Indiana Lawmakers Want Oversight for DCS
By: Jenny Hunt
Updated: November 27, 2012
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Indiana lawmakers want new committees to oversee the embattled Department of Child Services and more child protection decisions made locally.
Members of a study committee reviewing DCS operations asked the state to draft emergency regulations that would give county representatives a voice in the handling of abuse and neglect calls to a central hotline. The committee also proposed creating a team to review child deaths and a permanent legislative committee to oversee the agency.
Tuesday's action came after months of emotional hearings on troubles at the agency following news media investigations into dozens of child deaths across the state. Lawmakers and children's advocates blamed the state's centralized abuse reporting hotline in large part for "screening out" calls that should have been investigated.
Members of a study committee reviewing DCS operations asked the state to draft emergency regulations that would give county representatives a voice in the handling of abuse and neglect calls to a central hotline. The committee also proposed creating a team to review child deaths and a permanent legislative committee to oversee the agency.
Tuesday's action came after months of emotional hearings on troubles at the agency following news media investigations into dozens of child deaths across the state. Lawmakers and children's advocates blamed the state's centralized abuse reporting hotline in large part for "screening out" calls that should have been investigated.
