INDIANAPOLIS — What began as a quiet afternoon by a pond for DeOnda Hawkins and her children has turned into a desperate legal battle against the Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS).
DeOnda, a mother of seven, claims her five youngest children were unlawfully removed from her care in September 2025 in an incident she describes as a series of failures and falsified information.
The Removal: “No Paperwork, No Court Order”The incident occurred on September 2, 2025, at a Castleton apartment where DeOnda was staying with her mother. DeOnda says she was approached by DCS Case Manager Shakayla A. Whitley, who claimed the family was “homeless.”…