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Yahoo
12 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Indiana DCS cut foster care in half — and now claims children are safer
Indiana's Department of Child Services faces a new round of scrutiny following the death of Zara Arnold, a child with extensive DCS history who was killed by her father. Yet, just last year, DCS celebrated drastic reductions in the foster care system and improvements in child safety. Once known for having among the highest rates of children in foster care in the country, Indiana reduced placements by 50% between 2018 and 2024. DCS attributed its 'success' to the 2018 Family First Prevention Services Act, a bipartisan federal law enacted during the first Trump administration. FFPSA defunded group home and institutional placements and created a funding stream for "prevention services" as an alternative to foster care. Yet, the interventions funded by FFPSA have been slow to roll out, both because of burdensome regulations and because such dramatic shifts in the continuum of services were never supported by data. To date, there is no evidence of improved child safety or impacts on placements. Indeed, Indiana's flagship service — the Indiana Family Preservation Services program — is described as having "0 favorable effects" by the federal clearinghouse for evidence-based programs. That did not stop DCS from asserting the exact opposite last year. In federal testimony, Deputy Director of Child Welfare Services David Reed confidently pointed to Indiana's family preservation program as 'an intervention that helps keep kids safe and out of foster care.' He further claimed to have reduced racial disparities in foster care entries by two-thirds, relying on a calculation that anyone understanding basic statistics could debunk. But Indiana did reduce its foster care population by 50% — if not through their prevention program, then how? It wasn't because Indiana had fewer concerned residents calling the hotline about suspected child maltreatment. Those numbers have barely budged, aside from a temporary drop during the pandemic, when children were out of the public eye. It also wasn't because Indiana was providing services to more families when abuse and neglect was reported — the number of families receiving services has been in steep decline since 2017. In other words, DCS did not provide more support to reduce the use of foster care. It is not intervening differently — just less. The most likely explanation is that DCS simply raised the threshold for investigating reports of maltreatment and responding to child abuse and neglect, whether through in-home services or foster care. Perhaps intervening less would be good if Indiana was previously over-investigating and over-intervening. If that's the case, then DCS should be honest about it instead of claiming that its new prevention supports keeping children safe at home and, thus, drives large-scale foster care reductions. DCS should release data about the children who previously would have received services but no longer do. Let the public evaluate whether those children should be left with no oversight. Like Zara Arnold, we know that other children continue to die of maltreatment. Children like Gwendalyn Cooksey, an 8 year-old girl with cerebral palsy and a history of physical abuse and exposure to parent drug use, who died of fentanyl poisoning in January. Or 5 year-old Kinsleigh Welty, who was starved to death in 2024 by her mother and grandmother only five months after the courts determined it was safe for her to return home from foster care. New leadership should understand how DCS cut foster care in half without evidence of more, or better, services. The public deserves to know whether the children no longer served by DCS are truly 'safe at home." Sarah Font is an associate professor of sociology and public policy at Penn State University. Emily Putnam-Hornstein is the John A. Tate Distinguished Professor for Children in Need at UNC Chapel Hill. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana foster care cuts leave children at risk | Opinion
Indianapolis Star
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Indianapolis Star
Indiana DCS cut foster care in half — and now claims children are safer
Indiana's Department of Child Services faces a new round of scrutiny following the death of Zara Arnold, a child with extensive DCS history who was killed by her father. Yet, just last year, DCS celebrated drastic reductions in the foster care system and improvements in child safety. Once known for having among the highest rates of children in foster care in the country, Indiana reduced placements by 50% between 2018 and 2024. DCS attributed its 'success' to the 2018 Family First Prevention Services Act, a bipartisan federal law enacted during the first Trump administration. FFPSA defunded group home and institutional placements and created a funding stream for "prevention services" as an alternative to foster care. Yet, the interventions funded by FFPSA have been slow to roll out, both because of burdensome regulations and because such dramatic shifts in the continuum of services were never supported by data. To date, there is no evidence of improved child safety or impacts on placements. Indeed, Indiana's flagship service — the Indiana Family Preservation Services program — is described as having "0 favorable effects" by the federal clearinghouse for evidence-based programs. That did not stop DCS from asserting the exact opposite last year. In federal testimony, Deputy Director of Child Welfare Services David Reed confidently pointed to Indiana's family preservation program as 'an intervention that helps keep kids safe and out of foster care.' He further claimed to have reduced racial disparities in foster care entries by two-thirds, relying on a calculation that anyone understanding basic statistics could debunk. But Indiana did reduce its foster care population by 50% — if not through their prevention program, then how? It wasn't because Indiana had fewer concerned residents calling the hotline about suspected child maltreatment. Those numbers have barely budged, aside from a temporary drop during the pandemic, when children were out of the public eye. It also wasn't because Indiana was providing services to more families when abuse and neglect was reported — the number of families receiving services has been in steep decline since 2017. In other words, DCS did not provide more support to reduce the use of foster care. It is not intervening differently — just less. The most likely explanation is that DCS simply raised the threshold for investigating reports of maltreatment and responding to child abuse and neglect, whether through in-home services or foster care. Perhaps intervening less would be good if Indiana was previously over-investigating and over-intervening. If that's the case, then DCS should be honest about it instead of claiming that its new prevention supports keeping children safe at home and, thus, drives large-scale foster care reductions. DCS should release data about the children who previously would have received services but no longer do. Let the public evaluate whether those children should be left with no oversight. Like Zara Arnold, we know that other children continue to die of maltreatment. Children like Gwendalyn Cooksey, an 8 year-old girl with cerebral palsy and a history of physical abuse and exposure to parent drug use, who died of fentanyl poisoning in January. Or 5 year-old Kinsleigh Welty, who was starved to death in 2024 by her mother and grandmother only five months after the courts determined it was safe for her to return home from foster care. New leadership should understand how DCS cut foster care in half without evidence of more, or better, services. The public deserves to know whether the children no longer served by DCS are truly 'safe at home."
Indianapolis Star
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Indianapolis Star
Micah Beckwith's Christian nationalism is wrong for Indiana
I had the privilege of spending an hour and a half in a room with Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, along with a couple dozen other Christian pastors. He is charming and, as far as I can tell, sincere. He is also dead wrong for Indiana. Beckwith's Christian nationalist theology is being used as an excuse to rob the people of a safety net. When I brought the safety net problem up to Beckwith, he painted a portrait of a future Indiana where the people are all well-fed and happy, because everyone who has means pitches in, generously donating to charity. This is not based in reality — even church people only give 3-4% of their income, on average. While we're at it, why not insist that churches fund and administer Medicaid, the Indiana Veterans' Home and the Department of Child Services? Perhaps youth groups could be in charge of highway repairs during the summer months? Briggs: Micah Beckwith and his Indiana DOGE bros are livin' large Also, have you noticed that not everyone goes to church? Whether Beckwith realizes it or not, he and his fellow Christian nationalists are setting up laws and preaching rhetoric that divides our middle class, ultimately setting up a two-tiered economy where White Christians of a certain variety are preferred over other citizens. In education, government and in courts of law, a so-called Christian Indiana will no longer be a place of liberty and justice for all. Let me offer an alternative. I am a Red Letter Christian, which means I start with the teachings of Jesus — sometimes printed in red — and go from there. The real litmus test of any administration's policy is the question, 'What Would Jesus Do?' Jesus began his ministry in a radical way, by proclaiming that he 'came to bring good news to the poor, proclaim release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, and to let the oppressed go free' (Luke 4:18). This is God's economics, and what is truly right for our great state.
Indianapolis Star
5 days ago
- Indianapolis Star
'She was brave': Zara's grieving mother hopes girl's killing prompts change
Zara Arnold was a "radiant little soul" whose brown eyes beamed with the wonder and curiosity of a 5-year-old. Her warmth was felt through the way she would sign, "I love you," in American Sign Language (ASL) to her mother, Tiara Finch, who is deaf. The vibration of Zara's laughter is what her mother remembers most. "Her giggle was the kind that stuck with you," Finch told IndyStar. "She was hearing, but I taught her ASL. It was the only language we used to communicate." Zara loved going to school, socializing with her friends, and dressing up as a princess. Although her life was cut short, Finch wants people to know that she made an impact. While the city struggles to understand how so many opportunities to keep Zara safe were missed, Finch wants people to also remember her daughter's smile and pureness. "She was brave in ways small and big and endlessly loved," Finch said. Her pure heart was displayed in the last words she said to her accused killer. Zara Arnold: Prosecutor looking into 'everybody' tied to 5-year-old's brutal killing, abuse Just before 11 a.m. on May 19, 2025, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police were called to a home in the 200 block of North Lasalle Street for an unresponsive 5-year-old girl. The only person in the home was Zara's father, 41-year-old Zachary Arnold. Cold to the touch and her body rigid, Zara was pronounced dead at the scene. Detectives noticed she had multiple bruises and abrasions on her arms and face. There was bruising on the side of her neck. She appeared to have dried blood on her face, and nearby in a kitchen sink was a small tank top with blood. According to a probable cause for his arrest, Arnold later admitted to choking Zara two to three times the night before and has choked her on numerous occasions before. He claimed he wasn't trying to hurt Zara, but he was fighting with his ex-girlfriend, Andrea Lopez-Figueroa, and said she made him "go crazy." Later, police found videos on Lopez-Figueroa's phone of Arnold choking Zara and using a noose around her neck. 'Why'd you hurt me? Why'd you hurt me? I love you, Dad," were the last words the 5-year-old said, according to Arnold. He was arrested and formally charged with murder. Lopez-Figueroa was charged with assisting a criminal and failure to make a report for not calling 911. Finch has been facing homelessness and is working with groups and resources to help her get back on her feet and deal with the loss of her daughter. According to court documents, the mother had not seen Zara since September of 2024. Finch left Arnold when Zara was about 10 months old after claims of abuse, and between then and now, there was a long history of court orders, custody battles, and Finch not feeling like her concerns were heard. Despite a spate of subsequent concerns about other possible abuse, a Marion County judge ordered Finch to stop contacting police and the Department of Child Services with concerns about her daughter's safety. Alongside justice in her daughter's death, Finch wants people to take note of how a system tasked with keeping her safe failed. Tiara Finch: 5-year-old Zara was tortured and killed after Indiana judge silenced mom's pleas for help Finch declined to speak to the ongoing case and is instead focusing her attention on funeral arrangements and attaining resources. She has a GoFundMe set up for funeral costs for Zara and MealTrain representatives are collecting donations for the mother. Zara Arnold will be laid to rest on June 7, 2025.
Indianapolis Star
23-05-2025
- Indianapolis Star
5-year-old Zara was tortured and killed after Indiana judge silenced mom's pleas for help
Show Caption The Indiana Department of Child Services cited Zara Arnold's father for abusing his infant daughter in 2020. But despite a spate of subsequent concerns about other possible abuse, a Marion County judge ordered the girl's mother to stop contacting police and DCS with concerns about her daughter's safety. Now, the 5-year-old Indianapolis girl is dead. Police say her father, Zachary Arnold, admitted to killing the girl in a series of brutal assaults spanning nearly 11 hours while fighting with a girlfriend who'd just broken up with him. Arnold, 41, has been charged with murder, neglect of a dependent resulting in death and invasion of privacy. His girlfriend, Andrea Lopez-Figueroa, 31, was arrested on charges of assisting a criminal and failure to report after she neglected to call 911. Zara's mother, Tiara Finch, did not respond to a request for comment. Court records filed in a years-long custody battle for Zara paint a troubling picture of ongoing abuse and multiple missed opportunities to remove the girl from her father's care. DCS complaints coincided with unsupervised visits On May 13, 2020, Finch filed for protection order against Arnold. She described five separate instances of domestic violence. The first, she wrote, happened in February 2020. Arnold had threatened to shoot her and her 3-week-old daughter. The order was granted the day after Finch applied for it. Arnold refused to sign it when it was delivered, a deputy noted on the service paperwork. Arnold filed for emergency custody of undefined. In a petition, he described Finch as 'mentally unstable' and said she was possibly living in a shelter. A custody hearing was slated for July 17, 2020, but was rescheduled because an interpreter was unavailable for Finch and Arnold, both of whom are deaf and communicate using American Sign Language. The already tumultuous relationship escalated around that time. A string of police reports described death threats, attempted break-ins, countless phone calls, and slashed tires. In August 2020, Finch got another protective order against Arnold. Arnold was charged with invasion of privacy once in September and twice in October for violating the orders barring him from contact with Finch. Finch was granted sole legal custody on Oct. 10, 2020. Arnold had visits with Zara three days per week. About a month into the custody arrangement, on Nov. 16, 2020, Zara came back from a visit with her father with a bloody lip, bruising and hand-shaped marks. Finch took Zara to the hospital and filed reports with Indianapolis police and Indiana's Department of Child Services. A DCS investigation found that Arnold had physically abused his daughter, according to court documents filed in his May 2025 murder arrest. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department told IndyStar on May 23, 2025 that the case was forwarded to the Marion County Prosecutor's Office. On Dec. 3, 2020, the court issued a protective order keeping Arnold away from Zara, finding 'that domestic or family violence has occurred sufficient to justify the issuance of this Order.' Less than two weeks later, on Dec. 16, 2020, Arnold violated the many protective orders against him and showed up at Finch's home. Finch would later tell police she froze, afraid to call for help. In January 2021, Arnold was charged with rape, stalking and invasion of privacy for his actions on that night. While presenting that case for prosecution, detectives included a police report of the Nov. 16, 2020 abuse allegation as supporting documentation. DCS's findings were not presented, a spokesperson for the prosecutor's office said. Arnold remained in jail through April of that year. The case was merged with the previous invasion of privacy charges, and he later took a deal, pleading guilty to four misdemeanors. He was sentenced to time served, probation and counseling. After his release from jail, Zara's protective order was modified to allow weekly supervised visits with her dad at a local child advocacy center. No allegations of child abuse were filed with DCS while the protective order was in place. There is no public record indicating that the substantiated abuse finding from November 2020 was ever entered into the custody case. In March 2023, Arnold was allowed unsupervised time with his daughter. That's when DCS started getting calls about Zara again. None of the six allegations made between 2023 and 2025 would ever be substantiated. 'I am terrified for my daughter's safety and I do not want her to get hurt' On May 6, 2023, Finch took Zara to the emergency room after picking her up from a visit with her father. The girl had finger-shaped bruises. A doctor agreed the marks were concerning and helped Finch make a report to DCS. Finch also gave a report to police, who told her to file a new protective order as soon as possible. 'He is extremely violent and relentless. I am terrified for my daughter's safety and I do not want her to get hurt. She does not deserve this,' Finch wrote when she filed for a protective order on Zara's behalf on May 9, 2023. Judge Amber Collins-Gebrehiwet denied the order of protection. Though Finch had brought several forms filled out at the beginning of DCS cases, she'd never requested the official case reports and therefore didn't have them available to present in court. 'The Court does not find that Mr. Arnold has physically or mentally abused or threatened Zara or Ms. Finch,' the ruling read in part. Collins-Gebrehiwet ordered Finch to stop contacting police and DCS at that hearing, according to a later document. While Zara was on a court-ordered overnight visit in July 2023, Finch disregarded the judge's order and called police for a welfare check on her daughter. Then she stopped taking her for visits altogether, adamant that the girl was unsafe. On Sept. 8, 2023, Finch was found in contempt of court for her noncompliance with the court's orders, including for calling the police on Arnold. She was ordered to pay $600 in Arnold's attorney fees as a consequence. Guardian ad litem had 'grave concerns' about Arnold receiving custody Finch lost custody in May 2024. Collins-Gebrehiwet wrote in her order that the girl's life was more stable with her father. Arnold owned a home, while Finch was temporarily staying with a relative. Arnold worried that Zara didn't get adequate nutrition with her mom, who often fed the girl McDonald's. The court was concerned about her mother's mental health, citing unsubstantiated abuse allegations and "paranoia." "The Court has serious concerns Mother continually taking Zara to the hospital and telling the doctors she has been abused will have a negative (effect) on Zara the older she becomes," Collins-Gebrehiwet wrote. Zara's legal advocate, who had joined the proceedings in October 2023, recommended joint custody. Though she was also concerned about Finch's mental health, she said she had "grave concerns" if Arnold was granted primary custody, believing that Zara and her mother would be kept apart. The judge chose to grant Arnold primary custody. Zara's mother was to have three weekends per month with her daughter, but by the time police interviewed her after Arnold's arrest she said she hadn't seen her in months. In an October 2024 letter, Finch wrote that Arnold hadn't let her see her daughter. Arnold, meanwhile, told the court in December 2024 that Finch hadn't shown for visits and hadn't paid child support. The most recent hearing in the years-long custody case was held four days before Zara's death, on May 15, 2025. The judge's ruling hadn't yet been released at the time of Zara's death. 'The death of a child in the justice system is heartbreaking for the judge, the staff, the lawyers, the court volunteers and all those who interacted with the child's case," a statement released by Collins-Gebrehiwet read. "The people involved are not just cases to the judges and staff, they are community members who are relying on the courts. The pain felt by the loss of any court-involved child is enormous.' Indiana's judicial rules bar judges from talking about specific cases, a court representative said. A paralegal for DCS said the agency is barred from releasing any records related to Zara due to the ongoing criminal proceedings.
