DCS report: 59 children died from abuse & neglect in 2016
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Department of Child Services just released their annual report of child abuse and neglect deaths. The report details why and how some Hoosier children die.
This year’s child fatality report details 2016 deaths.
DCS told News 8 that’s the most recent available. According to the report, DCS reviewed 227 child deaths from 2016.
Fifty-nine of those deaths were a direct result of abuse or neglect. DCS says that’s down from 2015.
State Senator Erin Houchin, a Republican from Salem said Wednesday, “Fifty-nine fatalities…even one fatality is too many.”
According to the report, Marion County had the most deaths. Ten children died as a result of neglect, four died from abuse. In Allen County, 3 children died from neglect. In Vigo County, one child died from abuse and another child died from neglect.
The report listed the most common causes of death for the 59 children who lost their lives in 2016: a weapon, a motor vehicle, drowning and asphyxia.
Erica Comerford, is an Indianapolis mother of four.
Comerford explained, “How many of these deaths are preventable by just each case worker becoming more efficient and wasting less of their time following up…they have to follow up on a report, every report that’s made. But so many reports are parents in custody disputes calling in on each other or in-laws who don’t agree with parenting.”
The report states that children most often died of abuse in their own home, because of a biological parent. Babysitters caused the second most number of deaths.
Major factors in all of the abuse cases? Insufficient income and substance abuse.
That substance abuse fact sticks out to Republican State Senator, Erin Houchin, who used to work in DCS.
Houchin explained, “There’s not a real tracking of how that’s transpiring in the home. So, I think the Department can do a better job of tracking when substances are a factor in these fatalities to help us better handle on the issues that are going on that could contribute to the deaths of children so we can prevent them.”
DCS believes the information from the report can be used to develop prevention, educational and service programs for communities and the state.
State Senator Greg Taylor, a Democrat from Indianapolis said, “For me, as a legislator, it’s up to us to come up with policy that helps protect the most vulnerable; children being one of those that are most vulnerable.”
You can read the entire report for yourself, by clicking here.
DCS said experts encourage parents and caregivers to remember the ABCs: Children should sleep alone, on their back and in a crib. Click here to learn more about those practices.
According to DCS, Lack of supervision often impacts neglect-related deaths, especially in the case of drownings. DCS said the American Academy of Pediatrics reminds caregivers a child can drown in as little as one inch of water and should never be left unattended in the bathtub or near a body of water, even for a few minutes. Click here for more safety tips.
To report abuse, call the Indiana Child Abuse/Neglect Hotline at 800-800-5556.
You can also call the Child Support Customer Service Kids line at 800-840-8757 or 317–233-5437.