INDIANA – The House Family, Children, and Human Affairs Committee held a hearing on January 30 to discuss House Bill 1273, authored by Representative DeVon, which aims to establish a Child Welfare Task Force. The bill, which passed unanimously with a 10-0 vote, seeks to improve child welfare services across Indiana by studying the needs of these services and assessing their quality.
As outlined in the bill, the task force will focus on evaluating child welfare service providers throughout the state and exploring methods to measure and enhance the quality of the services provided. The task force must submit reports detailing their findings and recommendations by October 15, 2026, and October 15, 2027.
Additionally, the bill mandates that the interim study committee on child services review the reports submitted by the task force in 2026 and 2027 to ensure continued focus on improving child welfare in Indiana.
Several organizations testified in support of HB 1273 during the hearing, including the Indiana Association of Resources and Child Advocacy, Firefly Children and Family Alliance, Bashor Children’s Home, National Youth Advocate Program, Indiana Association of Education for Young Children, Villages of Indiana, and Family Ark.
Supporters of the bill emphasized the importance of an ongoing, structured approach to improving the state’s child welfare system, particularly as demand for services continues to rise.
The bill now moves forward in the legislative process. For more information, the full text of HB 1273 is available at https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2025/bills/house/1273.
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