State Sen. Jean Leising Authors Child Fatality Information Bill

Friday, January 18, 2019 at 1:39 PM

The Republican from Oldenburg wants more information about child fatalities so lawmakers can better understand how to prevent more deaths.

(Indianapolis, Ind.) – State Senator Jean Leising (R-Oldenburg) has authored a bill with the intention of increasing the amount of child fatality information across the state.

Senate Bill 170 was filed on Tuesday, which would require the Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS) to include in their child fatality report whether each death occurred while the child was placed in foster care or once the child, after being in foster care, was returned to a natural parent.

According to DCS, there were 59 child fatalities in Indiana between July of 2015 and June of 2016. Twenty-four of the deaths were due to abuse and 35 were due to neglect. DCS says caregiver stressors such as low income or substance abuse played a role in the child fatalities.

“The number of children in Indiana dying from abuse and neglect is unacceptable.” Leising said. “Right now, the DCS fatality report, which by laws must be created annually, tells us how many deaths occurred and their primary cause, but before we can find solutions to this issue, we need to know where these deaths are taking place. If passed, SB 170 would give us the answers we need to approach this problem from the right angle to better protect our children.”

Senate Bill 170 heads to the full Senate for consideration.