to achieve notice, taking into consideration the age of the child and the potential adverse effect that a delay could have on the child; and (C) whatever notice is practicable under the circumstances has occurred. (g)Telephonic Participation.(1) The court may conduct any hearing with telephonic participation by one or more parties, counsel, witnesses, foster parents or out-of-home care providers, or the judge. (2) In any proceeding in which the court is authorized to proceed ex parte, the court may contact the non- appearing party or counsel by telephone, and in the interests of justice receive evidence or argument without stipulation of the parties. (3) Procedures for telephonic hearings are governed by Civil Rule 99(b). Payment of telephone costs is governed by Administrative Rule 48. (h)Testimony Under Oath. All testimony must be given under oath or affirmation as required by Evidence Rule 603. (i)Representation by Non-Attorney. Unless the court for good cause requires representation by an attorney, an Indian tribe that has intervened may be represented by a non-attorney designated by the Indian tribe. The tribe must file a written authorization for representation by the designated nonattorney before the non-attorney may represent the tribe. If the tribe changes its designated representative or if the representative withdraws, the tribe must file a written substitution of representation or withdrawal. A guardian ad litem need not be represented by an attorney unless the court, for good cause, requires representation by an attorney. SCO 845 effective 8/15/1987; amended by SCO 998 effective 1/15/1990; by SCO 1355 effective 7/15/1999; and by SCO 1580 effective nunc pro tunc to7/1/2005; amended by SCO 1688 effective 4/15/2009; amended by SCO 1978 effective 10/17/2022.Note: Ch. 43, SLA 2001, amends AS 47.10.030, AS 47.10.070(a), and AS 47.10.080(f) to add provisions concerning notice to and participation by grandparents. According to § 6 of the Act, these provisions have the effect of amending Child in Need of Aid Rules 3, 7, 10, 15, 17, and 19 by requiring that grandparents be given notice of and an opportunity to be heard at certain child-in-need-of-aid proceedings.
Chapter 64, sections 51 and 52, SLA 2005 (HB 53) amended Child in Need of Aid Rule 3(c) and (f) to make child in need of aid hearings generally open to the public, with certain exceptions, as reflected in section 1 of this Order. The changes to CINA Rule 3(c) and (f) are adopted for the sole reason that the legislature has mandated the amendments. In addition, according to section 61(a) of the Act, sections 9 and 10 of the Act, and AS 47.10.080(u), enacted in section 14, have the effect of changing CINA Rule 3 by allowing members of the public to attend court hearings except in certain circumstances.