Foster Children file lawsuit against Indiana DCS, director, and Gov. Holcomb

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) – A class action lawsuit has been filed against the Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS), DCS Director Eric Miller, and Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb, alleging failure to protect children in the foster care system.

The lawsuit was filed by nine foster children on behalf of all children within the system, claiming that the Indiana child welfare system has ignored the children’s problems, failed to provide necessary services, moved them among a variety of placements, and left them in homes that DCS knew were dangerous.

It also listed multiple ways in which the department allegedly failed the children, including:

• A failure to keep children safe while in foster care;
• A failure to recruit and retain adequate case workers and foster home locations;
• A failure to implement measures necessary to ensure placement stability;
• A failure to make adequate placements and care for children with disabilities;
• A failure to maintain and update medical records, and failure to provide full and accurate medical information to foster parents;
• A failure to maintain an adequate diversity of placements to permit children with disabilities to reside in the most integrated, least restrictive, and most family-like environment.

The complaint, filed by child advocacy group “A Better Childhood”, goes on to say that, “under the U.S. Constitution and federal law, children whom the state has assumed responsibility have the right to be free from physical and psychological harm.”

Below is a summary of the complaints from each foster child:

• Annabel, 14, from Allen County has spent half of her life in foster care. The lawsuit claims two years following her removal in September 2018, DCS changed Annabel’s placement 10 times. According to court documents, she was sexually abused and also sexually abused other foster care children.
• Levi, 12, from Allen County spent over half of his life in foster care. DCS changed Levi’s placement 5 times. Court documents say that he was diagnosed with serious depression, and attention deficit disorder, and was a victim of physical and sexual abuse. He was sent back to his mother in 2021 and then in March 2023, DCS received a report that the mother was physically abusing Levi.
• Kimberly F., 15, has been in DCS custody for about eight years after being raped and molested by her stepfather. Court documents say that DCS placed Kimberly with her grandmother, who is not a licensed foster parent, and that DCS knew that this placement was unsafe. DCS denied the grandmother a foster license due to safety concerns and because the grandmother was selling pain medication for money, food, and gas. Kimberly was sexually abused by a neighbor and removed from the grandmother’s home only to return her later.
• Miles M., 8, has been in and out of DCS since 2017 and is a part of the lawsuit with friend Jenna Hullet. Jenna has long-term placement of Miles’ brother Justin who was killed by Miles’ stepfather shortly after a trial home visit. Miles was removed from his home for abuse. After his death, Miles was shuttled to three different foster homes over six months. Court documents say that despite being in the home while his brother was murdered and being abused himself, Miles only received two therapy sessions via Zoom during a one-year placement with foster parents. Foster parents requested additional mental health services that DCS did not provide.
• Joshua J., 16, spent 9 years in DCS custody after his stepmother overdosed on methamphetamine that Joshua’s father was trafficking. From 2017 to 2022, DCS changed Joshua’s placement sixteen times with no placement exceeding one year. Court documents state that DCS records show Joshua did not receive consistent therapy following his removal because DCS changed his placement with such “high frequency.” DCS was unable to find a foster home placement and has been living at a treatment facility in Marion. He is currently listed for adoption.
• Nigel, 12, Ashley, 9, and Matthew, 8, are siblings from Allen County who have been in DCS custody for more than 6 years. The siblings were initially removed for unsafe home conditions including no hot water and electricity. Court documents show that the siblings were bounded between placements with each sibling experiencing at least 8 separate placements in their three years of care. The siblings have since experienced declining mental health and increasing behavioral and psychological issues.
• Sophia P., 13, from Tippecanoe County has been in DCS custody since 2019. Since then, court documents say she has been bounced between 8 foster homes, two residential placements, multiple emergency room stays, and 5 caseworkers. Court documents say that Sophia was sexually abused by her mother’s fiance and that DCS did not remove the girls, instead implementing a safety plan prohibiting any contact between Sophia and the fiance. It wasn’t until Sophia’s sister was taken to the hospital for second-degree burns was removed from the home.

Court documents go on to say that data shows the “foster care system is in crisis,” as “foster children in Indiana remain in state custody for too long, move through far more placements than the national standard, re-enter the foster care system at high rates, are returned home when their homes are unsafe, and experience maltreatment in care at rates that exceed national standards.”

The lawsuit is seeking lower caseloads, the development of additional, appropriate placements and services, and far better accountability within DCS by implementing requirements such as:

• Require that DCS establish a recordkeeping system sufficient to maintain and update medical records for all children in DCS custody;
• Require that DCS conduct face-to-face visitation, including time out of the presence of the child’s custodian;
• Require that DCS establish a process to ensure that all children with physical, mental, intellectual, or cognitive disabilities have an opportunity to receive community-based foster care services in the most appropriate setting;
• Require the development and implementation of a policy that prohibits retaliation against foster parents who request services for children placed with them;
• Require the development and implementation of a placement matching process for the placement of children in appropriate homes or programs that can meet their needs;
• Require that DCS conduct annual record reviews of random samples of children’s cases to measure placement stability, and make such data publicly available;

Indiana’s foster care system currently has more than 11,000 children. Since the complaint was filed on Aug. 16, A Better Childhood director Marcia Lowry says they’ve had more foster kids and parents reach out to share their stories.

21Alive did reach out to the governor’s office and the Indiana Department of Child Services. At this time, they have declined to comment. The state has also not filed its answer to the complaint to the court.

*The names of the children and any other minors mentioned by name in the complaint all appear by pseudonyms with the same first and last initials as their real names.

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