A juvenile court judge spoke about the state of Scioto County Children Services and he had nothing but positive things to say.
The Scioto County Children Services Board held its first meeting since it was revealed that a third child in three years had died while under the supervision of the agency.
Judge Alan Lemons from Portsmouth Juvenile Court was the first person to address the board and he had high praise for recent changes within the agency. He said that the last time he was at a board meeting he wasn’t made to feel welcome. “At that time the board did not want to hear what I had to say.” He said they even instituted a five-minute speaking time limit to shut him down.
However, with new faces on the board and new leadership at Scioto County Children Services, he says things are different. “I’m here by invitation. I appreciate all of you and what you do. The agency is night and day different from what it once was. The improvement has been fantastic from my viewpoint. I see what happens in the community.”
Court is Busier Than Ever
He said that the new faces at the agency have been great to work with and that even longstanding employees had changed their attitude and were easier to work with. “It’s tremendous. We as a court are busier than we’ve ever been. We have more cases and more cases.” He said he asked for those cases and appeared before the board several years ago to ask them to investigate a little harder and follow through on more cases. “I get what I asked for, I guess. We had nearly 200 cases filed last year, I believe that’s a record.” He said adoptions were also up. “The agency and the court is doing the work that it needs to do to help the community through the crisis of drug addiction.
Court Administrator Jeff Swords was also in attendance armed with figures about the increased caseload. Board members gave the judge a warm welcome and said they were glad to have him back and offered a standing invitation to return to visit anytime.
The judge said that while relations between the board and court were much improved, “We have a long way to go to help this community get rid of the problem of drug addiction. There are kids out there that are still at risk.”
Judge Lemons said restrictions on time and money make it difficult to make headway. In addition to custody and abuse complaints, he said that unruly complaints involving children had doubled. “We are extremely busy. We’ll figure out a way to handle it.”
The judge that said prior to the arrival of CPS head Jason Mantell, grandparents would come to him and say they had complained multiple times about children in danger without receiving any help.
Family Reunification is the Goal
When asked what the agency could do better, the judge said everyone was doing a good job. He also touted the Safe Babies Drug Court as one of the best things the community has ever seen and expects it will make a huge difference in the community. “We need to support the families and show that we are here to help.” He said the goal is family reunification.
Court Administrator Jeff Swords also praised Jason Mantell. “Since he’s taken over, it’s been like night and day. We’re worked on court placements. We’ve been able to take kids who were placed in residential facilities and get them back home.”
Swords did say that caseworkers could do a better job ensuring that the court had all of the information it needs about each case.
Clearing the Court Docket
Judge Lemons closed by saying that both the court and CPS need more employees. “The two of us are working way more hours than anybody every expected. We work day and night. The commissioners have purchased software that allows me to work from home.”
He said the court is hoping to clear up space for important cases by moving truancy and traffic cases involving juveniles away from the courtroom setting.
The judge said adding another magistrate would not be practical because it would require remodeling the courthouse to make room for another courtroom.
County Commissioner Bryan Davis chimed in, saying that commissioners wished they could move things faster to speed up the court process, but there are a lot of variables involved that make it challenging.