Lawmakers Continue Review Of DCS Problems
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — State lawmakers are reconvening to scrutinize how Indiana’s troubled Department of Child Services screens calls for help through its centralized hotline.
Members of the DCS study committee are scheduled to review the hotline, examine child care provider payment issues and hear public testimony.
The panel plans to meet this afternoon at the Statehouse. Attorney General Greg Zoeller had been scheduled to talk to lawmakers at the hearing, but was pulled from the schedule Friday.
The agency acted earlier this month to stem the amount of information reaching the public. DCS Director James Payne ordered staff to submit information to a screening committee before releasing it to the public.
Statehouse Democrats have been highly critical of the agency, citing Indiana media investigations into likely preventable child deaths across the state.