Indiana System
Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2007 8:14 pm
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http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a ... /707110505
6:58 PM July 11, 2007
Court lifts order from child welfare
By Rob Schneider
[email protected]
A federal court judge today lifted a 1992 order imposed in response to a lawsuit alleging child welfare workers in Marion County had failed to provide minimal services to abused, neglected and other children and their families.
U.S. District Court Judge John Tinder agreed to dismiss the consent decree after receiving assurances that the Indiana Department of Child Services has made progress in addressing deficiencies in the system.
The department administers child support, child protection, adoption and foster case throughout the state.
It has taken a number of steps in recent years to fix its problems, including hiring hundreds of additional family case managers and expanding training.
The Indiana Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit in 1989 on behalf of wards of Marion County and their parents.
Under the consent decree, improvements in training for supervisors and caseworkers were required. Today, according to the Daniels administration, the department exceeds the stipulations established by the consent decree.
A federal court judge today lifted a 1992 order imposed in response to a lawsuit alleging child welfare workers had failed to provide minimal services to abused, neglected and other children and their families.
U.S. District Court Judge John Tinder agreed to dismiss the consent decree after receiving assurances that the Indiana Department of Child Services has made progress in addressing deficiencies in the system.
The department administers child support, child protection, adoption and foster case throughout the state.
It has taken a number of steps in recent years to fix its problems, including hiring hundreds of additional family case managers and expanding training.
The Indiana Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit in 1989 because the state’s “crushing caseloads and inadequate standards” had left children injured or dead in Marion County — the state’s most populous county.
Under the consent decree, improvements in training for supervisors and caseworkers were required. Today, according to the Mitch Daniels administration, the department exceeds the stipulations established by the consent decree.
“Obviously the system is not perfect, but it’s clear that the state is working to correct all of the problems that gave rise to this case,” said Ken Falk, legal director of the ICLU.
Susan Tielking, a spokeswoman for child services, said about 60,000 allegations involving abuse or neglect of children are made each year in Indiana, and about a third of those cases are substantiated.
Currently, about 2,300 children in Marion County are involved in the child welfare system, she said.
Tielking said that over the past two years, the agency had hired 400 additional child welfare caseworkers and is expected to have hired an additional 400 caseworkers by next July. Those additions will boost to about 1,600 the number of state caseworkers, she said.
.
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a ... /707110505
6:58 PM July 11, 2007
Court lifts order from child welfare
By Rob Schneider
[email protected]
A federal court judge today lifted a 1992 order imposed in response to a lawsuit alleging child welfare workers in Marion County had failed to provide minimal services to abused, neglected and other children and their families.
U.S. District Court Judge John Tinder agreed to dismiss the consent decree after receiving assurances that the Indiana Department of Child Services has made progress in addressing deficiencies in the system.
The department administers child support, child protection, adoption and foster case throughout the state.
It has taken a number of steps in recent years to fix its problems, including hiring hundreds of additional family case managers and expanding training.
The Indiana Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit in 1989 on behalf of wards of Marion County and their parents.
Under the consent decree, improvements in training for supervisors and caseworkers were required. Today, according to the Daniels administration, the department exceeds the stipulations established by the consent decree.
A federal court judge today lifted a 1992 order imposed in response to a lawsuit alleging child welfare workers had failed to provide minimal services to abused, neglected and other children and their families.
U.S. District Court Judge John Tinder agreed to dismiss the consent decree after receiving assurances that the Indiana Department of Child Services has made progress in addressing deficiencies in the system.
The department administers child support, child protection, adoption and foster case throughout the state.
It has taken a number of steps in recent years to fix its problems, including hiring hundreds of additional family case managers and expanding training.
The Indiana Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit in 1989 because the state’s “crushing caseloads and inadequate standards” had left children injured or dead in Marion County — the state’s most populous county.
Under the consent decree, improvements in training for supervisors and caseworkers were required. Today, according to the Mitch Daniels administration, the department exceeds the stipulations established by the consent decree.
“Obviously the system is not perfect, but it’s clear that the state is working to correct all of the problems that gave rise to this case,” said Ken Falk, legal director of the ICLU.
Susan Tielking, a spokeswoman for child services, said about 60,000 allegations involving abuse or neglect of children are made each year in Indiana, and about a third of those cases are substantiated.
Currently, about 2,300 children in Marion County are involved in the child welfare system, she said.
Tielking said that over the past two years, the agency had hired 400 additional child welfare caseworkers and is expected to have hired an additional 400 caseworkers by next July. Those additions will boost to about 1,600 the number of state caseworkers, she said.
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