The Scioto County Commissioners and Children Protective Services made a move designed to make life a little easier for children experiencing the trauma of a child abuse investigation.
Commissioners approved a memo of understanding asking that the agency eliminate all unnecessary interviews of children involved in abuse investigations.
The commissioners called on local agencies to work together to conduct only one interview with a child instead of the child having to speak with multiple individuals from law enforcement and social service agencies. Commissioners unanimously approved the memo of understanding.
This comes as the agency is struggling to rebuild the situation got so bad the state was forced to step in and take over.
“We continue to move that mountain one rock at a time. We’re moving forward daily, but that progress seems like it can be an inch at a time,” said Scioto County Jobs and Family Services Director Tammy Moore Morton. We need to make the necessary changes, regroup, and continue to move forward.”
However, Morton admits there’s still a long way to go at the troubled agency. “Are we where we need to be? No, we’re not where I want us to be.”
She said the issues were not due to lack of effort and hard work on her staff’s part. “We are trying, but some of the forces are against us. We don’t have enough staff. Director Morton said she is still struggling with finding and keeping qualified employees. “My top priority is to stabilize the staff, get enough people on board, and get them trained. With the recruitment and retention situation, it seems like we take one step forward and two steps back almost on a daily basis.”
There are currently 323 children in the care of Scioto County Children Services. Back in July of 2022, the number of kids stood at 407. Morton says the number of kids in care is slowly dropping, but that’s not due to fewer children coming into their custody. The reduction in numbers is due to children leaving the system after they are placed in permanent homes. “We are removing the children that need to be removed.”