Indiana lawmakers advance plan to study Child Services department
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Lawmakers on Monday signaled their support for creating a special committee to review the state Department of Child Services.
A two-year study committee would go over allegations levied against Child Services by its former director, Mary Beth Bonaventura, in a scathing resignation letter to Gov. Eric Holcomb in December.
Holcomb’s chief of staff was criticized heavily, with Bonaventura writing, “The current chief of staff, with the position and authority he has been given by your office, is the greatest threat to this agency and child welfare.”
She also wrote, “I have effectively been stripped of the power to run DCS for the last 11 months.”
A resolution from State Sen. Eddie Melton, a Democrat from Merrillville, calls for addressing Bonaventura’s concerns and finding answers
“One other critical thing we want to make sure is that … our work force is stable. With the high turnover rate, we want to make sure that we support case managers and supervisors, and identify ways we can ensure that we keep them within the work force, as well as make sure that all the children remain safe and supported.”
The resolution passed a review by the Senate Committee on Family and Children Services on Monday morning in a 6-0 vote.