Indiana DCS child abuse hotline saw concerning drop-off in reports in 2020

The Indiana Department of Child Services Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline was remote long before the pandemic forced some Hoosiers into working from home.

Across the state, 117 intake specialists work 24/7 to field calls from people reporting concerns that abuse or neglect may be taking place. While they're always busy —Indiana law requires every adult with suspicions of abuse or neglect to report — they've seen a concerning drop-off in reports since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the state last spring.

Last year, the hotline handled more than 216,000 reports of child abuse or neglect, taking on average about 600 calls each business day, according to DCS. That represents a drop of over 26,000 compared to both 2018 and 2019, when intake specialists were taking about 700 calls every weekday. (The number of reports was almost level between 2018-19, with over 242,000 each year.) 

See something? Say something. How to report suspected child abuse or neglect in Indiana

“A lot of times our report sources are people who see the kids every day, who notice a behavior change or who see a bruise that wasn’t there yesterday," said family case manager supervisor Lacy Mullenberg. "And then during the pandemic, we saw less kids in school, they weren't having in-person doctor visits, they weren’t having in-person therapeutic visits."

"It doesn’t mean it’s not happening," Mullenberg added, "it just means no one’s seeing it."

What happens when you call Indiana's child abuse hotline

Callers to Indiana's hotline will navigate an automated system before being connected with an intake specialist. The average wait time for a non-law enforcement caller was 16 seconds last year. 

Once connected, intake specialists will ask for demographics — any information the caller can give regarding the child and caregiver's names and address, their relationship (parent/child or otherwise), ages, schools, workplaces, phone numbers and relevant medical conditions. 

They'll take as much or as little information as you can give them, said Darren Broady, another supervisor at the hotline. 

"As long as we have something — first and last name of one of the parents, a first and last name of one of the kids by itself," he said, "I mean, we’ve even used license plate numbers before.”

Once the call is complete (on average, they last about 14 minutes), they file a report to their supervisor, who signs off on assigning the report to a local case manager for investigation. Reports are given one of three response times: two hours, 24 hours or 5 days. Cases in which there is acute danger or injury will receive quicker responses.

These reports can be made anonymously. Some may express concerns that once the family comes into contact with DCS and hear of the report, they'll be able to identify the person who called the hotline and confront them. 

"We just tell people: deny," Mullenberg said. "We won’t release that information, so deny it. If there’s a chance that someone told you, there’s a chance that they told another person."

And if you're not sure whether what you've witnessed would be considered abuse or neglect, call the hotline, anyway, intake specialist Jenny Nunes advised.

"Our job is to determine whether or not the information they provide us with meets a legal sufficiency to send for investigation, because what you think is abuse and neglect might not meet (those requirements)," Nunes said, "or what you think is bad parenting might just be abuse or neglect."

With some calls, 'your heart stops'

Despite handling these calls day in and day out, it's impossible not to be affected by reports of child abuse.

For intake specialist Karyl Brown, accidental deaths, such as a baby who was positioned incorrectly while co-sleeping with a parent and suffocated, are heartbreaking.

“I think those are the hardest," Brown said, "where it’s just one second in time where you made a mistake."

Nunes acknowledged after over a decade with DCS, she still freezes when a caller reports a fatality. She keeps a notepad with fatality-specific questions just in case.

"When somebody says ‘I have a child who is deceased,’ your heart stops,"  Nunes said. "How could it not?"

Working from home means they've got the flexibility to take a break in a familiar environment after an emotionally challenging call.

"You get to detach and you get to hug your kiddo," Nunes said, "and come back to work."

For Mullenberg, some of the most challenging calls come from law enforcement.

"The hard ones for me are when you have a police officer who is used to dealing with trauma and things on the line and you can hear their voice breaking," Mullenberg said, "and they’re trying really hard not to cry and not to lose it on the phone."

Broady said children will sometimes call the hotline to report their own abuse.

“We try to remain as calm as possible, but you can imagine it would be very difficult, you know, to try to keep your composure when you’ve got a kid just crying their eyes out," he said, "and just telling you all of the horrific things that are happening at home.”

A chance to change lives

Brown, who has worked in child services for nearly three decades, said it's not the agency's job to remove children — although they will if it's necessary. A case worker's goal should be to connect a family with the resources they need to be successful and safe, she said.

"Most of the time we’re not removing children — we’re not even substantiating," Brown said, "but we can leave them better off.”

She's from a small community in White County, where it's not uncommon for her to run into families she's worked with in the past. It's rewarding to see them move past the things that brought them together, she said. 

“Every ripple you do changes people," Brown said, "and you don’t always know what that is maybe until later."

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. Indiana law requires every adult who suspects abuse or neglect is taking place to report it to authorities. Call 911 or the Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline at 800-800-5556. The hotline is available 24/7 and reports can be made anonymously.

You can reach IndyStar reporter Holly Hays at holly.hays@indystar.com. Follow her on Twitter: @hollyvhays.