Polly Parks, a founder of the group Takoda’s Call, called on the county to put in place three measure so cases like Takoda’s receive greater scrutiny. The group is seeking changes to prevent the kinds of abuse and neglect that allegedly resulted in deaths of four children within three months in the county.
“Before we lose another innocent, defenseless child, now is the time to act,” she told county commissioners.
Timeline: The tragic life and death of Takoda Collins
The citizens group, formed following the December death of 10-year-old Takoda Collins, called on commissioners to buttress the system with three initiatives:
- Appoint an independent external ombudsman to replace the county's Family Advocacy Intervention and Review Program (FAIR);
- Reinstate a Citizen Review Panel;
- Appoint an independent review committee of professionals who reside outside of the county to remove potential conflicts of interest.
Takoda died after what police say was a period of extreme abuse despite multiple people saying they called Children Services and Dayton police alleging concerns of abuse. Three other children’s deaths have been reported to the state this year possibly linked to abuse or neglect.
“I can’t even imagine the trauma that these children go through,” Parks said. “How can you fix something without performing a root cause analysis? Without this we just keep repeating the same things that aren’t working.”
DDN Investigates: County children services fail state standards as abuse claims rise
“These three initiatives, I believe, will provide checks and balances within the system and provide accountability, a safety net for children who may fall victims to overworked caseworkers, to caseloads … and it will rebuild trust and confidence within the citizens of Montgomery County,” Parks said.
Montgomery County Commission President Judy Dodge said commissioners were “horrified” by the death by Takoda’s death and others and they called for an internal review and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine also ordered an examination of the county’s alternative response cases by ODJFS.
“There are plenty of investigations going on, no question about it,” Dodge said. “Unfortunately, we cannot talk about much of this.”
Before Parks spoke Tuesday, county commissioners approved a contract between commissioners and the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office to increase to eight the number of assistant prosecuting attorneys dedicated to the county’s child protection unit.
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Montgomery County Administrator Michael Colbert said the county wants to work with the group, but the steps Parks outlined will require action by state legislators.
“We want the system to be better,” Colbert said. “In order to move the ball forward in this arena, it is going to take a team effort. And it will, in fact, take state legislative action.”
Colbert said external evaluation of child protective cases are currently the domain of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, which did conduct a review of the Takoda Collins case. The results are in the hands of prosecutors as part of the ongoing legal process, but most information remains sealed due to state law, he said.
Under current Ohio code, a citizens review panel could not be made aware of cases like Takoda’s, Colbert told the group.
“The state governs the review panels only to review Children’s Services cases that are in custody,” he said. “In order for us to start externally reviewing some cases that haven’t been brought into custody, again, we will need some level of state law change.”
Colbert said Montgomery County has an internal ombudsman with the FAIR office and the Dayton and Montgomery County Ombudsman is an external agency available for citizens to contact.
Takoda’s Call has already been going over legislation with state Rep. Phil Plummer, R-Butler Twp., and Colbert urged the group on Tuesday to continue working with Plummer, other legislators and the governor’s office.
“I think you could probably pick off some things in here,” he said. “You can make the system better for all of us statewide, and we can be an advocate towards that.”
Shirley Stallworth, a Takoda’s Call member who attended the meeting, said the group was bracing for a long process.
“We’re just taking baby steps to get there,” she said. “I know it’s frustrating.
The Dayton Daily News is committed to in-depth coverage of major issues facing our community like child welfare and how our protective services are functioning.
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