Blue pinwheels decorated the lawn along Highway 20 in Michigan City. Demonstrators set up outside of the La Porte County Division of Family Resources office Monday afternoon to raise awareness of child abuse prevention month.
The light rain falling on the small group led by Jenna Hullett didn't extinguish the grieving mother's passion or pain. Bringing photos and signs for justice, Hullett honored four-year-old murder victim Judah Morgan, who was tortured for months over potty training issues by the hands of his own biological parents before being discovered dead on October 11, 2021, in rural Hamlet.
Hullett raised Judah for the first three years of his life in a foster kinship placement arrangement. Her heart was broken when he was taken away by DCS and placed with his biological parents on April 7, 2021. Judah would never make it out of the six-month home trial that was supposed to be supervised by LaPorte County DCS.
Driving an hour from her Knox home, Hullett hopes to continue to keep heat on the department that, she says, is directly responsible for the death of her little boy. Getting attention from honking passersby and several news outlets, an office security guard also stood by for more than two hours to watch the peaceful protest.
Hullett said the fight is far from over. She wants to prevent what happened to Judah from happening to other children and her family continues to push for a reform for the Department of Child Services.
Since Judah's death, severals laws have been passed, including House Bill 1247 that was directly inspired by his case, as well as Senate Bill 410, also known as 'Judah's Law,' that gives kinship placement caregivers the right to intervene on a TPR case.
Although it's too little too late for Judah, Hullett said even if her efforts saved just one kid, it would be worth it.
Anyone who suspects a child is being abused or neglected is urged to call the Indiana Department of Child Services' Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline at 1-800-800-5556. Reports can be made 24-hours a day, seven days a week and the caller can be anonymous.
