Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb pledged in his State of the State address Tuesday night to conduct a “transparent” review of the Department of Child Services, but offered little more than platitudes about an agency that his critics say is enveloped in crisis. “I’ll state right now: There’s no one who cares more about Hoosier children than I do, and I’ll do whatever is necessary to ensure the success of our agency and its mission.”
Gov. Eric Holcomb last month signed an executive order establishing paid parental leave for state employees, effective Jan. 1. Labor and employment attorneys say many private organizations, including law firms, also are offering paid leave to new parents.
The departure of Mary Beth Bonaventura as director of the Indiana Department of Child Services surprised several family law attorneys and social service providers. Uniformly, they agreed the former Lake County juvenile judge was a strong advocate for children and brought valuable experience to her tenure. Still, the department has struggled against internal and external challenges.
Statehouse Democrats say they are troubled by Republican “secrecy” as Gov. Eric Holcomb and the GOP-majority scramble to contain fallout from a burgeoning crisis in Indiana’s child welfare agency.
The two most powerful Republicans in the Indiana Legislature said they do not plan to take major action to address a growing crisis in the Department of Child Services during this year’s session, which kicked off Wednesday.
A state senator has filed a bill that would officially legalize the sale and possession of cannabis oil in Indiana.
A day after Mary Beth Bonaventura left her position as director of the Indiana Department of Child Services, the Gov. Eric Holcomb has announced Terry Stigdon, clinical director of operations at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health in Indianapolis, will lead the agency.
Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb has remained largely silent as children’s advocates, including a member of his own Cabinet, say bean counting by his administration has starved Indiana’s child welfare agency amid a soaring number of cases fueled by the opioid epidemic.
Gov. Eric Holcomb issued six pardons on Nov. 20 — twice the absolutions granted by his predecessor, now-Vice President Mike Pence, during his four years as governor.
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb is directing state excise police to resume checking stores for marijuana-derived oils after the state’s attorney general declared them illegal with one limited exception.
Lawmakers such as Rep. Jim Lucas, a Republican, and Sen. Karen Tallian, a Democrat, vocally advocate for their colleagues in the statehouse to support legalizing medicial marijuana. Gov. Eric Holcomb, Attorney General Curtis Hill and the state’s prosecutors oppose such legislation.
A Chicago man pardoned after spending nearly a decade in prison for a robbery he didn't commit is suing a northern Indiana city, its police chief and three officers, alleging they fabricated evidence against him.
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb created a new vacancy in Tippecanoe Superior Courts last week when he announced three judicial appointments.
A chaplain at White’s Residential and Family Services has been appointed to succeed Indiana Justice Christopher Goff as judge of the Wabash Superior Court.
State officials are debating how to spend Indiana's nearly $41 million share of a Volkswagen court settlement.
Indiana officials are refusing to release an indeterminate number of emails from private AOL.com accounts Mike Pence used as governor, and they're not saying whether the vice president's lawyers influenced which messages should be withheld.
Gov. Eric Holcomb is joining Indiana University officials to announce a new $50 million effort to reduce opioid abuse.
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb ducked questions on Wednesday about whether he supports President Donald Trump's decision to phase out a program protecting immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children.
Vice President Mike Pence has turned over emails from a private AOL.com account he used to conduct official business while he was Indiana's governor.
Applicants for state jobs in the executive branch will no longer be asked if they have ever been arrested or convicted of a crime.