INDIANAPOLIS — A new law will take effect July 1 aimed at reducing the amount of time children spend in the state’s child welfare system.
WRTV Investigates has been telling you about new efforts to better protect children, including our special report “Kids in Our Care: Pressing for Change.”
On average, children spend more than a year in the child welfare system, but it’s closer to three years for children who get adopted.
That statistic proved accurate for Abbe Fritz of Carmel— their adopted children spent three years in Indiana’s child welfare system.
Fritz and her husband adopted two siblings, a brother and sister, from the child welfare system.
“At times, it’s daunting and unbearable,” said Fritz of the experience. “It’s pure hell. It’s constant chaos, fear, emotional trauma and they don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Fritz said the case dragged on because the biological mother struggled with drugs and had trouble following court-ordered services.
"Our kids experienced inconsistencies with visitation schedules; they experienced a revolving door of case managers, a revolving door of social workers who were in and out of their lives," said Fritz.
A new law, House Enrolled Act 1605, sets up stricter timelines for birth parents.
"It will provide guardrails,” said Fritz. “It will provide more accountability, and it will get kids into a loving home much more quickly."
A permanent safe home can mean reunification with the birth parents, legal guardianship, or adoption.
Data obtained by WRTV Investigates shows the majority of cases end in reunification.
In April 2025, 61% ended in reunification, 13% resolved in guardianship, and 26% were adoptions, according to DCS data.
Right now, the Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS) or a child’s court-appointed advocate are the only ones allowed to file for a termination of parental rights, according to child advocate Braelynn Yerington.
"Without it, everyone just sort of sits, including the child," said Yerington.
When HEA 1605 takes effect July 1, foster parents and kinship caregivers will also be able to file for termination of parental rights.
"Those folks will now have a greater voice in the courtroom and be able to advocate for the child's best interest,” said Yerington.
Yerington founded the advocacy group Champions for Children and spent countless hours pushing for the legislation.
Multiple people testified against HB1605, including Michael Moore from the Indiana Public Defender Council and Courtney Allen, an attorney in Morgan County.
“The bill is not the answer,” said Allen. “Adding another party to file a termination is unnecessary and quite honestly concerning when that party may not necessarily have reunification in mind. If we have concerns that DCS is not acting in the best interest of a child, if DCS isn’t going to do their jobs, then we need to address the entire DCS system as a whole.”
Opponents to the legislation raised concerns about protecting the rights of biological parents as well as the potential impact on federal funding for DCS.
Yerington emphasizes that the law focuses on parents who are not meeting requirements and are not cooperative with court orders.
“There is a point where we have to move on for the child's sake, for the taxpayer's sake, for the system's sake, which is already overburdened,” said Yerington.
Yerington said HEA 1605 will also address the state’s fentanyl crisis and the impact on child abuse and neglect.
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“If there’s fentanyl in that home, if there’s methamphetamine in that home, then that child is a child in need of services, which means they become a ward of the state,” said Yerington. “It ensures that the state can keep an eye on the situation.”
Abbe Fritz says DCS never filed for termination of parental rights in her children’s case, so she and her husband had to hire a lawyer to file for a contested adoption— a costly, difficult legal process.
HEA 1605 will give foster parents like Abbe Fritz more options, and supporters say, decrease the time to a loving home.
"It undoubtedly would have helped our case,” said Fritz. “It does have a provision that would allow foster parents to intervene in a case and have more of a voice. A voice for these kids."
Several other pieces of legislation moved forward this session. The Governor signed the following bills on May 1:
- House Bill 1412 requires law enforcement to investigate failure to report allegations involving a volunteer or staff member at a school, daycare, gym, hospital or another institution
- House Bill 1273 creates a child welfare task force to study and report on the issues
A bill that would have forced the state to reveal more about child abuse and neglect deaths failed to advance this legislative session.
