INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – The Indiana Supreme Court says the state's child welfare agency went too far when it took custody of a woman's five children when she had trouble making ends meet during one child's medical crisis.

The justices ruled unanimously that not all special-needs children of low-income parents need to be taken from their families.

The justices reversed an appeals court decision and said there's no evidence the Department of Child Services had to take the children. The agency acknowledged the woman had “done her best'' to take care of her four children at home and another child in an Indianapolis hospital.

A DCS hearing found the woman “needed help.”

The justices say such a situation would strain any parent, but that doesn't mean the state has to intervene.