House committee OKs plan to increase scrutiny of abuse claims at youth facilities
A House committee passed legislation Thursday intended to address shortcomings that allowed child sexual abuse to persist at Pierceton Woods Academy, a residential treatment facility for troubled boys in northern Indiana.
The legislation comes in response to an IndyStar-ProPublica investigation that found the Indiana Department of Child Services failed to investigate multiple abuse allegations at the facility in northwest Indiana, where at least three female employees have been formally accused of sexual abuse or misconduct with teenage boys.
Despite evidence of serious problems at the treatment center, DCS screened out many allegations of abuse or inappropriate behavior it received from the facility, meaning it never investigated the claims.
In at least two cases, records obtained by the news outlets indicate the agency declined to look into allegations against staffers who were later found by police or a subsequent DCS investigation to have abused residents.
The new legislation, House Bill 1164, would require DCS to conduct an on-site investigation within 24 hours in response to a report of child abuse or neglect involving a licensed residential youth facility.
It would also authorize DCS to investigate suspected abuse of youth ages 18 to 20 if they reside in such a facility. The agency currently screens out those cases because they do not involve a juvenile, a practice that child safety experts said can leave predators in place at facilities that treat vulnerable youth.
The provisions were introduced by Rep. Victoria Garcia Wilburn, D-Fishers, and added as amendments Thursday to a measure carried by Rep. Becky Cash, R-Zionsville. The bill passed the House Committee on Family, Children and Human Affairs by a vote of 13-0. It now moves to the full House.
“This is about empowering DCS to do their job,” Garcia Wilburn said in a statement after the hearing. “Some of the most vulnerable young Hoosiers who have already experienced extreme trauma reside at residential care facilities like Pierceton Woods. The law should be crystal-clear that DCS has an obligation to protect children under their care who turn 18 but still reside at a residential facility through the age of 21. It’s my hope that this language, when it becomes law, will help DCS better protect all the children under their watch.”
A similar bill has been introduced in the Senate by Sen. J.D. Ford, D-Indianapolis, but it has not received a hearing.
The legislation that passed the House committee Thursday also increases the penalty for failing to report suspected abuse, making the offense a Class A misdemeanor, with a punishment of up to a year in prison, rather than a Class B misdemeanor, with a punishment of up to 180 days in prison.
It would also give police and prosecutors more authority to investigate whether schools or athletic organizations failed to report suspected abuse, and it would require healthcare professionals to directly report abuse to DCS and law enforcement, rather than to a medical facility's designee.
Cash said many of the bill's provisions were inspired by the sexual abuse scandal at USA Gymnastics, which came to light after a 2016 IndyStar investigation.
"Many of you are likely aware of the gymnastic sex abuse scandals that have rocked our country and Indiana," Cash said during the hearing Thursday. "The country watched in horror as we learned that not only had some of our most elite gymnasts been horrifically abused, but that the cover up was pervasive and widespread."
"It was clear that despite being mandated reporters in the state of Indiana," she said, "these reports had not been made and many young lives were devastated."
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Lawmakers advance plan to increase scrutiny of some abuse claims
