KIDS IN OUR CARE— PRESSING FOR CHANGE
A WRTV Investigates Special
This is a pivotal year when it comes to child welfare in Indiana.
New Governor Mike Braun named Adam Krupp the new director at the Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS), taking over for Eric Miller.
At the statehouse, Indiana lawmakers are debating bills aimed at better protecting kids from abuse and neglect, while child advocates actively testify and push for that legislation to go through.
What’s at Stake: Dozens die every year from abuse and neglect
Dozens of children die in Indiana every year from abuse and neglect.
So far in 2025, we know of at least eight people charged in connection with child abuse or neglect in Marion County alone:
- Death of Skylar Gardner
- Death of Daisy Phillips
- Death of Asher Robinson
- Death of Kayden Gavarette
- Death of Gwendolyn Cooksey
In the child fatality report just released for calendar year 2023, the Indiana Department of Child Services investigated 261 child deaths.
21 percent of those deaths were determined to be a direct result of caregiver maltreatment, according to the 2023 Child Abuse and Neglect Fatality Report.
20 deaths were due to abuse, and 36 fatalities were due to neglect, according to the report.
In January, 2-year-old Skylar Gardner’s body was found underneath a dresser with bruises all over her body. Her biological mother is charged with her murder.
It does not appear DCS had prior involvement with the family.
Death of Kinsleigh Welty raises concerns about child welfare system
However, the Indiana Department of Child Services was involved in the case of a little girl named Kinsleigh Welty.
Kinsleigh died in April 2024 from starvation and dehydration, about five months after she was removed from her foster home and returned to her birth mother.
Her extended family spoke out about Kinsleigh’s history in the child welfare system and why they say DCS deserves some of the blame.
PREVIOUS | “DCS failed us”: Family demands accountability following death of 5-year-old
The trial for the grandmother, Tammy Halsey, is scheduled for April 28. She’s accused of duct-taping and tying Kinsleigh to a bed.
The murder trial for Kinsleigh’s biological mother, Toni McClure, is scheduled for September 15.
According to police reports, just before Kinsleigh died, DCS was at the house following McClure’s newborn testing positive for THC. Kinsleigh did not test positive.
DCS leader emphasizes the role of courts in child welfare system
DCS can’t comment on specific cases.
But WRTV Investigates Kara Kenney and Rachael Wilkerson took general concerns and questions to Sarah Sailors, who worked for DCS for 19 years.
At the time WRTV sat down with her, she was the DCS Chief Deputy Director and Senior Advisor. She left DCS on February 28 and took a job with another state agency.
Sailors emphasized they have limitations, especially if the parents are not cooperative.
- WRTV Investigates Rachael Wilkerson: What is the protocol when a caseworker visits a home? Do they have to lay eyes on the child and if that doesn’t happen, what happens after that?
- Sarah Sailors: I’m assuming you’re talking about when there’s an assessment and we don’t have any formal court involvement yet. I think there’s another place where there’s a lot of misconceptions and misunderstandings about how the system works, right? Thinking about our constitutional rights as individuals and as parents to be able to raise our children the way you see fit, there are statutory requirements and for lack of a better term—hoops that DCS has to jump through to be able to see a child. If a parent doesn’t give us permission to interview a child, we would have to ask a court for an order for that parent to comply with the court order for us to see that child. Where that becomes really challenging, is that child’s safety can be impacted right? It takes time to get into a court. It takes time to make sure the parents have been served, they know a hearing is coming up. We are asking the court to require a parent to produce their child so we can ensure safety. So, I do think there’s a misconception to that. Again- we don’t have the authority to enter a person’s home without their permission. If they say no, we might have to seek a court order.
DCS is typically the agency people think of when it comes to protecting Indiana’s children.
But a lot of people are involved in deciding the future of kids in the child welfare system.
Judges ultimately have the power to determine who a child will live with, but often there are many voices—including DCS caseworkers, court-appointed special advocates (CASAs), foster parents, biological parents, attorneys and service providers like therapists—who work together to make decisions on behalf of a child.
“They are all our children”: CASA explains why she left the system
Linda Polivick of Carmel got into the child welfare system to save lives.
“I wanted to help kids,” said Polivick. “I wanted to make a difference.”
She volunteered in Hamilton and Tipton counties as a CASA, court-appointed special advocate.
“Our job is to go to court and advocate for the best interest of the child,” said Polivick. “We are independent of DCS. A lot of people don't know that."
The counties assigned her cases—children who were suspected victims of abuse and neglect.
Polivick got to know the kids, their birth parents, foster parents, neighbors and therapists.
“Anybody that might be able to give some input on what's going on with that child,” said Polivick.
Polivick would also make a recommendation to the judge on whether the child should stay with a relative, go to a foster family or be reunited with the birth family— what the system calls “reunification.”
Polivick said she noticed a push toward reunification, even if it risked the child’s safety.
"As a CASA we can make recommendations all day long, but we don't have any actual power,” said Polivick. “DCS and the judge have the power."
Polivick left the child welfare system.
“DCS and the courts kind of made up their mind that they were going to send the child back home regardless of what I said,” said Polivick.
She is still pressing for change, and testified before a state senate committee on March 17 in support of legislation aimed at reducing the amount of time kids spend in foster care.
"Imagine being a child and living in limbo for years,” said Polivick during her testimony. “These are not just someone else’s children. They are all our children. "
Judges say decisions weigh heavily on them
Judges say decisions about a child’s future weigh heavily on them too.
Hon. Dana Kenworthy was not involved in any of Linda Polivick’s cases as a CASA.
As a judge in Grant County, Judge Kenworthy oversaw thousands of cases involving abused and neglected children.
“I'm trying to make a decision that does two things,” said Kenworthy. “One is to protect the parent's fundamental right to raise their children and also protect the best interest and safety of the child. That's immensely difficult."
With the lives of children in her hands, Judge Kenworthy says she took into account all the evidence—from DCS, CASAs, biological and foster parents, and the child.
“Everyone starts on equal ground, and I want to hear all of it," said Kenworthy.
In many abuse and neglect cases, the parents are addicted to drugs.
So, a judge may help families get services like drug addiction treatment and counseling.
"I think the system can do better and needs to do better,” said Kenworthy. “The challenge there is we need more available service providers."
When a court decides to permanently remove a child from their biological parents, it’s usually after they’ve been given numerous chances to get clean.
"To make that decision that will permanently sever that relationship is really hard but that's the job,” said Judge Kenworthy. “I admit I had many sleepless nights over that.”
A permanent safe home can mean reunification with the birth parents, legal guardianship, or adoption.
Data obtained by WRTV Investigates shows the majority of cases end in reunification.
In December 2024, 63% ended in reunification, 27% resolved in guardianship, and 10% were adoptions.
WRTV Investigates asked Judge Kenworthy to explain the biggest misconception about the child welfare system.
“I think the biggest misconception is that the system is designed to remove kids from their families,” said Kenworthy. "We know removing a child from their parents is traumatic for the child. If we can keep a child home safely, we do that first."
Kenworthy is now a judge in the Indiana Court of Appeals and occasionally handles child abuse and neglect cases.
“We try to expedite those cases,” said Kenworthy. “So, cases involving children go up the list of priority to be decided. We do try to fast-track those."
“Reunification over everything”: Ex-DCS caseworker shares why she left the agency
After seeing stories on the news about abused and neglected kids, Moriah Coons wanted to help.
So, the Muncie mother worked for DCS for four years, mostly as a family case manager.
She says her training did not prepare her for the job.
“They were like, here’s 17 kids, go,” said Coons.
At times, Coons worked 60 hours a week juggling as many as 29 kids at once— children who were victims of horrific child abuse and neglect.
"It created so much depression and anxiety in me, it was a constant battle," said Coons. “These people are at the hardest point in their entire lives and I have to be the person to help pick up the pieces.”
Coons worked to protect the children but felt her supervisors at DCS and the courts did not hear her concerns.
"It's reunification over everything,” said Coons. “I felt like children were getting hurt in the process."
Coons said children and parents took their anger out on her, including one child who assaulted her.
"I'm not even sure how it happened, but she sprained my wrist. It put me in the ER," said Coons.
Coons also took out a protective order against a biological parent after DCS removed three of his children.
"The dad threatened to kill me multiple times,” said Coons. “That was not the first time I received death threats, but it was the first time I thought it might be carried out.”
She did not feel supported by her supervisors at DCS.
“In the time I was with DCS in four and a half years, I had 9 supervisors," said Coons.
Coons saw turnover among her fellow caseworkers too.
“At times, I wouldn't even take the time to learn their name because I knew it would only be a matter of weeks before they were gone,” said Coons. “They can’t support their people.”
In fiscal year 2024, the turnover rate was 37% among family case managers, up from 33% in 2023.
DCS says it is working on keeping its employees.
DCS launched a new Worker2Worker hotline, which allows current employees to talk to retired caseworkers.
DCS also overhauled its training for family case managers.
Moriah Coons supports the changes.
“I want people to have more compassion for caseworkers,” said Coons. “The choices that are made are not the caseworkers' fault. There were so many times I had to do something that I was not comfortable with, and I knew was wrong and was going to put a child in danger."
She’s making her voice heard at the statehouse this spring.
Even though she left child welfare, she’s pushing lawmakers to improve the system for those still in it.
“We don’t have time to wait,” Coons told a state senate committee on March 17. “These kids need us to act now.”
Now thriving former foster youth is working to improve system for others
Caseworker turnover can impact children in the system.
Former foster youth Aly Leonard knows first-hand.
“The uncertainty of going home or not, was like, I was in survival mode,” said Leonard.
Throughout high school, she spent years in Indiana’s foster care system.
“My caseworker actually left the country in the middle of the night, and somebody had to come in the next day to very disheveled files and piece together my life,” said Leonard.
Leonard is now thriving and lives in Bloomington.
“What concerned me the most was the lack of knowledge and retention of certain levels of the DCS system so a caseworker is a position that has very high turnover,” said Leonard. “For me, that was pretty detrimental to my case."
Leonard volunteers for the Commission on Improving the Status of Children in Indiana, and works alongside state lawmakers, DCS and other stakeholders.
“I think the system is doing the best it can,” said Leonard. “I don't think that any solution is going to be perfect"
“Waste of time”: Frustration with DCS Ombudsman office
Many foster parents work to be part of the solution in giving children a safe and loving home, but some feel like they’re not heard.
Kat Moman is a Brown County mother of 7 children— 3 biological and 4 adopted through the child welfare system.
She’s fought for her adopted son to have a relationship with his brother, a sibling DCS did not notify her about.
“Siblings deserve to know they have siblings out there," said Moman.
The former foster mother says she tried to work with DCS to set up visits between the brothers.
“I kept going up the chain, kept going up the chain," said Moman. "They only let us see him once a month for I think it was like two hours."
Feeling stuck, Moman filed a complaint with the DCS Ombudsman, a “watchdog” office created in 2009 that operates independently of DCS under the Indiana Department of Administration.
“Siblings are not getting to know each other,” said Moman. “Siblings are not being notified that there's another sibling out there. I don't think that's right."
In Moman’s case, the ombudsman conducted a review and found, “there is merit to the complaint, as you were not contacted to establish sibling visits.”
The ombudsman made a recommendation to DCS regarding the issue but had no power to enforce it.
"They violated it so what is the punishment for lack of a better word for violating it?” said Moman. “As a foster parent, we've had our license threatened for policy violation. You can threaten our license when we violate a policy, but when you violate a policy, it’s just here’s a recommendation?"
The DCS Ombudsman also found DCS did not violate policy because the sibling visits took place “on a regular basis.”
Moman said she was not satisfied with the response she received.
“It just seems worthless and a waste of time, but there’s nowhere else to go,” said Moman.
While the DCS Ombudsman issues annual reports, it has not had a single audit in 15 years.
In 2014, WRTV Investigates Kara Kenney sat down with the DCS Ombudsman.
PREVIOUS | DCS Ombudsman details what’s right and wrong with agency
However, the current DCS Ombudsman Shoshanna Everhart declined our requests for an interview.
“The fact that you won't speak to people to let them know what you do or to share your side of the story when taxpayers are the ones paying for your salary, speaks pretty negatively,” said Moman.
“You’re a babysitter”: Former foster parents say voices not heard
Andrea and Dana McAtee of Whiteland also served as foster parents in the hopes of helping children.
They say DCS caseworkers and supervisors did not hear their concerns.
“If you speak up for a child, you're told--- you're a foster parent, you're a babysitter and you shouldn't have any concerns about the welfare of this child,” said Andrea McAtee. “We're not in this to be glorified babysitters. We're in this to make a difference in a child's life."
The couple says they experienced discrimination as well.
"We got a new caseworker, and she let me know from the very first day I met her that she was not a fan, that she did not believe in same-sex couples,” said Andrea. “She sat here in this living room, looked me square in the eye and told me that she was doing the Lord's work by taking this child out of our home."
The caseworker resigned from DCS in May 2023, according to the state personnel department.
Dana and Andrea eventually adopted two children, and say they feel comfortable speaking out now because they’re no longer in the child welfare system.
“We have been on the rollercoaster ride from hell with DCS,” said Dana. “The agency needs a complete overhaul literally from the top down.”
Governor appoints new DCS Director Adam Krupp
In January, Adam Krupp was appointed by Governor Mike Braun as the new director of DCS.
WRTV Investigates asked to sit down with Krupp, but the agency denied our request.
However, the former high school teacher and former Department of Revenue Commissioner testified in front of a legislative committee in February 2025.
Krupp said since taking over DCS, he’s heard stories from people who say the child welfare system is broken.
"My commitment is to fix it,” testified Krupp. “I’m not going to point the blame at anybody. All of us just need to partner together to do what’s right.”
Krupp said he survived a suicide attempt 25 years ago and is an advocate of mental health.
Krupp said Indiana ranks 5th in the country when it comes to the number of calls received by its child abuse and neglect hotline.
In fiscal year 2024, there were 214,000 reports to the hotline, which means on average, the hotline receives 626 calls a day.
“The hotline for abuse and neglect would become overwhelmed,” said Krupp. “Someday we will be able to hire an army of people to handle these calls, but that’s going to take a significant amount of time.
- Indiana Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline1-800-800-5556
DCS Official Sat Down with WRTV before leaving agency
While we were not able to speak with Krupp, we sat down with Sarah Sailors in 2024.
At the time she was the DCS Chief Deputy Director and Senior Advisor. She left DCS on February 28, 2025 and took a job with another state agency.
“I don't think the system is broken,” said Sailors. “I think there are a lot of opportunities to improve what we do."
Sailors said she wants people to understand they are human.
“I love DCS and I love the work we do,” said Sailors. “We are people who want to do great things for kids and families. We're not just this agency, an entity. We are people helping people."
WRTV Investigates asked about the people on the front lines, including DCS caseworkers.
“We have recently hired a security specialist who is helping us identify not just personal level safety, things that we can do, train our staff better,” said Sailors. “Being able to get them some tools to use while they're in the field to ensure their personal safety but also our building safety. We're looking at those kinds of things."
DCS can now hire people who have worked in human service fields, even if they don’t have a 4-year degree.
They’re also addressing turnover by adding a stipend for on-call workers and they created the Worker2Worker hotline.
Data shows children spend an average of 457 days in foster care, or roughly 15 months.
“It's complex,” said Sailors. “We know kids who are adopted spend a lot longer time in our system than kids who end in guardianship."
WRTV also asked Sailors about what some feel is a big push toward reunification with birth parents.
“When we intervene, we are intervening to protect children not to punish parents,” said Sailors. “Once kids come into our system, fundamentally our statutes haven't changed in terms of being required to provide reasonable efforts to reunify.”
Sailors said there’s a lot of misconceptions about DCS’s authority.
“People don’t understand that ultimately, we follow court orders,” said Sailors. “The court authorizes us to take certain action or not take certain action."
WRTV Investigates also asked Sailors if the state is doing enough to protect children.
"I think we are doing everything we can that's within our statutory authority to do what we can to protect children,” said Sailors. “I think there are opportunities always. We all as individuals and professionals and as agencies continue to improve. When we know better, we do better"
The Indiana child welfare system has a lot of success stories of children reunited with their birth parents who got the mental health or drug treatment they needed.
Other times, success means finding children a new family to call home.
According to state testimony, Indiana ranks 42nd in the country when it comes to adoptions from foster care taking four years or longer.
Indiana DCS Adoption Statistics
- SFY 2024—1,630 adoptions
- SFY 2023— 1,903 adoptions
- SFY 2022— 1,914 adoptions
Bills pending at statehouse aimed at better protecting Hoosier children
State lawmakers are debating ways to better protect Hoosier children from abuse and neglect.
- House Bill 1605 aims to decrease the amount of time children spend in foster care
- House Bill 1152 would increase how much information DCS must provide to the public about child deaths
- House Bill 1412 would strengthen the penalties for employees and volunteers who knowingly fail to report child abuse
- House Bill 1273 creates a child welfare task force to study and report on the issues
Indiana Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline1-800-800-5556
