Saturday, October 30, 1999
Child removals criticized
But Butler agency also wins praise
BY STEVE KEMME
The Cincinnati Enquirer
HAMILTON — In Paul Barker's view, Butler County Children Services has been a savior for his family of 10 children.
The 39-year-old Hamilton man says the agency helped keep his family together by providing counseling services to assist him in raising such a large family.
“When we had problems, they didn't do anything but help us,” he said.
But Amy Johnston, a 24-year-old Hamilton resident, says Children Services needlessly broke up her family, a contention the agency vigorously disputes. She says Chil dren Services unjustifiably caused juvenile court to remove her 2-year-old daughter from her in 1997 and her 9-week-old son last February.
“They're toying with my life,” Ms. Johnston said.
These two clashing viewpoints demonstrate the wide spectrum of opinions swirling around Children Services as the agency tries to persuade voters to approve a critical 2-mill levy renewal in the Nov. 2 election. The renewal would not increase taxes.
Two Children Services levy proposals failed in the past year. The 2-mill levy renewal generates about half of the agency's $16 million annual budget.
If the levy fails, Children Services will have to slash services and will run out of money by the end of 2000, state and county officials say.
To continue offering state-mandated services to children, the county would have to dig deeply into its general fund.
During its levy campaign, Children Services has received both praise and criticism.
Jane Sites, project director for Therapeutic Interagency Program (TIP), a local Head Start mental health program for very young child abuse and neglect victims, said the Children Services staff exhibits a high level of expertise and professionalism.
Butler County is considered a state model in how it investigates and prosecutes severe cases of child abuse and neglect, she said.
A recent state audit and some critics of Children Services have said the agency removes some children from families when it might not have been necessary.
On Jan. 1, 1998, Butler County had 571 children in its custody, more than double the number in three Ohio counties of comparable size: Lorain, Mahoning and Trumbull, according to the Public Children's Services Association of Ohio, a professional group for Ohio's 88 county children services agencies.
One of the reasons for that, the state audit says, may be the heavy workload carried by Butler County Children Services caseworkers.
The average number of cases per caseworker was 24 in Butler County, 20 in Mahoning, 15 in Trumbull and 10 in Lorain, according to the association, which recommends a workload of 13 cases.
Butler County officials say this situation won't improve if the levy fails.
Ms. Johnston said her situation reflects the agency's tendency to move too quickly to remove children from families.
At the agency's request, juvenile court removed Ms. Johnston's 2-year-old daughter from her in 1997 because she was failing to see that her daughter received medical attention she needed, said Bob Bogan, spokesman for Butler County Children Services.
Ms. Johnston said the removal was based on the testimony of her pediatrician, who she said erroneously told the court that she failed to show up for an appointment for her daughter.
But Mr. Bogan said many other factors entered into the agency's decision to seek the removal of the child. A hospital clinician and several visiting nurses expressed concern to Ms. Johnston's caseworker about the girl's medical situation.
This girl was her fourth child. She voluntarily gave up the first two children for adoption and agreed to give legal custody of a third child to relatives.
The 9-week-old boy was removed because of her apartment's deplorable condition, Mr. Bogan said.
Ms. Johnston said the conditions in her apartment weren't nearly as bad as the agency claims.
“I want people to know about this,” she said. “If I've been done wrong, more people will be done wrong. I'll do anything I can to see that this levy doesn't pass.”
The removal of her son is still before the 12th District Court of Appeals.
Mr. Bogan said the appeals court has overturned Butler County Juvenile Court decisions in custody cases three times in the past 20 years.
“More than anything else, that says we've been consistently right,” he said. “I have a clear conscience on what's happened with Amy's kids.”
In the past two years, the number of children in the custody of Butler County Children Services has been declining, Mr. Bogan said. The county now has 468 children in its custody, 103 fewer than on Jan. 1, 1998.
Although Butler has had large numbers of children in custody, it has placed about 80 percent of them in foster homes, said Crystal Allen, assistant director of the Public Children's Services Association of Ohio.
“That's an important positive aspect of the way they're doing business,” she said. “We strongly believe the best place to have a child is with a family, not a group home.”
Butler also has a good record for adoption placements, Ms. Allen said. Its number of adoptions rose from 29 in 1996 to 47 in 1997. By comparison, in 1997, Trumbull County had 37 adoptions and Lorain and Mahoning counties had 21 each, Ms. Allen said.
“It looks like they really invested a lot of resources and effort into moving children into permanent families,” she said.
School massacre averted
Educators here ask: Have we done enough?
Government offers handbook for school security
Pressure's on to commit now to a college
Mother suspect in kids' deaths
Some Hoosiers living on the edge of time
Another October, another OU bash
Lawmakers slam 2% Club
$25M awaits reform programs
3 firefighters hurt in brush fire
Body may have been in park four days
Collectible shop sued over Ruth baseball
Hustler store moves but stays downtown
Uncle gets 5-year prison sentence in child's death
Democrats' radio spot zeros in on Heimlich
Lebanon candidates look at growth, spending
Sole voter's ballot locks deannexation
Write-in candidates aim to beat odds
GET TO IT
PBS host, party planner make area appearances
Pops' show for holiday slick, vibrant
Child removals criticized
Clock a gift to mark century
Eastern link of Butler regional highway opens
Ex-pastor returns for service
Five sets of twins born at Good Sam
Great Danes displaced by fire
Haunted paper factory has fearsome debut
Meister sentenced to 9 years
Railroad commission not obsolete, hopeful says
Tornado warning system on order
Trio accused of bilking Rumpke
TRISTATE DIGEST
Volunteers build a sidewalk
Water deal for Mason
