INDIANAPOLIS | Child abuse reports by employees of schools, medical facilities, courts or law enforcement could bypass the state's centralized abuse hotline and be referred directly to a local investigator under legislation approved 47-0 by the Indiana Senate Tuesday.
Senate Bill 105, which now advances to the House, is the first policy recommendation of the Legislature's 2012 Department of Child Services study committee to be voted on by either chamber.
The sponsor, state Sen. Brent Steele, R-Bedford, told senators that his "rather simple bill" helps address a serious problem of abuse reports from trained personnel being ignored by hotline staff.
Steele said said DCS is working on its own protocol for direct reporting, but should that effort fail, this legislation will guarantee a local response to an abuse report.
"This just gives us another tool," he said.
Two other DCS reform proposals are awaiting action in the House and Senate.
House Bill 1142, pending before the Ways and Means Committee, requires DCS hire 156 new workers to lead investigations and better staff the centralized child abuse hotline.
Senate Bill 572, which could get a final Senate vote next week, establishes county-level review teams to investigate unexplained child deaths, including deaths caused by abuse.
In addition, Republican Gov. Mike Pence has proposed increasing DCS' budget by $35 million over the next two years to help improve the agency.