Photo: Noah Coffey (Flickr)
The bill passed a Senate committee this week.
Lawmakers say they are hoping proposed legislation that would create a state Commission on Children’s Issues will do more than just make another level of bureaucracy. The commission would oversee Indiana’s 31 boards, commissions, committees and agencies that deal in some way with children’s issues.
Senate Minority Leader Tim Lanane, a cosponsor of the bill, says the intent is to create accountability for the Department of Child Services.
“Just by virtue of the fact that the legislature has committed to doing this, I think there’s going to be the will to make sure that it doesn’t just turn into a bureaucracy,” Lanane says.
And Markle Republican Senator Travis Holdman, another cosponsor, says the commission may actually end up reducing bureaucracy.
“One of the things we’ll be looking at is an attempt to consolidate some of those boards and commissions that deal with children’s issues and get at the heart of the problem.”
The bill passed a Senate committee this week and both Holdman and Lanane expect the bill to move quickly through the legislature without significant holdups.
