INDIANAPOLIS — WRTV Investigates has learned a staff shakeup is underway at the Indiana Department of Child Services— the state agency tasked with investigating allegations of child abuse and neglect.
A DCS spokesperson confirmed 23 employees were terminated from the agency this week.
A total of 75 positions were impacted by staffing changes, including retirements, resignations, not filling vacant positions, and transferring people into new positions, said DCS spokesperson Ron Green.
WRTV Investigates also spoke with several former DCS workers who said they were told January 5 was their last day with the agency.
The ex-employees said the eliminated positions included project managers, research analysts, consultants who provided support to family case managers, as well as child fatality investigators.
WRTV has asked DCS for a complete list of roles that were eliminated from the agency, and we are still waiting for the information.
The former employees told WRTV that the cuts primarily impacted the Central office in Indianapolis and include areas such as education, safety, quality, research, permanency and kinship.
As part of Project Awaken, DCS whittled its 18 geographic regions down to five.
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DCS provided the following statement:
“Six months into Project Awaken—our multi-year initiative to transform DCS to better serve children and families—we have identified new operational efficiencies, leading to a restructuring of certain administrative functions and roles. We want to clarify that these changes are strictly limited to office and support functions; no positions responsible for direct child safety or frontline casework have been impacted. These steps ensure that our agency remains focused on its core mission while operating as effectively as possible.”
Some former DCS employees said they’re concerned the cuts will impact the safety of children in Indiana.
In our WRTV Investigates special, “Kids in Our Care: Pressing for Change”, we told you that in fiscal year 2024, the turnover rate was 37% among family case managers, up from 33% in 2023.
Last year, WRTV Investigates asked new DCS Director Adam Krupp what the current turnover numbers are.
“Our turnover rate is still in the same range,” said Krupp. “We simply haven’t had enough time to make a meaningful impact on that."
Krupp said he’s been working to improve retention and turnover by meeting with family case managers across the state.
“I’ve been to 54 offices and sat down with our staff, and I have many more to go,” said Krupp in August 2025.
Krupp says since he took office, they’ve filled more than 100 family case manager positions.
"We removed layers of upper management,” said Krupp. “We eliminated some things from the back office so we could focus our efforts and our resources to the front office. I’m much closer to the family case managers who are working on the front lines than I was in January, by several layers of management.”
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