Indiana DCS Child Fatality report shows abuse/neglect deaths remain stagnant

INDIANAPOLIS — A new report presented to the Child Services Interim Study Committee showed injury remains the number one cause of death among Indiana’s children.

This comes as the state struggles to lower the number of kids dying from abuse and neglect.

”The findings were eye-opening,” State Rep. Vanessa Summers (D-Indianapolis) said.

State Rep. Summers is part of that committee. She said she was shocked by two new child fatality reports from the Indiana Department of Child Services and the Indiana Department of Health released earlier this month.

”We don’t have the manpower of people to take care of those children when they’re in a vulnerable and dangerous situation,” State Rep. Summers said.

The DCS report stated from 2016-2022, the state saw an average of 60 deaths per year as a result of child abuse or neglect.

”It’s taking too long for us to get data,” said Braelynn Yerington with Champions for Children Indiana.

Yerington said she’s concerned too many calls to Indiana’s Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline go unheeded.

”A lot of these kids had previous substantiated or unsubstantiated assessments, that means there were investigations prior to that fatality,” Yerington said.

A separate report from the IDOH stated from 2007-2022, roughly 4,400 kids were fatally injured—making injury the number one cause of death among Indiana kids.

”Every four minutes, a child is treated for an injury in an emergency room in Indiana”, a portion of the report said.

”We’re really not improving; it just made me very concerned,” Yerington said. “That tells me that we’re not doing enough.”

According to State Rep. Summers, most of the bills she plans to introduce next session pertain to children and family issues. However, it’s unclear how many more dollars could go into fighting child mortality rates as lawmakers prepare for the next budget cycle.

”Of course, that leads to needing more money in those areas if we want to be able to help those children. In the next legislative session, I don’t know what that looks like,” State Rep. Summers said.

FOX59/CBS4 reached out to both the IDOH and DCS for comment but has not yet heard back.

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