COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — State Representative Dontavius Jarrells, D-Columbus, is in the early stages of drafting a bill aimed at reforming the child welfare system in Ohio.
Jarrells said he has been researching the issue for years and has been in discussions with stakeholders about the current system’s operations.
The urgency for change has been underscored by the deaths of five children over the past 15 months—whose parents or caregivers are now facing charges—after Franklin County Children Services was involved with their families.
Jarrells said he is assessing various aspects of the system, including the authority of county agencies, the speed of investigations, the process of removing children from homes, and their subsequent placements. He is also considering expanding the list of individuals required to report suspected child abuse and neglect to intervene as early as possible.
“I am willing to look at any gap, any gap when it comes in play when it comes to how we navigate the investigation process for these cases to get a child in a safe place because they deserve it,” Jarrells said. “We should not have children dying because the system failed them.”
Franklin County Children Services spokesman Scott Varner said every case is different, but the agency has identified a trend in several cases involving a change in family dynamics due to a boyfriend or girlfriend. Both the state and Children Services are conducting reviews to evaluate how these situations were handled:
“Keeping children safer and making families stronger for longer requires our entire community working together. As we work to help keep children safer, we also want to avoid unnecessarily tearing apart families.”
“We look forward to collaborating with Representative Jarrells and others who can offer additional tools and supports to assist our caseworkers in best assessing the safety of children in their homes by providing a fuller picture of the challenges families are facing.”
“That’s why we are appreciative of our new efforts with Columbus Police to collaborate on sharing police run data and to the information shared by caring neighbors, family friends, and relatives who ‘see something and say something’ when they suspect abuse or neglect.”
