INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An Indianapolis couple whose 3-year-old daughter died in foster care have notified the Indiana Department of Child Services that they intend to sue the agency for wrongful death.

Miyanna Chowning died Dec. 31 of pneumonia, with a seizure caused by cerebral palsy as a contributing factor, said Alfarena Ballew, Marion County's chief deputy coroner.

Parents Michael Chowning and Shawanna Lacy state in a tort claim notice that DCS placed their daughter with foster parents not qualified or able to provide adequate care. They also accuse the agency of failing to properly monitor Miyanna's care, allowing the child to develop the breathing and lung problem that caused her death.

"The death of Miyanna Chowning was caused by the negligence of DCS," the claim states.

DCS spokeswoman Susan Tielking said the agency has forwarded the claim to the attorney general's office, which represents state agencies in lawsuits.

Tielking said confidentiality regulations barred her from discussing details of the case or disclosing the identity of the foster parents.

The foster parents were not named in the claim.

Attorney Patrick Baker, who represents Chowning and Lacy, said Miyanna should never have been taken from them.

Baker said DCS never alleged any abuse or mistreatment of Miyanna and left another child in the couple's care. He said DCS removed Miyanna because the girl had lost weight, but he noted she had cerebral palsy and mental, developmental and other health problems.

Instead of placing Miyanna where her medical needs could be met, DCS placed her with overwhelmed foster parents who weren't capable of providing the care she required, Baker said.

"It is my understanding that there were seven or eight other kids, at least some of them foster children, in the home," Baker said.

Filing a tort claim is the first step in the process to seek damages from a government agency. If the state does not approve the claim within 90 days, the complaining party has two years to file a lawsuit. The notices do not state a specific amount of damages being sought.

It's the second such notice filed against DCS since May in connection with a Marion County foster child death. Randi Linden also has said she intends to sue DCS, contending her daughter, 7-week-old Destiny, also was improperly removed before her death April 29, eight days after being placed in a foster home.

The cause of Destiny's death remains undetermined pending test results, but Ballew, the deputy coroner, has said it appeared to result from the child sleeping in an unsafe position.

At least four Marion County children have died since November while under DCS supervision.

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Information from: The Indianapolis Star, http://www.indystar.com