An Indiana Mom Left Her Kids Home for an Hour. Her Husband's Ex-Wife Called Child Services.

After her husband’s ex repeatedly called child protective services over harmless parenting decisions, Hannah Bright is advocating for a new law to protect families from weaponized reporting.

Since this summer, Indiana mom of three and stepmom of two Hannah Bright has had three calls made to child protective services about her by her husband's ex-wife—all for activities that posed no danger to the kids.

Weaponized reporting refers to using a reporting mechanism with malicious intent rather than for its legitimate purpose. Calls to child protective services can easily be used to harass parents. In Bright's case, her stepchildren's mother alerted authorities that four of the kids—aged 10, 9, 7, and 7—were left unsupervised for about an hour.

Bright and her husband married last year and live in Columbus, Indiana (incidentally, the safest small city in America). When she was a single mom of three, Bright had to juggle multiple jobs, school schedules, and day care on her own. Her kids often had to help out, and Bright saw how capable they were. She trusted them to stay home with their stepsiblings for a short time.

In July, Bright was informed that the Department of Child Services (DCS) had received a call claiming the children were left home alone, that her 9-year-old daughter had exposed herself to the others, that the kids were roughhousing, and that there was sexual abuse by an "unknown" perpetrator—a serious allegation if there had been any evidence.

Bright and her husband had indeed left the kids home alone when they went out to dinner less than a mile away. While the children were playing, the 9-year-old evidently mooned her siblings. Anyone who grew up with siblings likely finds that unremarkable.

As for the sexual abuse? "That was made up out of whole cloth," says Bright.

When the DCS caseworker asked to interview the kids, Bright refused. For nine years, Bright has been a Court Appointed Special Advocate—a volunteer trained to advocate for children in foster care during court actions brought by DCS—so she was aware of her rights.

The caseworker did interview the two stepkids at their mom's home. Two months later, DCS closed the case as "unsubstantiated," concluding that while the kids are left unsupervised for short periods, "it is not excessive or inappropriate for their age/developmental levels." They found no evidence of sexual abuse.

Soon after, the kids were riding their bikes to a friend's house about half a mile away when a police officer stopped them and asked if they knew where they lived and whether their parents knew where they were. When the kids said yes, the officer replied, "fine," and moved on.

When the ex-wife learned the police had stopped the kids, she called DCS to report that the Columbus police were now involved with the family.

Again, DCS called Bright and said they needed to interview her children. Bright refused again. "We've been very clear," Bright told the caseworker. "This was malicious. We are not a family in need of services. You have plenty of families who are. As a volunteer with the courts, I know what you see and deal with—you are wasting your time."

After this incident, Bright emailed Let Grow, the nonprofit I helm, which promotes childhood independence, including the Reasonable Childhood Independence law that has been passed in 11 states to date. Multiple Indiana representatives are now working on their own bill, which is expected to be introduced by the end of the year.

The law clarifies that "neglect" applies only when a parent places their child in obvious and serious danger, not any time they take their eyes off their kids. Parents are allowed to decide when their kids can stay home alone for a time or when they can be out of the house.

Bright knew parents like her needed more legal protection. Even when a parent wants to give their kids reasonable freedom, they often worry about "trust in one's kids being mistaken— deliberately or otherwise—for neglect."

A 2023 study by the University of Michigan found that 17 percent of American parents believe state or local laws don't allow children to be alone. 

"When families are afraid that a neighbor, ex-spouse or even a stranger can make an anonymous call that upends their lives, it creates a chilling effect," Bright wrote. "Parents are afraid to let their kids play outside or take a walk by themselves because they are terrified they will be reported to DCS or the police."

Shortly after interviewing Bright, I received another email from her: less than five minutes after we hung up, another DCS agent was at her house. "[The ex-wife] called again," she wrote.

A change in the law won't stop all vengeful ex-spouses from misusing the DCS hotline. But as Let Grow's legal consultant Diane Redleaf notes, "A tighter neglect law will send a message to parents that they are on solid ground when they let their kids have some 'alone' time." Redleaf adds that it will also "help agencies prioritize their precious resources for the kids who truly need state intervention to protect them."

 Even before Bright's story came to their attention, the need for a Reasonable Childhood Independence law in Indiana was apparent to the expected cosponsors of the forthcoming bill, Rep. Jake Teshka (R–North Liberty) and Rep. Victoria Wilburn (D–Fishers). They're now also working with Bright's own legislator, Rep. Ryan Lauer (R–Columbus).

Bright, gearing up for another round of DCS questioning, is not unsympathetic to her stepkids' mother. "I feel sorry for her sometimes," Bright said. "She genuinely believes the kids are in danger of being kidnapped if we leave them here for an hour while we go to dinner."

A Reasonable Childhood Independence law could help make the safest small city in America even safer—from vengeful ex-spouses and weaponized reporting.