INDIANAPOLIS -- More than half of all children removed by Indiana’s Department of Child Services in 2016 were removed because of parental substance abuse, according to the Indiana Youth Institute's Kids Count in 2017 data book.
The report also shows that Indiana’s children are more likely to be victims of poverty and maltreatment than their peers nationally.
The data is compiled from hundreds of national and statewide sources to paint a picture of what it’s like to be a child in the Hoosier state.
According to the report, the state’s child abuse and neglect rates have risen steadily since 2011. In 2015, 17 out of every 1,000 kids in the state of Indiana, were victims of abuse.
Hoosier teens also report higher levels of dating violence and suicidal ideation than in many other states.
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