INDIANAPOLIS— State lawmakers are backing off a plan to eliminate caseload standards for family case managers at the Indiana Department of Child Services.
As WRTV Investigates reported, the Indiana Senate removed caseload standards for DCS under a prior version of the budget, prompting outcry from child advocates who said, “a bad system will inevitably get worse.”
However, a final version of Indiana’s budget bill does not eliminate caseload standards, but instead urges a legislative committee to study the impact of removing caseload limitations for DCS caseworkers.
Both chambers still have to vote on the final bill before it heads to the Governor’s office for his signature.
Indiana law currently requires DCS to abide by the 12/12/13 standard.
The 12/12/13 standard requires each region has enough family case managers to allow caseloads to be no more than:
- 12 active cases relating to initial assessments, including investigations of an allegation of child abuse or neglect; or
- 12 families monitored and supervised in active cases relating to ongoing in-home services; or
- 13 children monitored and supervised in active cases relating to ongoing services who are in out-of-home placements.
“Maintaining manageable caseloads for staff members is critical to ensuring the agency provides the best service possible to those in need,” read a DCS Staffing and Caseload Report for the state fiscal year 2024.
A previous Senate version of Indiana’s budget bill removed these caseload standards from statute, which would have allowed DCS to create its own policies for family case manager workloads.
"Sen. Mishler said that he worked with Sen. Holdman on the caseload language to help create more flexibility for DCS caseworkers since some cases require more attention than others due to the varying complexity of cases," said Emma Balzer, Deputy Communications Director at the Senate Majority Communications Office, in an email to WRTV last week.
WRTV Investigates also contacted DCS.
"DCS monitors its family case manager caseloads, complexity of cases and allocation of assignments on a regular basis," said DCS spokesperson Ron Green in an email to WRTV last week. "We do this to ensure our case managers feel supported, not overburdened by the number of cases for which they are responsible and ultimately, to make sure we are operating in the best interest of children while prioritizing their safety."
Green also said that the removal of the 12-12-13 standard from Indiana law will have no bearing on DCS’ administrative capabilities.
According to a DCS Staffing and Caseload Report for the state fiscal year 2024, only 37% of regions met the 12/12/13 standard.
10 of 19 regions had at least 90% of staff needed to meet the 12/12/13 standard, according to the report.
Marion County (Region 10), had only 78% of the staff needed to meet caseload standards, the report said.
As WRTV Investigates reported in Kids In Our Care: Pressing for Change, in fiscal year 2024, the turnover rate was 37% among family case managers, up from 33% in 2023.
High caseloads result in burnout among family case managers and can lengthen the amount of time children spend in the child welfare system, WRTV Investigates found.
A Better Childhood, a national nonprofit that uses the courts to reform child welfare systems around the country, calls the idea of eliminating caseload standards “a real disaster.”
“No foster care system can function without an adequate number of caseworkers to do their very important job,” said Marcia Lowry, founder of A Better Childhood. “If Indiana is eliminating the caseload standard that currently exists in the law -- with which we believe there is already widespread non-compliance -- there will be no limits on how many cases each worker can handle. A bad system will inevitably get worse.”
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The National Coalition for Child Protection Reform provided the following statement about the proposal:
"Contrary to what some claim, the goal of DCS is not reunification over everything. The data show the actual practice of DCS is removal over everything. Indiana tears apart families at a rate more than 50% above the national average – even when rates of family poverty are factored in. Yet I can’t imagine anyone really believes Indiana children sure are more than 50% safer than the national average.
The real reason for deaths of children 'known to the system' almost always is that workers are so overwhelmed with false allegations, trivial cases and cases in which poverty is confused with neglect that they have no time to investigate any case properly. Indiana’s take-the-child-and-run approach makes all children less safe.
If Indiana stopped tearing apart families needlessly, it would bring down caseloads – and save lives. And no one would even think of eliminating caseload caps."
Former DCS caseworker Moriah Coons said at times she 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 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.”
DCS says it is working on keeping its employees.
The agency launched a new Worker2Worker hotline, which allows current employees to talk to retired caseworkers.
DCS also overhauled its training for family case managers.
“DCS strives to hire to 120% of its six-month average need of family case managers, where possible, to stay ahead of turnover,” read the 2024 report.
A 2019 law updated the DCS caseload standard to align with Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) best practices at the time, according to the DCS report.
WRTV Investigates contacted the Child Welfare League of America about the proposed changes.
"The caseload standards are established as the maximum number that the workers should be carrying," said Julie Collins, VP of Practice Excellence at CWLA. "We want to make sure that the workers have time to do the work that needs to get done with the children and families and ensuring their safety."
Collins said eliminating the standards could make it harder for DCS to get the funding it needs to pay for caseworker salaries.
"I know the caseload standards are often relied on by being in legislation because it’s then leveraged to get sufficient funding," said Collins. "Child welfare is generally an underfunded system."
