The Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS) has received national recognition for its Indiana Family Preservation Services program, which provides in-home support to strengthen families and improve outcomes while reducing the number of children entering the foster care system.

The program, which launched in June 2020, has been designated a promising practice by the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare. The program also was highlighted as an example of how new approaches to child welfare practice can enhance child and family well-being in an April report by the Christensen Institute. On Wednesday, David Reed, MSW, LCSW, CSAYC, deputy director for child welfare services at DCS, spoke about the program’s positive impact before the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance.

The Indiana Family Preservation Services program is designed to keep children in their home when it is safe to do so. It achieves this goal by helping families understand and implement best practices for parental resilience, child development and social connectedness. The program also can provide other support, such as financial assistance, when not doing so would result in children having to enter foster care. Most importantly, all services are coordinated by a single provider, easing the administrative burden on families by working with a single point of contact.

“Entering foster care and being separated from family is traumatic for children,” Reed said. “When we can provide the support that allows children to remain safely at home, we see vastly improved outcomes and healthier relationships over the long term.” 

Reed noted that the program has resulted in children being safer, with fewer children experiencing repeated maltreatment than before its launch. 

Additionally, since the federal Family First Prevention Services Act passed in 2018, DCS has:

•  Reduced the number of children in traditional out-of-home foster care by 50 percent 
•  Reduced the number of children in residential facilities by more than 50 percent

The Indiana Family Preservation Services program has played a critical role in those outcomes. 

Since its inception, Indiana Family Preservation Services has served more than 27,000 children and 14,000 families.

By Becky Killian
Staff Writer

The City of Salem’s dispatch department will merge into the county’s 911 effective June 1. The merger got a unanimous vote of support from the Washington County Board of Commissioners during the Tuesday, May 21, meeting.

Prior to the vote, Commissioner Todd Ewen said, “I’m tickled to death this has finally come about.” He commended Mayor Justin Green and Sheriff Brent Miller for their negotiations that resulted in the merger.

The agreement is expected to save administrative and overhead costs for both the city and county. The city will provide two dispatchers’ salaries annually in an amount not to exceed $65,000.

The merger found unanimous support from the Salem Common Council during its Monday, May 13, meeting.

The change will not result in any loss of jobs, Green said. The city’s current dispatchers will have the option of transferring to the county.

Green said both the city and county departments struggle to find adequate staffing: it is hoped the merger will alleviate that problem.

“This proposal makes sense in a lot of ways,” Green said, adding that a combined city-county dispatch is not unique to Salem and Washington County.

The interlocal agreement that details the merger offers both parties the opportunity to opt out with a 90-day notification. The agreement has a term of five years.

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is dispensing more than $8.8 million to Indiana cities, towns and counties in the next round of opioid settlement funds distributed under his leadership. 

Attorney General Rokita and his team secured these settlements from companies that allegedly contributed to the state’s opioid epidemic through irresponsible and/or unlawful actions. 

“Hoosiers have seen far too many of our loved ones suffer and even die from opioid addiction and overdose,” Attorney General Rokita said. “Misconduct by drug companies helped start this epidemic in the first place, and it has played a large role in perpetuating the crisis. We can’t bring back lost lives, but we can hold these companies accountable and enable communities to use settlement funds on prevention, treatment and enforcement programs.” 

In total, Attorney General Rokita has reached settlements worth more than $925 million with companies involved in some aspects of making, selling, distributing or advertising opioids.  

This round of distributions includes a one-time payment representing communities’ share of a settlement with Publicis Health to resolve investigations into the global marketing and communications firm’s role in the prescription opioid crisis. Publicis helped Purdue Pharma and other opioid manufacturers market and sell opioids. 

In addition, this round of payments includes settlement funds from two distributors — AmerisourceBergen (now known as Cencora) and Cardinal Health. Additional distribution payments are expected in the fall of 2024 from AmerisourceBergen (now known as Cencora), Cardinal Health, McKesson, Teva, Janssen, CVS, and Allergan. 

Besides the tragic personal toll on families, the opioid crisis has imposed significant costs on Indiana’s health care, child welfare, and criminal justice systems.  

Local governments have discretion in choosing exactly how to use the opioid funds. Guidelines can be found on Attorney General Rokita’s website.  

The settlement framework continues to be a 50-50 split between the state and local governments.  A listing of the payments estimated for each community for the full 18 years can be found on the Office of Attorney General website.