More trouble for DCS

The Indianapolis Star has an article about another death involving a child that had been in contact with the Department of Child Services. In this case, the child reportedly tested positive for methamphetamine in his system but was, nevertheless, left in the car of his mother.

DCS always ends up looking bad in these stories because they don’t comment, but I suppose the nature of their work with children in tough situations makes respect for privacy necessary. The article found a critic who called DCS’s decision “beyond comprehension” — but there is no indication of how much information that critic had about the particular decision before attempting to comprehend it.

Still, when a 2 year old boy remains in the home where he was found with meth in his system, there is some explaining to do:

The boy’s mother and grandparents had brought him to the hospital with suspicious injuries. A subsequent DCS-ordered test revealed the presence of methamphetamine in the child’s system.

According to court documents, DCS left Jalen with his mother even after learning on June 6 he had tested positive for meth. The records show DCS caseworker John W. Potts spoke with Blake on June 9 about the test results but did not remove Jalen from her custody.

Police say the child was fatally injured around June 26. He died June 28 at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis from head trauma. The coroner’s office labeled his death a homicide.

The article seems to suggest that an ombudsman for DCS might be a good idea; however (and this admittedly goes beyond the scope of the usual newspaper report) there is no indication of how much this might cost and whether there are funds available.