38-2247. Attendance at proceedings; confidentiality. (a) Adjudication. Proceedings prior to and including adjudication under this code shall be open to attendance by any person unless the court determines that closed proceedings or the exclusion of that person would be in the best interests of the child or is necessary to protect the privacy rights of the parents.

(1) The court may not exclude the guardian ad litem, parties and interested parties.

(2) Members of the news media shall comply with supreme court rule 1001.

(b) Disposition. Proceedings pertaining to the disposition of a child adjudicated to be in need of care shall be closed to all persons except the parties, the guardian ad litem, interested parties and their attorneys, officers of the court, a court appointed special advocate and the custodian.

(1) Other persons may be permitted to attend with the consent of the parties or by order of the court, if the court determines that it would be in the best interests of the child or the conduct of the proceedings, subject to such limitations as the court determines to be appropriate.

(2) The court may exclude any person if the court determines that such person's exclusion would be in the best interests of the child or the conduct of the proceedings.

(c) Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b) of this section, the court shall permit the attendance at the proceedings of up to two people designated by the parent of the child, both of whom have participated in a parent ally orientation program approved by the judicial administrator.

(1) Such parent ally orientation program shall include, but not be limited to, information concerning the confidentiality of the proceedings; the child and parent's right to counsel; the definitions and jurisdiction pursuant to the Kansas code for care of children; the types and purposes of the hearings; options for informal supervision and dispositions; placement options; the parents' obligation to financially support the child while the child is in the state's custody; obligations of the secretary for children and families; obligations of entities that contract with the Kansas department for children and families for family preservation, foster care and adoption; the termination of parental rights; the procedures for appeals; and the basic rules regarding court procedure.

(2) The court may remove the parent's ally or allies from a proceeding if such ally becomes disruptive in the present proceeding or has been found disruptive in a prior proceeding.

(d) Preservation of confidentiality. If information required to be kept confidential by K.S.A. 2018 Supp. 38-2209, and amendments thereto, is to be introduced into evidence and there are persons in attendance who are not authorized to receive the information, the court may exclude those persons during the presentation of the evidence or conduct an in camera inspection of the evidence.

History: L. 2006, ch. 200, § 42; L. 2008, ch. 169, § 9; L. 2014, ch. 115, § 63; July 1.