Indiana reports decline in child abuse, neglect deaths
Child neglect and abuse fatalities fell by nearly a quarter during its 2016 fiscal year, the Indiana Department of Child Services reported Wednesday.
Family and Social Services Administration
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Debate rages over Medicaid work rules as state rollout nears
An estimated 85,000 low-income Hoosiers who receive Medicaid benefits will soon need to find a job, volunteer, get job training, or go to school—or risk losing health care for a few months.
Indiana spent $1.3M on child welfare studies that weren’t acted on
Five reviews of the Indiana Department of Child Services cost more than $1.3 million but yielded no state action to address the troubled agency's increasing caseloads.
House speaker ‘disturbed’ DCS failed to act on past reports
Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma said Monday that he was "disturbed" after finding out that the state's child welfare agency failed to take action after five different reviews conducted in recent years found problems at the agency.
Indiana’s struggling child welfare system to test Holcomb
The number of children placed in foster care because their addict parents can't care for them has surged across the nation. But the problem is particularly acute in a handful of states, including Indiana.
UPDATE: Indiana child welfare chief pens scathing resignation letter
Mary Beth Bonaventura, who's stepping down after five years as director of the Department of Child Services, warned in her resignation letter to Gov. Eric Holcomb that a continuation of his administration's policies will "all but ensure children will die."
State agrees to pay family $25M to settle DCS case
The deal resolves a northern Indiana family's decade-long legal fight to clear their names after the Department of Child Services falsely prosecuted them for their daughter's death.
New hospital to rewrite rules of psychiatric care
Indiana’s newest state psychiatric hospital, which is about to rise on the campus of Community Hospital East, is designed to fill a critical gap in the state’s mental health landscape.
Judge dismisses lawsuit over Indiana DCS caseloads
Marion Superior Court Judge Heather Welch said plaintiff Mary Price has no right to bring the claim under an Indiana law setting a maximum caseload at 17 and should take her complaint to the State Employee Appeals Commission.
Pence requests $15 million for 100 caseworkers over two years
The additional staff should bring the Department of Child Services in line with caseload guidelines in state law, according to a new report that Deloitte Consulting released Wednesday.
Legislators question caseloads for child services, urge action
Some Democratic legislators are pushing for greater action over the Indiana Department of Child Services' failure to meet state-mandated workload standards for case managers.
Child services agency missing caseload standard
Doris Tolliver, the agency's chief of staff, told the State Budget Committee on Wednesday that only one of its 19 regions is meeting the workload standards for case workers.
More funds earmarked for domestic violence programs
If all the money is distributed, it will bring the state’s total spending on domestic violence programs to $4.2 million this year. That’s about 35 percent more than the state spent last year.
Indiana settles DCS adoption suit for $15 million
The state will pay $15.1 million to about 1,800 families who adopted special needs children. The settlement was filed in LaPorte Superior Court on Thursday afternoon and still needs court approval.
Domestic violence activist, state disagree on deal
An advocate for victims of domestic violence said her group reached agreement Thursday with Indiana officials over funding for the private agencies serving them, but a state official denied there was a deal.
DCS struggles to keep accurate caseload tally
Indiana has hired more case workers to keep track of its most vulnerable residents. But complaints about overwork continue to surface as the state battles questions about the accuracy of data on caseloads.
Pence: State to pay special-needs adoption subsidies
The move comes just two months after a LaPorte woman filed a lawsuit, saying the state owed her subsidies.
State agency says it lacks adoption subsidy money
The Indiana Department of Child Services says it isn't paying subsidies to parents who adopted special-needs children out of foster care because the state Legislature hasn't appropriated enough money.
Indiana social services chief Minott leaving post
The head of the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration is on her way out just as negotiations heat up with federal officials over Gov. Mike Pence’s alternative to a traditional Medicaid expansion.
Appeals court: IBM breached contract with state
The Indiana Court of Appeals has reversed a Marion County judge’s finding that IBM did not materially breach the contract it had with the state to modernize its welfare system.