On Dec. 1, a developmentally disabled 15-year-old girl was taken by emergency medical personnel from her home in Anderson. The girl weighed less than 40 pounds and had been kept locked in a bedroom in unsanitary conditions day and night, according to officials. When they found her, she wasn't breathing.
The DCS had a case file on the girl but, apparently, had failed to follow through after home visits to assure that she was in good health and receiving adequate care. The DCS also had declined to press a Child in Need of Services case against the girl's guardians in Madison County court.
The girl's caregivers, Steve and Joetta Sells, and their 22-year-old daughter, Crystal, now face a litany of felony charges.
The case of the Anderson girl, who is recovering in foster care, is hauntingly familiar to Hoosiers. Other lapses in DCS service over the past few years have been well documented.
After the completion of a study of DCS staffing levels, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence proposed this week that the department's budget be boosted by $7.5 million to add 100 caseworkers and 17 supervisors.
Madison County's team of 39 caseworkers will be increased to 46. The need in our county, with its high rate of poverty, is great. The study showed that, in the month of December, overdue DCS case assessments ranged as high as 155 a week in our region of the state.
This is unacceptable.
Many Hoosiers have been calling for more DCS resources for the past few years. No study was needed to confirm that the department was short on caseworkers.
Give Pence credit for finally addressing the dire needs of the DCS. But additional personnel can't be the end of it. The pattern of problems with the department demands an overhaul of its structure, policies and procedures. Greater organization and accountability is paramount.
The people of Indiana should be determined that the state will not let down children like the girl from Anderson who suffered for years.