Joseph Combs Email & Phone Number

My background is rich in Child Welfare, Mental Health and Addictions, and Social Services. I have a Masters of Social Work with an emphasis in Child Welfare leadership. I have also worked with hospice, residential treatment, individual therapy, and mental health and addictions.I obtained my employment with the State of Indiana in 2004 where I worked as a Family Case Manager assisting families to reach their goals and dreams while creating a safe and nurturing environment for their children. In 2006, I specialized in Child Fatality, Near Fatality, and Medical Fragile children. Soon after, in 2007, I accepted a Supervisor position over the case services Child Fatality Team where I served until 2009 when I was offered a Local Office Director (LOD) position in the Grant County Department of Child Services office.As a LOD, I was charged with overseeing the local office and it's implementation of our daily operations. This included, but not limited to, budgeting, training, decision making in regards to Child Protective Services assessments, ensuring that the Indiana Practice Model was followed and honored, and partnering with the community to ensure best practice for the children involved with Child Welfare. In September of 2012, I was offered a position on the Executive Team of the Indiana Department of Child Services as the Assistant Deputy Director of the Permanency and Practice Supports division (PPS) where I served until November of 2017 when I became the Deputy Director of PPS. In this current role, I oversee and assist the state's Child Welfare policy creation and implementation, special initiatives, educational liaisons, clinical consultants, Permanency Roundtables, Safety Roundtables, Adoptions, Guardianship programs, and other programs that aid in permanency for all children that are currently WARDS of the State of Indiana.Specialties: Child Fatality Investigations and Services for SurvivorsGrief and LossChild WelfareGovernment/AdministrationMental Health and Addictions