Children in foster care don’t always get an attorney in Indiana. That could change.

A bill before Indiana lawmakers could require juvenile judges to appoint attorneys for children in the foster care system.

Senate Bill 180 would require a judge to appoint an attorney to represent cases involving children in need of services (CHINS) and termination of parental rights (TPR). Currently, a judge can choose whether to appoint an attorney to represent a child in these cases.

“When you think about a child in the welfare system and their case, they’re really the only ones currently in Indiana that don’t have representation,” the bill’s author, state Sen. Jon Ford (R-Terre Haute), said before the Senate Committee on Family and Children Services Jan. 10…