Former Department of Child Services case manager sentenced for faking home visits 

A former family case manager with the Indiana Department of Child Services has been sentenced to probation after pleading guilty to official misconduct over false reports of visits with children and families, according to the Indiana Office of Inspector General.  

A Marion County judge sentenced Sylvia Mbilo Mundala last month to 360 days in county jail with 356 days suspended and four days of jail credit, according to MyCase. Mundala must serve 180 days of probation and complete a reform education program.  

Mundala worked as a family case manager from February 2021 through August 2024. During that time, she falsely documented in the state’s case management system that she had conducted required face-to-face visits with children and families when she actually hadn’t, according to the inspector general’s office.  

Investigators from the office used interviews with family members, cell phone location data, text messages and photographs to check the visit entries that Mundala had recorded, according to a press release.  

“Working closely with DCS to bear out the facts, our investigators were able to bring a solid case to the prosecutor — who carried the case all the way to a sentence,” Indiana Inspector General Jared Prentice said in a statement. “When a case manager falsifies records, it puts children at risk and undermines the integrity of the entire child welfare system — and that cannot stand without severe consequences.”