Not that long ago, the Indiana Department of Child Services was in the headlines for all of the wrong reasons.
Journalists tracked the tragic deaths of children who were in the state’s care. Virginia Black of the South Bend Tribune — a sister newspaper to the Times-Mail — was among reporters who chronicled the shortcomings of the state agency. Lawrence County judges and police officers joined peers across the state in criticizing a statewide hotline. They blamed the system for long delays and ineffective responses to child abuse reports. Critics also blasted the agency for returning money to state coffers rather than using it for the intended purpose of serving children.
Lawmakers got busy. The agency, under new leadership and responding to legislative pressure, changed the reporting system and hired more caseworkers.
But in September, Black was back on the beat. She reported that “the ombudsman tasked with resolving consumer complaints and making recommendations to improve DCS noted high workloads as a factor in several situations she included in her 2013 report. In fact, addressing high caseloads and staffing was her No. 1 recommendation.”
With that background, we’re a little dismayed by some recent news from Indianapolis.
DCS leaders have told the Indiana State Budget Committee that only one of its 19 regions is meeting caseload standards. (State law sets those standards at no more than 12 initial assessments or 17 ongoing cases per worker.) An official told the committee DCS will need to add 77 employees to meet those caseload requirements. That’s even after hiring hundreds last year and reducing the turnover rate among caseworkers.
But — despite the state’s $2 billion surplus — the agency isn’t looking to hire caseworkers.
Instead, it plans to launch a study to analyze caseworkers’ workloads.
According to The Indianapolis Star, DCS spokesman James Wide said the agency has shifted certain responsibilities — such as answering hotline calls and licensing foster parents — away from family case managers to other employees.
And the South Bend Tribune — Black’s newspaper — reported that DCS Director Mary Beth Bonaventura told agency employees in a video this fall that department leaders were working to find more tools for case managers. “Although we’ve added these new workers, our assessments continue to grow, and we can’t continue to add workers because growing our government is not a sustainable model,” she said.
We agree — to a point. Taxpayers cannot support continual growth of government. And Indiana leaders deserve a pat on the back for keeping that growth under control. In fact, despite that aforementioned surplus, Gov. Mike Pence has told department leaders to slice 3 percent from their 2015 appropriations and identify potential cuts.
But governments collect taxes to spend on causes and functions its citizens support. And we believe most Hoosiers want to take care of the state’s most vulnerable residents.
Perhaps we will see a day when fewer children are being abused and fewer DCS caseworkers will be needed.
The state should hire enough caseworkers to meet its own standards.
Nothing, not even more caseworkers, will guarantee the safety of all young people. But it will assure Hoosiers that Indiana has put our children first.