INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 4, 2024) – The Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS) is promoting awareness, resources and support during Kinship Care Awareness Month – a time to celebrate family members who help maintain familial connections, provide stability, reinforce cultural identity and support the well-being of children who can no longer live with their birth parents.

Governor Eric J. Holcomb has proclaimed Kinship Care Awareness Month to promote and preserve kinship, sibling and other familial connections for Indiana’s children. Read his proclamation here.

“Family is the backbone needed to help keep kids safe and loved,” said DCS Director Eric Miller, MPA, MBA. “It’s a selfless act to step forward and care for the child of a relative or a close family friend, often with little notice or training, to help that child maintain close connections and stability when they are needed most.”

According to The Annie E. Casey Foundation, Indiana has about 60,000 children in kinship care. About 3,500 of those children have DCS involvement.

Kinship placements among children in DCS care have risen by 20 percent since 2019 and now represent more than half of DCS out-of-home placements. DCS has been working to increase the number of kinship placements because researchshows children removed from their parents generally experience better outcomes when placed with kin, including reduced trauma, better mental health, improved behavioral, social and educational outcomes, increased stability and stronger connections to the child’s biological family.

Most kinship caregivers in Indiana are grandparents between the ages of 55 and 64, with more than 20 percent being age 65 or older. Grandparents and other adults who agree to be kinship caregivers are often faced with unexpected challenges and barriers, such as shifting family dynamics, struggles with bonding or financial issues.

DCS recognizes the importance of ensuring that both the caregivers and the children receive the appropriate assistance to ensure success and offers a Kinship Navigator program to help identify kinship placements and support relatives as they care for children.

Additionally, DCS offers a monthly stipend of $300 per child to unlicensed kinship caregivers who are caring for a child in DCS custody. Since stipends were launched in July 2023, over $14 million has been distributed to more than 3,000 families. Other resources, including financial, health, legal, educational/developmental and adult support, can be found here or by calling Indiana 2-1-1 (866) 211-9966). DCS encourages all members of the community to help connect kinship families with these much-needed resources.

Anyone interested in becoming a kinship caregiver for youth in DCS care can email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information, resources and trainings.

Visit Instagram, X, and LinkedIn for more resources about kinship care throughout the month.

For more information about Indiana kinship care, visit indianafostercare.org. 

September  2, 1911 Madame C. J. Walker applied for incorporation of her cosmetics company in Indianapolis. She became the first woman millionaire in the U.S. September 4, 2012 A life-sized bronze statue of Orville Redenbacher was unveiled in Valparaiso, where he developed the popcorn that made him famous.   September 4, 1928 Dick York, American actor (Darrin-Bewitched, Inherit the Wind), born in Fort Wayne. September 5, 1885 1st gasoline pump is delivered to a gasoline dealer in Fort Wayne, Indiana.     September  6, 1883 Two children, Blanche and Orris Hiestand, discovered Marengo Cave in Crawford County. Our Where in Indiana? from last week was taken at the Soldier's and Sailor's Monument in Indianapolis. Where in Indiana? Do you know where this photograph was taken? Visit us on Instagram to submit your answer. Follow us on Instagram: @instatehousetouroffice Did you see the August 19 Super Blue Moon?

Indiana Statehouse Tour Office Indiana Department of Administration Guided Tours of the Indiana Statehouse are offered Monday through Saturday.  For more information, contact us.   (317) 233-5293 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  Indiana Quick Quiz 1. What is the former name of Evansville? 2. What is the former name of Valparaiso? 3.What is the former name of Muncie? 4. What is the former name of Rensselaer? Answers Below  For more activities              in IN              https://www.visitindiana.com/ Answers 1. McGary's Landing 2. Portersville 3. Munsee Town 4. Newton Those who look for the bad in people will surely find it. — Abraham Lincoln  - Celebrating the Hoosier Spirit of seeing the best in people and maintaining a positive outlook. Please send your favorite Hoosier quote to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ← Notice the Super Blue Moon did not look blue. A Blue Moon gets it's name by being the third full Moon in a season with four full Moons. Mark your calendars for September 18, 2024, to view the Super Harvest Moon. It will also undergo a partial lunar eclipse.

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http://www.in.gov/idoa/2371.htm

The Indiana Chamber of Commerce and the Indiana Department of Education hosted the first-ever state Civics Bee on Friday at the Indiana Statehouse, where middle school students in grades 6 to 8 participated in live quiz rounds to test their civics knowledge and gave presentations on issues facing their communities in front of a panel of judges.

The event is part of the National Civics Bee organized in partnership with The Civic Trust®of the U.S. 

Chamber of Commerce Foundation.

At the conclusion of the Indiana Civics Bee, Ellie Fost from Richmond Friends School in Wayne County was declared the winner. Her talk centered on the importance of mental health support – something she said she’s learned firsthand. Fost received $1,000 and has the opportunity to represent Indiana in the National Civics Bee in Washington, D.C. on November 12.

Fiona Steuer, representing Willowcreek Middle School in Portage, won second place and $750 with a spirited speech about equal pay for women, noting the disparity in her own community. Doing away with the corporate tax to spur economic growth was the topic championed by Hunter Reed, representing Delta Middle School in Muncie. He took home third place and $500. 

All top three finishers were eighth graders when their Indiana Civics Bee journey began earlier this year with initial contests held in partnership with local chambers across the state. Those events produced the nearly 20 participants who competed for the state title.

The goal of this 2024 National Civics Bee is to encourage more young Americans to engage in civics and contribute to their communities. That aim is one the Indiana Chamber shares for Hoosiers, including it in its latest long-range visioning plan for the state, Indiana Prosperity 2035, as noted by the organization’s president and CEO Vanessa Green Sinders in her opening remarks at the state Civics Bee.

She adds, “The Indiana Chamber believes this event can be part of inspiring a new generation. We want to spread the message to all young Hoosiers that it’s cool and rewarding to be involved in your community and make a difference in that way. I encourage the students who took part in this competition at the local and state level – and all middle schoolers – to find their own path of how they can be impactful and serve.”

One of the judges for the state Civics Bee was Dr. Katie Jenner, Indiana Secretary of Education.

“In Indiana, we have placed a significant focus on preparing students to serve as proactive, engaged contributors to society,” she says. “This includes ensuring every sixth grade student completes a civics course, elevating civic literacy as a skill of an Indiana Graduate Prepared to Succeed, as well as providing increased opportunities for students to engage in service-based learning or to take part in high-quality civic literacy programs. 

Jenner continues, “To encourage civic engagement, it is essential that more young people have access to learning opportunities – such as the Civics Bee – which help build their knowledge and skills and empower them to make a difference. Our students’ passion and commitment to addressing real issues in our communities was on full display at this event, and I’m excited to see how these young Hoosiers will continue to positively shape our state and our nation.”

Rounding out the judging trio were Charles Dunlap, president and CEO of the Indiana Bar Foundation, and Charles Hyde, president and CEO of the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site.

The Indiana Bar Foundation, Kroger Gardis & Regas and Indiana University Center on Representative Government sponsored the Indiana Civics Bee.

Early this morning in Georgetown, the Floyd County Sheriff’s Department was called to a scene on State Road 62 just off Interstate 64 regarding a dump truck that had toppled several utility poles. Due to its dump bed being raised while driving, the truck had managed to get poles lodged between the raised bed and the cab.

Law enforcement did not say how long the truck drove with the bed raised and how far the poles were dragged along the road. It is also unclear how long local businesses and residents will be without power.