Goodin encourages DCS study to keep digging, keep us informed

INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana House Democratic Leader Terry Goodin from Austin today issued the following statement after the second briefing from officials on the Holcomb Administration’s ongoing study of the troubled Department of Child Services (DCS):

“These folks are looking at problems that are plaguing an entire system that is designed to protect at-risk children. It will be important for the administration to continue providing regular updates after the close of the 2018 session, because the public has a right to know what is going on.

“The investigators are doing the right thing by talking to everyone involved in the process, from upper level management at the Central Office all the way to case managers and families that see this agency at work on a daily basis. What is disturbing, though, is the apparent reluctance to discuss any of this with the public official who brought this crisis to everyone’s attention. If anyone can talk with authority about the problems throughout this system, it’s Judge Mary Beth Bonaventura. I simply do not understand why her opinions are not being sought. What do they have to fear?

“It is obvious that this work will not be done before the end of the session in a couple of weeks. Do we like it? No, but this is the price we must pay to make sure that things are done right.

“Once the work is done, though, we need to be ready to respond as quickly as possible to make the changes needed to protect our children. Again, if a special session is needed, then we must have it. We cannot and should not stand for anything that costs the life of one more child in Indiana.”