Waiting on DCS report, legislature is not idle
Lawmakers have offered more than a dozen bills to address a growing children in need of services crisis, many of which have won broad support in the General Assembly.
Gov. Eric Holcomb
Articles
Holcomb appoints 2 women to judgeships
In his first judicial appointments of 2018, Gov. Eric Holcomb has tapped two attorneys with prosecutorial experience to serve as superior court judges in Elkhart and Tippecanoe counties.
DCS consultant: Twice as many Hoosier kids out of home
A consultant hired by the state said Thursday Indiana has more than double the number of children in out-of-home care compared to the national average. The finding was among the highlights of an initial report commissioned by Gov. Eric Holcomb after the resignation of former Department of Child Services director Mary Beth Bonaventura.
Holcomb extends CBD oil order through legislative session
Gov. Eric Holcomb on Friday extended the moratorium on seizures of CBD oil from retailers’ shelves — as well Indiana State Excise Police’s education period on products derived from cannabis — while lawmakers consider bills regulating those products.
Child support network faces fear of collapse
Several times while talking about the statewide computer system that keeps track of child support money, John Owens rapped his knuckles on the nearest piece of wood. Indiana’s technology, dubbed ISETS, processes almost $1 billion in child support payments every year. However, the Department of Child Services says in a report that ISETS is “built on dying technology” from the 1980s. The concern is one day, it will crash for good.
Ex-DCS chief Bonaventura joins AG’s staff as special counsel
Former Indiana Department of Child Services Director Mary Beth Bonaventura will join the Indiana Attorney General’s Office as special counsel Monday, a move that comes less than a month after she resigned from her DCS post with a scathing resignation letter to Gov. Eric Holcomb.
Indiana governor pledges ‘transparent’ DCS review
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb pledged in his State of the State address Tuesday night to conduct a “transparent” review of the Department of Child Services, but offered little more than platitudes about an agency that his critics say is enveloped in crisis. “I’ll state right now: There’s no one who cares more about Hoosier children than I do, and I’ll do whatever is necessary to ensure the success of our agency and its mission.”
Indiana eighth to offer state employees parental leave
Gov. Eric Holcomb last month signed an executive order establishing paid parental leave for state employees, effective Jan. 1. Labor and employment attorneys say many private organizations, including law firms, also are offering paid leave to new parents.
Problems persist as director quits DCS
The departure of Mary Beth Bonaventura as director of the Indiana Department of Child Services surprised several family law attorneys and social service providers. Uniformly, they agreed the former Lake County juvenile judge was a strong advocate for children and brought valuable experience to her tenure. Still, the department has struggled against internal and external challenges.
Democratic leader questions GOP ‘secrecy’ on child agency
Statehouse Democrats say they are troubled by Republican “secrecy” as Gov. Eric Holcomb and the GOP-majority scramble to contain fallout from a burgeoning crisis in Indiana’s child welfare agency.
Indiana GOP lawmakers won’t act on child services crisis
The two most powerful Republicans in the Indiana Legislature said they do not plan to take major action to address a growing crisis in the Department of Child Services during this year’s session, which kicked off Wednesday.
Indiana senator pushes for CBD oil legalization
A state senator has filed a bill that would officially legalize the sale and possession of cannabis oil in Indiana.
Riley Hospital official appointed new DCS director
A day after Mary Beth Bonaventura left her position as director of the Indiana Department of Child Services, the Gov. Eric Holcomb has announced Terry Stigdon, clinical director of operations at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health in Indianapolis, will lead the agency.
Indiana’s struggling child welfare system to test Holcomb
Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb has remained largely silent as children’s advocates, including a member of his own Cabinet, say bean counting by his administration has starved Indiana’s child welfare agency amid a soaring number of cases fueled by the opioid epidemic.
Holcomb doubles Pence’s 4-year total of pardons in one day
Gov. Eric Holcomb issued six pardons on Nov. 20 — twice the absolutions granted by his predecessor, now-Vice President Mike Pence, during his four years as governor.
Governor gives stores 60 days to pull marijuana-derived oil
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb is directing state excise police to resume checking stores for marijuana-derived oils after the state’s attorney general declared them illegal with one limited exception.
Lawmakers, prosecutors square off in medical marijuana debate
Lawmakers such as Rep. Jim Lucas, a Republican, and Sen. Karen Tallian, a Democrat, vocally advocate for their colleagues in the statehouse to support legalizing medicial marijuana. Gov. Eric Holcomb, Attorney General Curtis Hill and the state’s prosecutors oppose such legislation.
Former inmate sues over conviction Pence wouldn’t pardon
A Chicago man pardoned after spending nearly a decade in prison for a robbery he didn't commit is suing a northern Indiana city, its police chief and three officers, alleging they fabricated evidence against him.
Holcomb appoints 3 judges, creates new vacancy
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb created a new vacancy in Tippecanoe Superior Courts last week when he announced three judicial appointments.
Holcomb fills vacancy in Wabash Superior Court
A chaplain at White’s Residential and Family Services has been appointed to succeed Indiana Justice Christopher Goff as judge of the Wabash Superior Court.