State officials debate new centralized abuse hotline

FORT WAYNE – Judges and other advocates for children are reserving judgment on the Indiana Department of Child Services’ plans to consolidate reporting of child abuse with a state hotline in place of local methods.

The agency began operating the Indiana Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline in Marion County on Jan. 1. If successful there, the agency will roll out the hotline to some northwest, southeastern and central counties, The Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne reported.

Eventually, it would take in all statewide reports of possible child abuse or neglect.
Sharon Pierce, president and CEO of The Villages of Indiana and Prevent Child Abuse Indiana, said she was pleased the state planned to pilot the program on a small scale and had some flexibility in its rollout plans. The Villages provides homes for abused and neglected children.

Judges, child welfare advocates and DCS staff will judge the efficacy of the hotline during the next few months, The Journal Gazette said.

Tippecanoe Superior Court Judge Loretta Rush, who chairs the Indiana Juvenile Justice Improvement Committee, said she saw both pros and cons with the new system.

“If we don’t see that it’s working, we would work to propose legislation to change it,” Rush said.

DCS spokeswoman Ann Houseworth said specially trained DCS case managers are transferring to Indianapolis from other parts of the state to staff the hotline. A $200,000 federal grant will pay for technology upgrades and other costs.

DCS Director James Payne issued a memo last month saying the state’s current patchwork system can create inconsistencies in how information is taken or how reports are interpreted. It said at least 13 other states also have centralized child welfare hotlines.

DCS now has procedures for receiving reports in all of Indiana’s 92 counties, but some counties handle calls differently depending on the time of day, including sending calls to administrative assistants, law enforcement agencies or outsourced phone banks.

Allen Superior Court Judges Charles Pratt and Stephen Sims said they had concerns about centralizing statewide child-abuse cases in Indianapolis. Uniformity will be an advantage only as long as assessments remain sensitive to differences in local cultures and resources around the state, Pratt said.

“We’re dealing with people, and we’re dealing with children,” he said. “Sometimes strict adherence doesn’t work.”

Sims said he has a prejudice toward local reporting, no matter how efficient a new system might be.

“You’ve put in an extra layer because the parties that respond are going to have to be local,” Sims said. “I need to hear a lot more about centralization before I say I’m comfortable with it.”