COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — ABC 6/FOX 28 is seeking answers following the deaths of at least five Franklin County children in just over a year.
The families had all been working with Franklin County Children Services prior to the deaths.
The children include:
Last week, ABC 6/FOX 28 contacted the Ohio Department of Children and Youth (DCY) following allegations that Smith was tortured for days prior to his death.
We asked whether the state was looking into Franklin County Children Services and if the state was considering providing additional oversight.
Back in 2019, the state provided “intensive training and assistance,” including routine onsite support, to children services in Scioto County following child deaths, DCY’s Chief Communications Officer Jodi Norton Trimble confirmed in an email. “Now that Children Services is under DCY, we continue to provide this type of intensive support to all counties as needed.”
Trimble said the state agency was checking into our request regarding Franklin County.
ABC 6 Investigator Lisa Rantala sent Franklin County Children Services more than a dozen questions, including questions about specific polices and the number of children caseworkers handle.
The agency said it would begin working with its teams to pull our requested records.
