Abuse And Neglect Claimed The Lives Of 59 Children In Indiana
By Dionte Coleman
TheStatehouseFile.com
INDIANAPOLIS—Fifty-nine children, some as young as one month old, died as the result of abuse or neglect in 2016, the Indiana Department of Child Services reported Wednesday.
The annual Child Fatality Report, which covers July 1, 2015, through June 30, 2016, records the stories of children, many of whom died at the hands of people responsible for their care. The numbers are down from 77 children who died in the previous fiscal year.
Of the fatalities chronicled in the report, 24 children died as a result of abuse, most under age 3, and 35 youngsters died as the result of neglect. Page after page of the report describes the circumstances that claimed the lives of the children
Of the deaths, 25 were determined to be accidents, 24 were declared homicides, four died of natural causes and six causes of death were undetermined.
The reports show that parents were most likely to be held responsible, whether through abuse or neglect, though there were several cases where a babysitter or caregiver caused the child’s death.
And many of the children died as a result of head trauma, like the case of a 3-year-old child who was being watched by the father’s live-in girlfriend. The child became unresponsive and the girlfriend told doctors that injury resulted from the youngster hitting his head on a fish tank.
Investigators determined the toddler was the victim of chronic abuse and was malnourished. The girlfriend was charged with murder, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 67 years in prison.
As the report was being released, officials of DCS appeared before the Interim Study Committee on Courts and the Judiciary at the Statehouse to discuss how the agency will implement changes recommended by an outside agency earlier this year.
Part of the discussion with DCS Director Terry Stigdon and Associate Director Todd Meyer centered on how much time caseworkers should have to respond to a report that a child might be in danger.
“Whether it’s four minutes or one hour, we want to make sure that the situation is solved,†Stigdon told the panel of lawmakers, judges, and others.
Currently, the DCS must respond to a report that a child is being abused and is in danger within 24 hours. However, DCS recommended that they shorten that window, Meyer said.
Under the new regulation proposed by DCS, the caseworker would have to call law enforcement immediately if the child is in a dangerous situation. However, the caseworker would then have up to four hours to file an administrative report for the DCS to come up with a resolution.
That does not mean that if a parent is unable to financially support for the child at the time that the child is in imminent danger, Meyer noted.
“We believe that as an agency what we are trying to highlight to the people of Indiana, for you all the General Assembly to consider is that, parents should not have to live in fear of losing their children solely because they are poor,†Meyer said.
Committee members expressed their support for Stigdon, who has been on the job for eight months.
“I appreciate so much, your willingness to step in this role and come over from Riley to take this on,†said state Rep. Thomas Washburne, R-Darmstadt. “And I think everyone in this legislature wants you to succeed, and we want to help you.â€
FOOTNOTE: Dionte Coleman is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College.
