INDIANAPOLIS — Hoosiers who want to remain anonymous when reporting child abuse suspicions to the Indiana Department of Child Services don’t have a right to sue the state when that confidentiality is breached, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled this week.

The decision arose from a lawsuit filed by a Lawrence County family, referred to as the Does, against the DCS.

According to court documents, John Doe lived in Oolitic with his wife and three children. He often drove children to church on Wednesdays.

During those rides, he came to suspect that some of the youth, who were living in five homes, could be victims of child abuse. He called the DCS hotline and talked with a staffer. As the conversation ended, Doe was asked for his name.

He was hesitant in giving it but was told by the DCS worker that “it was confidential. Nobody will find out.” He gave his name to the staffer.

A few days later, a neighbor was on his lawn waving a DCS report, which had Doe’s name unredacted. Word reportedly spread around the small town, and the Does were labeled “snitches.” One of the Does’ children, they claimed, was bullied at school.

The Does sued the DCS.

The Indiana Supreme Court ruled Thursday in favor of the department while also reprimanding it for release of Doe’s name.

Indiana law prohibits DCS from identifying people who report abuse but, as written, doesn’t guarantee a person the right to sue or take action if that confidentiality is breached. The law is written to protect children, not those who report abuse, the ruling says.

Although the court doesn’t condone DCS’s “thoughtless fumbling of sensitive information,” Indiana law concerning the child abuse reporting system doesn’t allow for a citizen to sue, according to the ruling written by Chief Justice Loretta Rush.

In part, the ruling reads: “Child-abuse reporters are DCS’s eyes and ears on the front lines of the fight to protect children, and without their trust and cooperation, DCS faces a nearly impossible uphill battle. 

“Knowing this, our General Assembly might choose to impose a right of action, just as it has for Hoosiers falsely accused of child abuse,” the ruling reads.