Indiana Supreme Court grants appeal from DCS over reversal of mother’s rights
The Indiana Supreme Court granted the transfer of one case last week in which the state’s appellate court had reversed the termination of a mother’s parental rights.
Indiana Department of Child Services
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‘Find a way to fix it’: DCS continues facing mounting criticism
From concerns about staffing to accusations that it’s failing in its mission to keep children safe, the Indiana Department of Child Services continues to face pressure from child welfare advocates, attorneys and those who have been part of the system.
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National Reunification Month: Families seek closer scrutiny of child removal process
No one ever wants to remove a child from their parents’ household.
When there are allegations of abuse or neglect in a home, child welfare officials, caseworkers and judges have to make tough, complicated decisions about what is ultimately best for the child.
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Working hand in hand: Advisory board helps DCS improve by sharing parents’ experiences, opinions
The Indiana Birth Parent Advisory Board was assembled in 2019 at the prompting of Department of Child Services Director Terry Stigdon. Along with feedback, Stigdon said she wanted parents on the advisory board to provide guidance and input on DCS policies and practices.
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Senate Bill 180 reignites conversation about direct representation for CHINS, TPR proceedings
Indiana is one of just six states that does not require counsel for children in child welfare cases in any situation, according to the National Association of Counsel for Children. Although Indiana Code § 31-32-4-2 does give state court judges the discretion to appoint counsel for children in child welfare cases, stakeholders say the Hoosier State could be forced to implement a direct representation program either through lawsuits filed by national children’s rights organization or federal legislation that Congress is considering.
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Articles
Citing religious, parental rights, Hoosier couple asks SCOTUS for relief after trans child was removed
An Indiana Catholic couple is asking U.S. Supreme Court to take their case after their transgender child was taken from their home because the parents would not use the child’s preferred pronouns.
2nd CHINS finding upheld, but contempt ruling against father reversed
A CHINS adjudication was not erroneous, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has ruled, but a contempt finding against a father was.
Kid-focused legislation: Proposed bills aim to improve Indiana child welfare laws
Despite 2024 being a short legislative session, Indiana lawmakers are considering dozens of bills specifically related to child welfare.
DCS releases annual fatality report
Eight out of 10 people who caused the death of a child by abuse or neglect in Indiana in 2022 were the child’s parents, according to an annual report by the state’s child welfare agency.
DCS annual staffing report nearly 100% statewide
Staffing levels for family case managers meet 99% of the need statewide, according to the annual staffing and caseload report from the Department of Child Services. But some areas of the state face a greater need than others.
DCS employees sued in federal court in continued fallout from child death case
Two Indiana Department of Child Services case workers and a former director in LaPorte County are facing a federal lawsuit over a 4-year-old who was tortured and killed by his parents, the most recent development in the legal fallout from the child’s death.
DCS found in contempt for not searching current, former directors’ emails in child death case
A Hendricks Superior Court judge has found the Indiana Department of Child Services in civil contempt for failing to search the emails of its current and former directors in a case involving a 4-year-old who was killed.
DCS discovery production in contentious civil case included emails to director, but parties dispute implications
The Indiana Department of Child Services produced discovery in a civil case that shows the department’s director received emails about a 4-year-old killed by his parents, but the agency and plaintiff disagree about the implications of the messages.
Man failed to show statutory requirements for expungement of DCS records that proved juvenile child molesting allegations, COA affirms
Indiana law didn’t back up a man’s contention that a trial court should expunge Indiana Department of Child Services records substantiating his molestation of his sisters, the Court of Appeals of Indiana affirmed Wednesday.
COA reverses dismissal of CHINS case based on ‘absurd assertion’ that coercive intervention was no longer necessary
In a case accusing both the trial judge and the Indiana Department of Child Services of “inexplicably ignor(ing)” the best interests of a child, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has reversed the dismissal of the CHINS case.
DCS says discovery production complete in case of 4-year-old who was killed, but director’s email wasn’t searched
Indiana Department of Child Services Director Eric Miller’s email was not part of a batch of documents produced in a case involving a child who was killed after the department placed him in his parents’ home, the director repeated at a contempt hearing.
DCS accused of not accounting for documents in case of 4-year-old’s torture death
The Indiana Department of Child Services either can’t find or has failed to produce some documents in a case involving a 4-year-old who was tortured and killed shortly after the department placed him in his parents’ home, a plaintiff’s filing alleges.
Hendricks Co. judge reschedules DCS hearing for possible contempt
The state is asking a Hendricks County judge to vacate a hearing scheduled for Wednesday where Indiana Department of Child Services Director Eric Miller has been ordered to attend and explain why the department shouldn’t be held in contempt.
DCS director ordered to attend Hendricks Co. court hearing for possible contempt
A judge has ordered Department of Child Services Director Eric Miller to appear at a hearing next week to make a case for why the department shouldn’t be held in contempt for failing to obey court orders to produce documents in an underlying civil case.
DCS employees win summary judgment on 4th Amendment claim after children were removed, killed in fire
A federal judge has dismissed a Fourth Amendment unreasonable seizure claim filed against four Department of Child Services employees who were sued after five children were removed from their adoptive parents and were subsequently killed in a house fire.
Courts and the Judiciary not meeting in 2023 as legislative study committees get underway
Indiana lawmakers are returning to the Statehouse this month to begin meeting in their interim study committees, but one group that won’t be gathering is the Interim Study Committee on Courts and the Judiciary.
‘A foster care system in crisis’: Lawsuit alleges DCS is failing to keep children safe
A federal lawsuit brought by Indiana foster children alleges the Indiana Department of Child Services is failing to keep children safe by not correcting systemic failures that have been known to state officials for decades.
DCS director to resign, chief of staff named successor
Indiana Department of Child Services Director Terry Stigdon will resign from the agency, Gov. Eric Holcomb announced Monday. Her last day is Friday. The agency’s current chief of staff, Eric Miller, has been named the new director.
DCS contract attorney pilot program kicked to study committee
Republican lawmakers have removed a controversial portion of their state budget legislation that would have replaced Indiana Department of Child Services attorneys with contractors in two regions.