Form 960 CPS History Check: Filing, Results, and Appeals

Indiana State Form 960 is the release-of-information authorization the Department of Child Services uses to get a subject’s written consent before searching its records for substantiated reports of child abuse or neglect. It travels with the actual Indiana Form 960 CPS history check request, State Form 52802, which the requesting organization completes and submits. There is no fee, and organizations can now file through an online portal instead of mailing paper. Allow at least 10 working days for results.

Who Runs This Check and Why

Indiana keeps child abuse and neglect records confidential under Indiana Code 31-33-18-1, so only authorized requestors can pull a CPS history.¹ The check is the mechanism DCS uses to release information to those requestors. Common triggers:

Employment at a childcare center, school, or other child-serving organization. Federal rules require a check before a staff member starts and at least every five years afterward.²
Foster care and adoption home studies. DCS recommends annual re-checks for licensed agency employees and volunteers.³
Volunteer roles that involve direct contact with children.
Unlicensed relative placements when DCS places a child with a relative who isn’t a licensed foster parent.
Court-ordered searches during custody or child welfare proceedings, authorized under Indiana Code 31-33-18-2.⁴

SF 52802 lists these as checkboxes — Foster Care, Adoption, Employment, Volunteer, Unlicensed Relative Placement, and Other — and the requestor marks the one that applies.⁵

Filling Out the Form

The paper request has two sections. Section A is completed by the organization requesting the check, and Section B is completed by the subject of the check. Accuracy matters at every field: DCS returns incomplete or incorrectly completed forms without processing them.⁶

Section A: The Requesting Organization

The organization fills in eight fields:⁵

Question 1 — the subject’s full legal name, exactly as it appears on a driver’s license or birth certificate.
Question 2 — the reason for the check, using the checkboxes above.
Question 3 — the requesting organization’s status: DCS-licensed, non-DCS-licensed, or another type, with the corresponding blank filled in.
Question 4 — the name of the contact person who will receive the results.
Question 5 — a phone number with area code.
Question 6 — a fax number if available.
Question 7 — the organization’s complete mailing address.
Question 8 — the contact person’s email address. This is the primary channel DCS uses to send results, so verify it before submitting.

Section B: The Subject of the Check

The person whose history is being searched completes Section B in their own hand:

Question 9 — signature consenting to the check. If the subject is a minor, a parent or legal guardian signs. Without a valid signature, DCS will not process the request.⁶
Question 10 — relationship to the subject, if a parent or guardian signed for a minor.
Question 11 — the date the form was signed.
Question 12 — gender.
Question 13 — the printed name, matching the signature in Question 9.
Question 14 — date of birth.
Question 15 — race.
Question 16 — current residential address, with city, state, and ZIP.
Question 17 — the last four digits of the Social Security number. Write “pending” if an application is in progress, or explain why none exists. Any prior SSNs held under a different name go here too.
Question 18 — every Indiana county where the subject has lived, starting with the most recent, with beginning and ending years for each. Skipping a county, even one lived in briefly, can produce an incomplete search.
Question 19 — alternate names. Mark “Yes” and complete 19a–19e if the subject has ever used a different first, middle, or last name. Maiden names, married names, and legal name changes all count.

The DCS instructions do not require notarization. A valid handwritten signature is enough to authorize the release.

Submitting the Request

DCS accepts submissions two ways: through the online CPI/CPS Portal or on paper through a local county office.

The Online Portal

The portal runs through the DCS MaGIK Gateway. Organizations already active as KidTraks vendors have immediate access from the menu bar, and Indiana school corporations are pre-registered by DCS using state education data.⁷ Everyone else completes a one-time registration through the CPI/CPS Organization Registration page.

Once registered, the flow is:

The organization clicks “Create New Request” and enters the applicant’s legal name, date of birth, last four SSN digits, email, and phone.
The applicant receives an email, logs in, completes the remaining required fields including alternate names and past addresses, and gives consent.
The organization reviews the applicant’s entries, sends them back for corrections if needed, provides organizational consent, and submits.
When results are ready, DCS emails both parties, who can then log in to view, print, or download a PDF.

For portal technical support, email support@stateofindiana.zendesk.com or call 1-800-225-9173, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST, excluding state holidays.⁷

Paper Through a Local County Office

If your organization isn’t set up for the portal, print SF 52802 from the DCS website, complete both sections, and submit it through a DCS local county office per the instructions provided with the form.⁶ Confirm every field is filled in first; incomplete paper forms come back unprocessed.

Processing Time, Results, and Cost

Allow at least 10 working days. If nothing has arrived after that, email the Central Office Background Check Unit at background.checkunit@dcs.in.gov to follow up.⁵

Portal submissions produce email notifications from KidTraks@dcs.in.gov to both the organization and the applicant, who can then log in for a summary and the full results.⁸ Paper submissions are typically returned by email to the address in Question 8, or by fax or mail if no email is available. The result indicates whether DCS records contain any substantiated reports of child abuse or neglect involving the subject. Keep a copy of everything you submitted.

For general questions about a pending submission, contact the Central Office Background Check Unit at COBCUinquiry@dcs.in.gov or 317-234-4410.⁹

DCS does not charge a fee for the check.⁶ The only out-of-pocket cost is postage if you mail a paper form. A broader screening package that adds a fingerprint-based criminal history check will carry separate fees, but the CPS history search itself is free.

Out-of-State Coverage

Indiana DCS only searches Indiana records. If the subject currently lives elsewhere but previously lived in Indiana, DCS will still run the check for those Indiana years, and out-of-state child welfare agencies can use the portal after completing the one-time registration.¹⁰

For licensed residential agencies and child-placing agencies, DCS requires a CPS history check covering Indiana and every other state where the subject lived during the past five years. Each of those other states must be contacted separately through its own child welfare agency.³

How Long Results Stay Valid

There isn’t one statewide expiration. For DCS-licensed agencies, DCS recommends annual CPS history checks for all employees, volunteers, contractors, and interns. At relicensure, if more than a year has passed since the individual’s last fingerprint-based check, the agency must run a new one.³ Federal child care licensing standards require a check at hire and at least every five years after that.² In practice, many employers treat results under a year old as current and require a fresh check beyond that.

Challenging a Substantiated Finding

If the check comes back with a substantiated finding, you can contest it through a two-step process. Both steps have hard deadlines.

Administrative Review

You have 15 calendar days from the date you receive the DCS notification to request an administrative review from the local office that handled the assessment. If the notice was mailed, you get an extra three days, for 18 calendar days total. DCS must complete the review and notify you in writing within 15 calendar days of receiving the request.¹¹

One limitation: if a court has already entered findings that support the substantiation, DCS will not conduct an administrative review. The court’s finding is binding, and the person remains on the Child Protection Index.¹¹

Administrative Appeal Hearing

If the review upholds the substantiation or your review request is denied, you can request an administrative appeal hearing. You have 30 calendar days from the date on the Notice of Right to Administrative Appeal (SF 55148) to submit the request to DCS Hearings and Appeals. Mailed requests get 33 calendar days. When the deadline falls on a day the DCS office is closed, it extends to the next business day.¹²

Miss either deadline and you forfeit the right to challenge the finding through DCS. A substantiated entry on the Child Protection Index can block you from working with children or becoming a foster or adoptive parent, so calendar the deadline the day the notice arrives.

1
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 31-33-18-1 – Confidentiality; Exceptions
2
Childcare.gov. Staff Background Checks
3
Indiana Department of Child Services. Conducting Background Checks for Licensed Residential Agencies and Child Placing Agencies
4
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 31-33-18-2 – Disclosure of Unredacted Material
5
Indiana Department of Child Services. Instructions for the Completion/Submission of Indiana Request for a Child Protection Services History Check
6
Indiana Department of Child Services. Indiana DCS Local County Offices Processing of CPS History Checks
7
Indiana Department of Child Services. CPI/CPS Portal
8
Indiana Department of Child Services. CPI/CPS Portal FAQs
9
Indiana Department of Child Services. Contact Us
10
Indiana Department of Child Services. Background Checks
11
Indiana Department of Child Services. Administrative Review Process
12
Indiana Department of Child Services. Administrative Appeal Hearings