TheStatehouseFile.com
INDIANAPOLIS—The day infant Eli went home with his parents after being under the supervision of the Department of Child Services, no one from that office conducted a home visit.
The parents had a crib for Eli, which they assembled by putting up three sides and shoving the fourth side against the wall. That night, Eli slid between the crib and wall and suffocated to death.
“I have talked to the coroner; I have talked to a prosecutor in our county and they are very frustrated over little Eli’s case and his death because it was a preventable death,†Kristi Cundiff, CEO of Indiana Foster and Adoptive Parents told a House committee Tuesday.
Cundiff said Eli’s death was directly related to the fact that no one from DCS went to check the home and make sure it was safe before he spent the night.
That is one of many cases that Cundiff has seen as she works with families who deal with DCS on a daily basis. She was testifying before the House Family, Children and Human Affairs Committee about Senate Bill 345, authored by Sen. Erin Houchin, R-Salem, which would create a committee to review cases where a child suffers a serious injury or dies as a result of abuse or neglect.
Houchin said the original version of the bill included some judicial oversight that concerned some juvenile judges so she introduced an amendment, which was adopted Tuesday, that takes out judicial oversight.
The committee would also recommend policy changes to the department, legislative changes needed and studying any topics to improve child safety.
Currently, all child services issues go through a judiciary study committee. Houchin said there needs to be a dedicated committee for child safety issues that has members who are qualified to review the cases.
Houchin also said that there are local and statewide child fatality review teams, which review child deaths whether they are related to DCS or not. But, she said, there are only local child protection teams, and there is no team to conduct state-wide reviews.
Indiana DCS was under fire in 2017 when the former director resigned abruptly, saying that children were at risk because of budget cuts. In the aftermath of that resignation, Gov. Eric Holcomb named a new director, Terry Stigdon, and worked with the legislature to provide more money to the agency.
Houchin’s bill has the support of DCS, said Will Young, the agency’s legislative director, as he acknowledged the challenges they face as they work with the public to increase child safety.
“There’s more work to do and DCS will continue to set new goals that are ongoing to continuously improve,†Young said.
Houchin said the discussion about the bill as a good example of how DCS is working with others to try and vet out issues.
The bill was not voted on during the committee meeting Tuesday, but will be heard again Thursday morning.
FOOTNOTE: Victoria Ratliff is a reporter with TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
