Schyler Alther, TheStatehouseFile.Com
The Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS) investigated 308 child fatalities in 2022 and found that 61 were a result of abuse or neglect, according to a report the agency issued Dec. 29.
DCS found that of the 308 fatalities of children 3 or older, 17 were due to abuse and 44 to neglect. Marion County had the highest number of fatalities at 12.
DCS looked into the official certificates to find the manner of death: Death by weapon (including body part) occurred in 36% of the cases, 51% were accidental, and 28% were due to homicide. Eighty percent of the alleged perpetrators were the parents of the victim, and 21% of victims were reported as previous DCS victims.
Emily Perry, executive director of Susie's Place Child Advocacy Center, spoke with TheStatehouseFile.com about issues with the system that Indiana uses to investigate and prevent child abuse and neglect.
Perry said Susie’s Place is looking forward to this year's legislative session due to Rep. Dale DeVon, R-Granger, and Sen. Mark Messmer, R-Jasper, working on legislation that would reduce roadblocks to sharing and receiving information regarding child neglect and abuse cases.
“Sharing information between CPS, police, prosecutors, mental health officials and child advocacy staff is recognized nationally as the best form of practice,” said Perry.
Advocacy centers are not currently privy to this information sharing in Indiana law. “Sharing information would improve responses to cases,” said Perry.
Indiana was ranked 11th highest among states for the number of child fatalities from abuse in 2021, according to Statista. In the DCS report, the number of child fatalities increased from the previous year.
The report also took into account the demographics of the victims, finding that 70% were male. It noted the locations of the crimes were overwhelmingly centered where the victim lived, with it also being more likely for another child to have been home.
In 14 of 22 cases, the perpetrators were male. The data shows that in those 22 cases, eight perpetrators were the biological father while six were either the mother or the mother’s partner. Only two were not a parental figure: a babysitter and another relative.
For fatalities from abuse, the report noted multiple stress factors that were present in the household, such as illness, unemployment and substance abuse.