John Broden

By the time Travis Thieneman discovered that his girlfriend was pregnant with his child, the two had already split up. The 26-year-old southern Indiana man says he was worried enough about their infant that he called the state’s child abuse hot...

A growing number of those involved in protecting Indiana’s children are alarmed at the quiet revamping of the state’s Department of Child Services — changes they say too often result in a reluctance to act appropriately on reports of...

The online photos of Indiana children waiting to be adopted are heartbreaking, the brief descriptions containing clues to the difficulties these wards of the state have already known. “Toby just learned how to swim, and would gladly take your...

At 3:30 in the morning of April 4, two South Bend police officers responded to a neighbor's call about a young boy standing outside, yelling for his mother. "Upon arrival at the address I observed that the front door to the residence was open and not...

SOUTH BEND -- Parents, grandparents and a pastor waited their turns. A judge, the president of a local agency and school social workers waited to speak, too. But as they told their stories Thursday night to two legislators who are studying ways to...

On Thursday morning, legislators tasked with recommending solutions to issues plaguing Indiana's Department of Child Services will sit down in a government conference room and begin their work of balancing politics with policy. Perhaps some of them won't...

Members of a study committee appointed earlier this year to investigate growing concerns over Indiana's Department of Child Services wrapped up their work Tuesday, generally calling for more oversight of abuse and neglect reports and of the agency itself....

Debra Blacklaw says she couldn’t believe what she was hearing when a local Department of Child Services supervisor told her it is possible the man who had repeatedly beaten her 8-year-old grandson will retain his parental rights. When Blacklaw...

SOUTH BEND - The St. Joseph County Democratic Party on Wednesday called on the local Republican Party to withdraw its support of U.S. Senate candidate Richard Mourdock, after comments he made about rape and abortion during a televised debate. “I...

Dozens of frustrated parents and social workers hope state lawmakers will take their advice on how to fix Indiana's Department of Child Services. They packed a meeting in South Bend, Thursday night, and for some it was their only opportunity to share...

State Sen. John Broden, chair of St. Joseph County’s Democratic Party, has announced a caucus to elect a new trustee to serve Penn Township. The caucus will be at 5:30 p.m. July 26 at the Knights of Columbus on West 1st Street in downtown...

MISHAWAKA -- The job of restoring the public's trust in the office of the Penn Township trustee has been handed to a former state government consultant. The township's Democrat precinct committee members Thursday elected Janet Whitfield-Hyduk to...