Child Services agency releases 2019 child fatality report

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The number of Indiana children who died from neglect or abuse totaled 61 in 2019, down four from the previous year, the state Department of Child Services said in a report released Thursday.

Eighteen of the deaths were due to abuse and 43 were due to neglect, the department said in its 2019 Annual Report of Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities in Indiana.

The report detailed 11 unsafe sleep-related deaths in which a caregiver was determined to have been neglectful.

Lack of supervision was cited in 10 death investigations: Caregivers were found responsible in seven drownings, and three children died after they or another child got ahold of an unsecured gun.

Marion County had 13 child fatalities caused by abuse or neglect, more than any other county.

DCS is legally required to review all child deaths that involve allegations of neglect or abuse and, if the child is under 1 year of age, a death that is sudden, unexpected or unexplained.