The number of children dying in Indiana due to circumstances other than natural causes continues to decline, according to the Indiana Department of Health’s latest review of child fatality data.
State lawmakers heard the annual presentation on child fatalities Tuesday. The Indiana Department of Health presented data that is evaluated by the child fatality review committee. The data review includes child deaths that are sudden, ones that are assessed by the Indiana Department of Child Services, or are deemed homicides, suicides or accidents.
It only includes children who are 17 years old and younger.
In 2025, there were 262 external injury deaths of children, which is down from 302 deaths in 2024. Child deaths have continued to go down every year since 2021 when 362 deaths were recorded.
Between 2021 and 2025, there were 1,629 deaths that were caused by external injury. Of that total number of deaths over the past five years, the leading cause of death across all age groups was sudden unexpected infant death, or SUID, accounting for 455 deaths. SUID includes sudden infant death syndrome or accidental suffocation when sleeping.
Lindsay Weaver is the state health commissioner for the Indiana Department of Health. She told lawmakers that recommendations moving forward include the continued distribution of safe sleep materials and expanded organizational education to provide information to families.
“So that when that exhausted mom is making a decision about where to put the baby in the middle of the night, and many of us have been there, or dad or grandma, it doesn't matter whoever it is, that it's just so ingrained in your system, it's like putting on a seatbelt,” Weaver said.
Transportation accidents were the next biggest reason at 293 deaths, followed by homicides at 252 deaths.
For children ages 1-4, drowning was the most common injury death, and for children ages 10-14 suicide was the most common reason for death. For children ages 15-17, transportation accidents were the biggest reason, followed by suicide.
Of the child fatalities over the five years, 58% were white children while 28% were Black children. That represents a disproportionate amount of child fatalities in the state compared to Indiana’s total Black child population being only 11%.
Weaver also suggested expanding local water safety programs and the state’s “Handle with Care” program, where first responders can notify a child’s school when they’ve been at the scene of a traumatic event. She said more work should be done to train first responders to recognize that need.
The Indiana Department of Child Services also presented data to the study committee on child deaths that they specifically investigate involving alleged abuse or neglect. DCS could report only 2024 data, as it is still finalizing 2025 data.
Of the 276 child fatality investigations conducted by DCS in 2024, 59 of those were due to abuse or neglect. Out of those 59 deaths, neglect was the primary reason for the child’s death over physical abuse. 71% of them were children under the age of three.
Preliminary data for 2025 presented by DCS on Tuesday showed that 28 child deaths were caused by abuse or neglect.
Biological parents are found to be the primary perpetrators of the child’s death in abuse and neglect cases. For abuse cases, the next common perpetrator is a parent’s partner.
Harmony Gist, chief of staff at DCS, said during Tuesday’s meeting that 85% of the cases that DCS deals with have substance abuse disorders involved in the family dynamics of the case.
Gist said many of those needing substance abuse treatment are referred to mental health centers run by the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration. She also acknowledged that getting people help can come down to opportunity and time.
“Everything has to match up, so you have to have a parent willing and able to go, then you have to have an open bed or an opportunity for the resource to be available at that same time,” Gist told lawmakers.
Former DCS director Adam Krupp also attended Tuesday’s meeting and urged lawmakers to seriously consider legislation that would designate DCS family caseworkers as first responders.
A bill was introduced earlier this year that would have included that change, but it did not move out of committee.
Krupp said if Indiana moved to make that distinction, it would be the first in the nation to do so, and could unlock mental health resources for those workers.
Gist also supports including DCS caseworkers under the first responder designation and says that when they are called to a scene, they often do the work alongside EMTs, firefighters and law enforcement.
“We make the decisions together as a unit to decide who's going to do what, who's going to gather the information, and who's going to sit with the family and who's going to do the interviews. There is no differentiation between us at the scene,” Gist said.
The lawmakers on the Child Services Interim Study Committee did not mention any specific changes they want to make during the meeting, but they are expected to deliver recommendations ahead of the next legislative session.
Contact WFYI Government Reporter Caroline Beck at cbeck@wfyi.org.
