CSPAN - Indiana's Child Welfare System" Aired: 2025-04-07 Duration: 06:50 === Working Together for Child Welfare (06:42) === [00:00:00] Discussion on the Trump administration's policy agenda and its impact on the rule of law with testimony from former Justice Department attorneys. [00:00:08] That's live at 3.30 p.m. Eastern on C-SPAN 3. [00:00:12] Also on C-SPAN Now, our free mobile video app, or online at c-span.org. [00:00:25] Nearly 3,500 students across 42 states and D.C. participated in this year's C-SPAN Student Cam Documentary Competition. [00:00:33] This year, we asked students to create short videos with messages to the president exploring issues important to them or their communities. [00:00:40] All this month, we're featuring our top 21 winning entries. [00:00:44] One of this year's second-place high school central winners is a 12th grader from Homestead High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where C-SPAN is available through Comcast. [00:00:54] Their winning documentary is titled Kids First, Indiana's Child Welfare System. [00:00:58] irony of the child welfare system is from my perspective, it was not child centered. [00:01:09] Every two minutes, someone calls the Indiana Child Abuse Hotline. [00:01:14] 90% of reports end after an assessment, but for the 10% that continue on. [00:01:21] There's been multiple times where if we had not pulled kids out of a situation, they would be dead. [00:01:27] Child protective services is important to protect kids from danger, but some kids remain in unsafe situations, including four-year-old Judah Morgan. [00:01:38] He was removed from his parents for numerous reasons. [00:01:43] And for some reason that nobody has ever been able to explain, it was abruptly decided after four years that they were going to reunify him. [00:01:51] He was reunified and unfortunately, shortly after that, was killed in an absolutely horrific fashion by his biological parents. [00:02:02] Even though most cases aren't as extreme, living in situations without stability can still harm kids' emotional well-being. [00:02:11] So all of the foster homes until the age of eight, I lived in seven different homes in the foster system in Los Angeles. [00:02:16] My daughter, in particular, who really suffered in our child welfare system and it was very needless, she had seven years total of child welfare experience when this was all said and done. [00:02:28] Kids should not stay in the foster care system that long. [00:02:32] Putting kids first means getting them to permanency quickly, whether that's reunification, adoption, or guardianship. [00:02:42] That's what's best for these kids, is to get back with their parents, to get back to a safe environment where, you know, DCS will never have to be involved again. [00:02:51] Over in the state capitol, legislators work on House Bill 1369 to achieve this goal. [00:02:56] Things were too vague, too open to interpretation, so we didn't have parental rights terminated and we didn't have permanency happening in a timely manner. [00:03:08] House Bill 1369 hoped to solve this by giving specific examples of reasons to terminate parental rights. [00:03:16] When the state intervenes, the best interest of the child's safety is the number one concern. [00:03:21] This bill was not a solitary effort. [00:03:24] And at the same time I was working with the executive branch, Department of Child Services, I also reached out to the judicial branch. [00:03:31] While many improvements have been made, there is still much work to be done. [00:03:37] Each year, more than 100,000 children in the United States foster care system wait for permanent homes. [00:03:43] Bureaucratic red tape from Washington gets in the way of caseworkers caring for children. [00:03:49] Indiana is one of the few states in the country that does not have any sort of right to counsel for any group of children in foster care. [00:03:58] Working for DCS was hard, but it was also so rewarding. [00:04:02] But what made me get to a point where I couldn't do it anymore was the management. [00:04:07] Making sure we have the right leaders in place is very important because that really sets the tone in the culture of our Department of Child Services. [00:04:14] Thankfully, Indiana Department of Child Services Director Eric Miller has consistently been open to working with others involved in the child welfare system. [00:04:24] As an agency, We desire to collaborate with policymakers. [00:04:29] We work together on the bill that I did last year. [00:04:31] We built good relationships. [00:04:33] It's been really refreshing to have people willing to collaborate with those of us on the ground. [00:04:39] We need the same collaboration across the board if we want to see improvements. [00:04:45] We need to hear from the youth. [00:04:46] The youth voice is very important. [00:04:48] From our public defenders, from the CASAs, from DCS and the courts. [00:04:53] I think when we all hear each other out and understand the issues from each other's perspective, that's how we get the best results. [00:05:01] Even beyond that, we need different parties to work together. [00:05:05] Bipartisanship has been a defining feature of federal child welfare legislation. [00:05:10] We need different branches of government to work together. [00:05:13] I had a bill draft. [00:05:14] I would send it to the judges and say, please share this with your members. [00:05:18] Please give me feedback. [00:05:20] We have an absolutely amazing legislature here in the state of Indiana. [00:05:24] I have had so much support and the willingness of the senators and House representatives to speak with us and our families and listen and actually act and do something. [00:05:37] Finally, we need different levels of government to work together. [00:05:41] Mr. President, you must prioritize child welfare programs and provide support to states with input from all perspectives. [00:05:51] Let's all be working together towards the same goal. [00:05:54] We all know we needed better permanency timelines. [00:05:57] We all know we need more safety. [00:05:59] With all of us working together, we can put kids first every single time. [00:06:09] Be sure to watch all of the winning entries on our website at studentcam.org. [00:06:13] C-SPAN, bringing you democracy unfiltered. [00:06:23] Democracy. [00:06:24] It isn't just an idea. [00:06:26] It's a process. === C-SPAN: Giving Democracy (00:23) === [00:06:27] A process shaped by leaders elected to the highest offices and entrusted to a select few with guarding its basic principles. [00:06:35] It's where debates unfold, decisions are made, and the nation's course is charted. [00:06:40] Democracy in real time. [00:06:43] This is your government at work. [00:06:45] This is C-SPAN, giving you your democracy unfiltered.