DCS Ombudsman Staff
Director
Director Susan Hoppe assumed the position of the first DCS Ombudsman in December 2009. She brings over 30 years of Child Welfare experience to her role, serving in a variety of capacities. Director Hoppe worked at the local level in Marion County, Indiana as a child protection service caseworker, supervisor, assistant manager of the Marion County Child Advocacy Center, and CPS Division manager. She served as a child welfare policy consultant with DCS’s predecessor agency where she authored sections of the Child Welfare Manual and promulgated the regulation requiring training for foster parents. Ms. Hoppe has also been employed as a custody evaluator for the Marion County Courts. She holds a BS from Northern Illinois University and an MS from Butler University. She is a licensed social worker, a certified forensic counselor and an active member of the United States Ombudsman Association.
Assistant Ombudsman
Jessica Shanabruch is native to the Indianapolis area. She graduated from Bishop Chatard High School and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from IUPUI in 2011. She was hired as an assistant ombudsman in August 2011 and divided her time between the DCS Ombudsman and the DOC Ombudsman offices. She began working for the DCS Ombudsman full time in March 2012.
Jeffrey Gates grew up in Crown Point, Indiana, and attended Lake Central High School. After high school, Jeffrey chose to attend Indiana University, where he split his time between his studies and serving as a resident assistant. Jeffrey graduated from Indiana in 2009 with bachelor’s degrees in Criminal Justice and English. After college, Jeffrey attended Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis, Indiana. During this time, Jeffrey worked as a law clerk at a successful Indianapolis law firm, in both the social security disability and personal injury departments. Jeffrey graduated from law school and was admitted to the Indiana Bar in 2012. He joined the DCS Ombudsman Bureau in September 2012 as an assistant ombudsman.
