EDITORIAL: Children need us more than ever

Jun. 1—We must do better for our children.

Indiana Capital Chronicle's Whitney Downard in a May 17 article detailed the findings of a recent study study on the likelihood of children becoming the focus of an investigation into possible maltreatment.

In a blog post, the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform highlighted some of the staggering numbers included in the study's findings.

In Indiana, 54% of white children will be the subject of a child abuse investigation at some point. That percentage was the same for Hispanic Hoosier children. Even more troubling, 79% of the state's Black youth will be subjected to a child abuse investigation.

Seventy-nine percent.

That's four out of every five Black children in the state, the highest rate in the nation.

Indiana ranked second highest in the nation with 18% of Black children being removed from their homes and placed in foster care. The state was behind only West Virginia.

"Having a stranger come to the door, awaken children in the middle of the night, pull them aside and question them about the most intimate aspects of their lives can be an enormously traumatic experience for a child," the NCCPR blog post continued. "The caseworker will demand to see every room and look into every closet and cupboard. Often, it's all accompanied by a strip search looking for bruises."

Officials with the Indiana Department of Child Services issued a statement acknowledging that Black youth are "over-represented in child-welfare systems nationwide."

"Indiana is no exception, but we are committed to reversing that trend and making promising strides," the statement read. "We have reduced Black children's entry into care by 46% and will continue our efforts to reduce these disparities."

A May 8 blog posted by the NCCPR acknowledged the system does not fail every child.

"But we've built a monstrous system that eats up $33 billion a year, in some states surveils nearly all Black or Native families, and still overlooks children in real danger," the blog states.

The money should instead go toward community-run programs to "provide concrete help to families ...," the blog continued, "Before another generation of Black children and Native children has to endure the almost-guaranteed trauma of an almost-guaranteed investigation by the family police. ..."

While we credit state officials for acknowledging that far too many Black Hoosier children are involved in investigations, what is being done to remedy that imbalance?

Let's hope officials take these horrific numbers to heart and efforts are made for Indiana's children. Because our children need us now more than ever, and we must do better.