INDIANAPOLIS — Sixty Hoosier children died from abuse or neglect in 2021, the Department of Child Services said in a report released Friday evening.
The Indiana Department of Child Services said they were called to investigate 271 child fatalities in which abuse or neglect was suspected to be a factor.
They determined 60 of those fatalities were a direct result of caregiver maltreatment.
Those 60 deaths mark an increase of 10 more deaths due to abuse or neglect in the state than were reported in 2020, when 50 children died due to abuse or neglect.
(NOTE: The video above is a previous report about the death of Nakota Kelly, a 10-year-old boy who died in July 2020.)
Of the total fatalities covered by this report, DCS said 22 deaths were due to abuse and 38 were due to neglect. In 67% of the 60 fatalities, the victim was 3 years old or younger. Meanwhile, 24 of the fatalities covered in the report were determined to be accidental, while 24 were declared homicides. The manner of death in eight of the fatalities was listed as unknown/could not be determined. Three fatalities were deemed the result of natural causes.
Allen County recorded the state's highest number of child fatalities, and saw 11 caused by abuse or neglect in 2021.
Fifteen of the 60 victims included in the report were previous victims of substantiated abuse or neglect.
Two of those 15 had history only in other states, not Indiana. Of the 60 victims, 27 children were female and 33 were male.
Similarly to 2021, death by weapon — which includes a body part like a closed fist — was the most common cause of death. That was listed in 22 of the cases as the primary factor. DCS obtains the manner of death from state death certificates.
In 63% of cases, the death occurred in the victim's own home. The victim's biological parents were often deemed responsible for the child fatalities detailed in this report, accounting for 73% of the 73 alleged perpetrators.
Some cases cite multiple perpetrators as responsible for the death of the same child. In some cases, caregiver stressors were determined to play a role in the death of a child. Substance abuse, insufficient income and unemployment were frequently cited as stress factors among caregivers.
This year's report marked the first time DCS was mandated by the state to report if a deceased child had a previous or ongoing history with DCS, and the location and status of the child at the time of death. The agency also had to indicate whether a child had an open case with DCS at the time of their death.
The report also included the number of previous unsubstantiated assessments for victims, and the number of previous substantiated assessments for victims.
13News reached out to DCS for clarification on what those categories meant, but did not get a response before publication.
You can read the full report here.