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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

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Child Services to Hire More Workers to Manage Increased Caseloads

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Friday, August 14, 2015   

INDIANAPOLIS - The Indiana Department of Child Services is looking for more people qualified to work with some of the state's most vulnerable children.

Gov. Mike Pence announced Thursday that the state would authorize the hiring of 113 additional caseworkers following a 26 percent increase in cases this year. DCS Director Mary Beth Bonaventura said children are best served when the agency is fully staffed and there is consistent case management.

"When family case managers can spend the time that they need to spend with each and every child," she said, "then that effectuates permanency faster than if you're kind of doing it on the run because you've got too many cases to really deal with, or somebody leaves the agency."

Earlier this year, state leaders approved $7.5 million to hire 100 family case managers and 17 supervisors for the department.

In July, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit maintaining that DCS workers are taking on too many caseloads and are unable to perform their jobs adequately. But Bonaventura said this decision was not made in response to the litigation.

"It's probably in no small way a coincidence that the lawsuit is out there," she said, "but this is totally in response to what the statute says we have to report to the Legislature."

Bonaventura said the department will fill the new positions immediately to become compliant with caseload standards, which she noted are stricter in Indiana than national standards.

"Indiana has a governor and a Legislature that is really, really committed to doing right by children," she said. "We recognize that there is a problem in this state, really across the country, with increasing CINS (child in need of supervision) cases and drug cases, and if that's what it takes to keep kids safe, then that's what we're going to do."

Today, DCS will present its annual report to the state Budget Committee.


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