DCS, schools seeking more funds in 2019 legislative session

As Indiana lawmakers prepare to convene in Indianapolis for the start of the 2019 legislative session next week, next year’s legislative priorities are starting to take shape.

Among the biggest issues the 2019 General Assembly will have to contend with is the Department of Child Services, which is still reeling after a tumultuous year that saw a leader abruptly resign and a national group identify several shortcomings in the department’s operations. Gov. Eric Holcomb is calling on lawmakers to devote significant financial resources to the struggling department, and all four legislative leaders say their caucuses plan to make DCS a top priority.

Then there’s the issue of Indiana teacher pay, which statistics show is among the lowest in the nation. Public schoolteachers in states across the country walked out during 2018 to protest what they viewed as inadequate compensation, and Indiana lawmakers are keen to avoid a similar situation in the Hoosier state.

Also top of mind for legislators is school safety, which has become a heightened concern after the 2018 shootings at schools in Noblesville and Richmond. What’s more, all of these legislative priorities must be considered in light of the state’s next biennial budget, which lawmakers will draft during the upcoming session.

With an expected $350 million available in new revenue, legislative leaders say allocating sufficient resources to these and other legislative priorities will be “extraordinarily difficult.”

Training and turnover

One of the largest factors contributing to the expected difficulty of the upcoming budget session is the significant amount of money earmarked for DCS. The struggling department asked the State Budget Committee for a $965 million allocation in fiscal years 2020 and 2021, while House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, said earlier this month that the governor wants $286 million of the new revenue to go toward the department.

The $965 million ask is a 42 percent increase from the original allocation DCS received in FY 2018 and 2019, but it’s a less significant jump when considered in light of the supplemental allocations the department received after a report from the Alabama-based Child Welfare Policy and Practice Group identified several shortcomings in the child welfare office.

While Sen. Rod Bray, the Martinsville Republican who now serves as the chamber’s president pro tem, agreed that additional funding can help DCS resolve some of its operational issues, he also said he believes many problems identified in the report must be addressed internally. Indianapolis family law attorney Brian Zoeller agreed, saying the department’s biggest problem is a lack of caseworker training.

Bray, speaking alongside other legislative leaders at a Bingham Greenebaum Doll panel discussion this month, said many DCS caseworkers are new in their careers and supervised by employees who are only slightly more experienced. Zoeller agreed that many caseworkers lack professionalism and knowledge to effectively advocate for children.

As an example, Zoeller pointed to a case in which a child was placed in foster care, despite the fact that the child’s grandparents were available. When Zoeller asked the caseworkers why the child was not placed with the grandparents, the DCS employees said they were unaware of a statute requiring them to look for placement with a relative before looking outside of the family.

“I was blown away,” Zoeller said. “It really explained why we have problems.”

Zoeller also agreed with Senate Minority Leader Tim Lanane, D-Anderson, that DCS’s problems can be traced to the high rate of turnover among caseworkers. To that end, the Cohen & Malad attorney suggested that the Legislature devote DCS funding to better caseworker training and pay, which could help increase stability.

Though the discussions about DCS have been focused on the department itself, Zoeller also noted that Indiana’s courts are struggling to keep up with the spike in child welfare cases caused in large part by the opioid crisis. To that end, he suggested the Legislature should consider the courts’ growing DCS case-loads when determining how to help the department operate effectively.

Teacher take-home

Also competing for money from this year’s budget are Indiana’s public teachers, who are calling on lawmakers for a “meaningful increase” in K-12 funding that could be put toward teacher salaries. Teresa Meredith, president of the Indiana State Teachers Association, said the organization has already been working with lawmakers on a plan to possibly increase teacher pay, and she is “very, very cautiously optimistic” that this year’s budget will include some sort of K-12 funding increase.

According to Lanane and Meredith, Indiana’s public teacher compensation falls in the bottom third of the country, though Bray said the state’s ranking improves when cost of living is factored in. Regardless, Meredith said some Indiana teachers have not seen an increase in take-home pay in 10 years, while others have seen their take-home decrease due to rising insurance costs.

Meredith said ISTA is still working with lawmakers to arrive at a specific funding amount, and they have been discussing ways to make more dollars available for teachers. Holcomb has said the state needs to develop a long-term funding plan, and while Meredith agreed, she also said Indiana needs to take immediate action to prove to teachers that more money is coming.

“Without that initial significant offer of some sort to teachers, I fear that they will continue leaving,” she said.

Bosma said he wants to encourage school districts to reallocate money from administrative expansion to teacher pay. Meredith agreed that could be an option, but she also said schools have already taken steps in recent years to streamline services and cut non-salary costs. While she said school districts could become more collaborative in sharing resources, Meredith said what’s really needed is a true K-12 funding boost.

Keeping schools safe

The ISTA also plans to advocate for legislation that would increase school safety, an issue Bosma, Bray and House Minority Leader Phil GiaQuinta, D-Fort Wayne, each identified as specific priorities for their caucuses this year. From a security standpoint, Bray said Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle, has plans to introduce a bill that would allow a referendum to finance measures such as beefing up security on school doorways.

But Bray and GiaQuinta also pointed to the need to address school safety holistically by bringing in counselors and social workers to work with at-risk students. Catherine Michael, a partner with Hollingsworth & Zivitz who has represented clients in school shooting cases, echoed the call for an increased focus on student mental health.

Students today are under significant pressure to perform well academically, and they face more acute bullying issues than previous generations, Michael said. Those factors can cause stress students, which, in some cases, can cause them to lash out.

But if more money is devoted to hiring staff members who can help at-risk students deal with their stress and underlying mental health issues, Michael said students who might considering harming others could learn other methods of working through their problems, thus preventing tragedy.

“I would love it if security alone would fix the problem,” Michael said, “but I think it needs to be a multiple-modal approach.”

Other priorities

Also likely to be debated during the upcoming legislative session is hate crimes legislation, which Holcomb advocates for after several years of failed attempts. GiaQuinta and Lanane each identified bias crimes as a priority for their caucuses, with Lanane expressing confidence that this will be the year the legislation will pass.

Other likely priorities include redistricting reform, the expansion of Indiana’s pre-K education program, sports gaming and medical marijuana. Lawmakers will reconvene Jan. 3.•