The Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS) and its community partners are working together to raise awareness and educate the public in honor of Child Abuse Prevention Month. DCS encourages individuals and organizations to play a role in making Indiana a safer place for children and families — not just in April, but throughout the year.
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Three Knox residents were arrested Monday, January 30 following an investigation with the Indiana Department of Child Services and the Starke County Sheriff’s Department.
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Two people from North Judson were arrested Monday, September 26 following a pursuit that began in Starke County.
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A Francesville man has been found guilty of battering a 19-month-old child in 2019. Pulaski County Prosecutor Kelly Gaumer says a jury convicted Coltyn M. Toosley last week on felony counts of neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury and domestic battery resulting in bodily injury on a child under 14.
Continue readingWhen it comes to making sure abused and neglected kids get the support they need, Starke County’s Court Appointed Special Advocates program plays a big role. Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall says the program currently has about 40 trained volunteers.
Continue readingProtecting abused and neglected kids is a big priority for courts across Indiana, according to Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall. “There are so many ways that we support children, and we need to and we have to,” he says. “It’s so important because they’re helpless.”
Continue readingAs the Pulaski County Council continues exploring potential budget cuts, the county’s judges and chief probation officer had the chance to share their cost-saving ideas Monday. Circuit Court Judge Mary Welker told council members that there’s $50,000 in the commissioners’ budget for detention of children that she doesn’t think will be needed.
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Pulaski County officials continue working on implementing a rental property inspection program, but exactly how to do that was a topic of discussion during Monday’s plan commission meeting. Director of Environmental Health Terri Hansen told members that she and Building Inspector Doug Hoover are repeatedly called to the same rental units, due to complaints about their condition. “It’s really sad when you see the kids, you guys,” she said. “They don’t want to live like that. It’s terrible. Makes you sick.”
With the back-to-school season in full swing, State Representative Jim Pressel recently sent out a release that highlights some of the ways legislators are looking out for students.
Some different laws that were passed this year were emphasized in the release, including a few that focus on the health and well being of students. Continue reading
A Culver woman was arrested on May 3 on several charges after police were made aware of a complaint of a child locked in a cage.
A Knox couple accused of using drugs in the presence of their children were arrested Friday afternoon following a month-long investigation by the Knox Police Department. Continue reading
10-09-15
A Starke County family whose 14-year-old daughter died in 2005 has been awarded a $31.3 million federal judgment against the state employees who accused the parents of being responsible for her death. Continue reading
A 20-year-old Knox man faces a child molestation charge stemming from an alleged relationship with a 12-year-old girl who recently gave birth to his child. Knox Police Officers arrested Angel R. Delapaz on Wednesday after an extensive investigation. They were notified by the Indiana Department of Child Services last December that the child had been sexually involved with an adult male and was pregnant. Continue reading
The Starke County Prosecutor’s Office is reviewing details in a case where an unsupervised child was found in the 300 block of West Riverside Drive in Knox.
Knox City Police Department officers received a call about a wandering child on Friday morning. The child was wearing pajamas when neighbors found the child. The youngster could not inform officers of her name or who her parents were. Several hours went by before the child’s parents were located.
The child remains in the custody of the Department of Child Services.
The mother of an infant who suffered frostbite after being left alone in a car after a Feb. 5 crash near North Judson made her initial appearance in Starke Circuit Court yesterday. Shayna Madison, 24, is charged with neglect of a dependent as a level 5 felony. Police responded to a wreck in the area of 250 West and 500 South. No driver was in the vehicle, but a small child was found in a car seat in the back. The child was treated at IU Health Starke Hospital and turned over to the Department of Child Services. Continue reading
A report will be filed with the Starke County Prosecutor’s Office after a four-year-old child was found walking alone down State Road 8 in the area of County Road 1100 East.
The person who made the call picked up the child and waited until an officer arrived at the scene. The officer attempted to locate the child’s home but was unsuccessful. The officer also could not find the child’s parents, so the child’s custody was turned over to the Department of Child Services, according to a press release.
A seven-month-long investigation into reports of drug activity ended with yesterday’s arrests of a Plymouth couple. State police got a tip back in February from the Marshall County Probation Department that methamphetamine was possibly being manufactured and used at 901 W. Harrison St. in Plymouth. Continue reading
Deputies from the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office arrested an accused child molester following a joint investigation with the Department of Child Services. Formal charges are pending against Joshua Sanders. He’s accused of inappropriately touching a juvenile in Marshall County during the past six weeks.
DCS Chief of Staff John Ryan said in a press statement that the organization has increased their case management staff by hundreds over the past eight years, and now they need to add even more qualified professionals to their team. Though the organization currently employs roughly 1700 case management staff, they need to expand to deal with the ever-growing number of cases across the state.
The Indiana Department of Child Services this week released the state’s latest child fatality statistics, having reviewed more than 292 child deaths during fiscal year 2011 with causes ranging from medical conditions to drowning, unsafe sleeping conditions in the home – even abuse and neglect.
