Indiana Child Abuse &

Neglect Hotline
2016

Joanie Crum, Montgomery County

Director
Children thrive in safe, caring, supportive families and communities

Child Abuse & Neglect

How do you report suspected child abuse or
neglect?
Call the Indiana Child Abuse & Neglect
Hotline, 24/7.

800.800.5556
Children thrive in safe, caring, supportive families and communities

Child Abuse & Neglect

Who should report?

Indiana is a mandatory reporting state. Any

person who has reason to believe a child is
being abused or neglected shall make a report
Medical professionals, teachers & law
enforcement officials have a higher duty to
report abuse or neglect
Children thrive in safe, caring, supportive families and communities

Child Abuse & Neglect

What is the purpose of the hotline?

Supports one singular purpose: to help

protect children from abuse & neglect
Provides a single point of contact for all
child abuse & neglect reports throughout
Indiana
Children thrive in safe, caring, supportive families and communities

Child Abuse & Neglect

Central point of contact for all child abuse and neglect reports
throughout Indiana
Five locations across the state:

Marion County
Saint Joseph County
Blackford County
Lawrence County
Vanderburgh County

Staffed 24/7/365 by 105 specially trained Intake Specialists:

12 weeks of training before taking reports
Children thrive in safe, caring, supportive families and communities

Child Abuse & Neglect

Reporting: Call 800.800.5556
An intake specialist:
Directs caller immediately to 911 or law enforcement
if child is in imminent danger
Listens and asks questions using intake guidance tool
Captures report information
Sends report to local county office to determine next
steps
Children thrive in safe, caring, supportive families and communities

Child Abuse & Neglect

Intake specialist will ask questions about:
Childs current safety, circumstances & identifying information
Name of Child Involved

Age of Child
Parent/Guardian/Custodians Name

Addresses & Phone Numbers

Children thrive in safe, caring, supportive families and communities

Child Abuse & Neglect

Substance Abuse Issues

Domestic Violence
Mental Health Concerns
Weapons in the Home
Always report suspected abuse even if you dont know answers to
all the questions.

Children thrive in safe, caring, supportive families and communities

Child Abuse & Neglect

After the call:
The intake specialist will use the structured decision making
tool to evaluate risks & help determine whether an assessment
is needed
A thorough review of any known child protective services
history with the family is also completed & included in the
official intake report
Intake report is sent with a recommendation to the local county
office
Children thrive in safe, caring, supportive families and communities

Child Abuse & Neglect

ACTION:
Per Indiana law, certain criteria must be met before a family
case manager can be dispatched to a home:
If the allegations meet any or all criteria, a family case
manager will be assigned to complete a thorough assessment.
Response times vary:
IMMEDIATELY/1 hour (imminent danger)
Children thrive in safe, caring, supportive families and communities

Child Abuse & Neglect

24 hours
Up to 5 days
Any calls with similar allegations to a current
assessment/open case with a family are referred to the
family case manager or supervisor for follow-up.

Children thrive in safe, caring, supportive families and communities

Child Abuse & Neglect

Non-Assessments: Calls that lack legal sufficiency
If allegations do not meet those standards, action may still take
place:
Intake specialist can refer caller to prevention services &
resources
All reports including those not assigned an assessment are
reviewed 24/7/365 by a Hotline supervisor

Children thrive in safe, caring, supportive families and communities

Child Abuse & Neglect

Local office director or the local office review team
can also check reports not assigned an assessment or
reverse a decision
Local child protection teams can review all reports for
their local community & request a decision be reversed

Children thrive in safe, caring, supportive families and communities

Child Abuse & Neglect

Impact in Helping Children:
More than 202,000 reports of child abuse or neglect
received in 2015
Calls answered promptly:
Law enforcement answered in 15 seconds (on average)
General calls answered in 21 seconds (on average)
65 percent of all calls answered in less than 8 seconds

Children thrive in safe, caring, supportive families and communities

Child Abuse & Neglect

Hotline Process:
Report source calls Hotline
Intake specialist answers phone
Intake specialist uses intake guidance
tool to gather information
Children thrive in safe, caring, supportive families and communities

Child Abuse & Neglect

Information is documented in case
management system.

Intake specialist completes

structured decision making tool.
Intake specialist makes a
recommendation.

Children thrive in safe, caring, supportive families and communities

Child Abuse & Neglect

Supervisor reviews report
Report sent to local office

Local office makes a decision to assess

or not to assess

Children thrive in safe, caring, supportive families and communities

How you can help

Report child abuse to the Hotline: 800.800.5556
Offer to help your relatives/friends/neighbors who are
under stress & may need some assistance. Perhaps you can
babysit, cook, provide transportation, mentor, etc.
Become a foster parent: Call 888.631.9510
Become an adoptive parent: Call 888.25ADOPT
Children thrive in safe, caring, supportive families and communities

How you can help

Become an adoptive parent: Call 888.25ADOPT
Purchase Kids First specialty license plate: Your
investment will help fund prevention services
Community Partners: Local number needed here

Children thrive in safe, caring, supportive families and communities

How you can help

Public Online Training and Information Course
Learn the meaning of child abuse and neglect in Indiana.
Recognize and report child abuse and neglect in Indiana.
Learn who is required to report child abuse and neglect in
Indiana.
Learn what happens once DCS receives a report of child abuse
or neglect.
Children are never protected by adult silence!
Children thrive in safe, caring, supportive families and communities

Online Reporting Training Tool

Children thrive in safe, caring, supportive families and communities

Any Questions?

Children thrive in safe, caring, supportive families and communities