Elizabeth Funk
A former family case manager for Indiana’s child-welfare agency faces numerous charges, including official misconduct and falsifying records involving child abuse or neglect.
Elizabeth Funk, 57, of 4960 W. County Road 600N., a former case manager in Bartholomew County for the Indiana Department of Child Services, is accused of falsifying multiple “311” reports, the initial assessment made for allegations of child abuse or neglect, according to court documents.
She is accused of one Level 6 felony county of ghost employment, three counts of Level 6 felony official misconduct, a Class A misdemeanor county of knowingly falsifying records or interfering with an investigation and a Class A misdemeanor count of theft, court documents state.
Funk was initially held on $25,000 bond at the Bartholomew County Jail, but was released and her 10% bond amount was returned to her upon request by her attorney, according to court records.
She is scheduled for a change of plea hearing in Bartholomew Superior Court 1 at 11 a.m. April 4 and her jury trial is set for April 19, according to court records.
In a probable cause affidavit filed by the Indiana Office of the Inspector General, investigators said Funk served as a case manager in the Bartholomew County DCS office, 4445 Ray Boll Blvd., Suite A, from May 20, 2019 until she was terminated on or about Jan. 29, 2020 for “falsifying ‘311’ assessments related to child abuse/neglect investigations,” according to court records.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the allegations filed in court indicate Funk wrote in an assessment report that she had done an interview in a child neglect case that investigators later determined had not occurred.
Investigators also documented Funk’s travel vouchers and determined that on some occasions, the vouchers and her reports did not coincide, according to the affidavits.
According to the investigator’s report, information gathered indicated Funk intentionally falsified child abuse or neglect information or records by making false entries in the state’s electronic management system and “311” assessment reports, the court affidavits state.
Investigators also allege Funk exerted unauthorized control over DCS funds during her work, falsely claiming travel expenditures for a trip she did not make, court affidavits state.
Funk is also accused of accepting state funds for the performance of duties not related to the operation of DCS between Sept. 2019 and January 2020 when she is accused of falsifying entries about contact visits with families, according to the court affidavits.
