Latest news with #AllenCountyChildrenServices
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Area counties team up for specialized foster program
Apr. 21—LIMA — Child welfare agencies from Allen, Auglaize and Hardin counties are launching a multi-agency, tri-county Treatment Foster Care program. Allen County Children Services Executive Director Sarah Newland spoke at the Lima Rotary Club on Monday, explaining what the program means and what the public can expect moving forward. The program will create specialized, highly trained foster homes to treat children with behavioral and mental health needs in the homes to produce better outcomes for the children while keeping them in their communities. In the past, children from Allen County have been placed outside of the county to meet their needs. "With the rising number of kids that have special needs, higher needs and a decline in placement statewide, we are trying to find options for our youth that can meet their needs locally," Newland said. "We want kids back in our community." Allen County Children Services took in 762 reports in 2024, 72 percent of which were due to neglect or physical abuse. It also handled cases involving 414 positive drug screens. Children in group homes from Allen County are as far away as Cincinnati, Dayton and the northeastern part of the state. "It's not the best for kids," Newland said. "(We want to be able to) keep them in the school district, be around their family, so, that is our goal." The plan to develop Treatment Foster Care is moving forward, including recruiting and supporting treatment foster homes willing to take on eligible children for the program with individual support, training, on-call 24/7 caseworker support and counseling for crisis response, according to information from Children Services. Anyone interested in fostering can call the Allen County Children Services at 419-227-8590. "We are always looking for foster care placements," Newland said. Allen County Children Services is located at 123 W. Spring St., Lima. Reach Cade Higgins at 567-242-0351 Featured Local Savings
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
DeWine, others honored for helping children in Allen County
Apr. 3—LIMA — Child Abuse Awareness Month is, as the name indicates, centered around deplorable actions taken by adults against children, subjecting the most vulnerable to abuse and neglect. However, there is more to this month than just speaking out against child abuse. On Thursday, Allen County Children Services took time to celebrate those working to help victimized children and those who are overcoming their past to rebuild their families. The celebration centered around the Community For Kids Luncheon on Thursday at Ohio Means Jobs Allen County, an event attended by representatives of numerous area and state agencies as well as Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who was honored as one of the winners of the Friends of Children Award, an honor given to individuals and organizations going above and beyond to protect vulnerable children. "In 2o24, one in 13 children in our county were served by Allen County Children Services due to abuse and neglect," Allen County Children Services Executive Director Sarah Newland said. "It is all of you in this room that have ensured that these children are not just a number or a statistic, but are young lives that matter and deserve to be protected." DeWine was honored for his efforts to support children services agencies throughout the state in areas such as foster care, kinship care and adoption services, as well as advocating for victimized children during his time as a prosecutor and legislator, both at the state and federal level. "Many times, children's issues are ignored. There's not much constituency there. They don't vote," he said. "We worry about those that are making the most noise, and kids sometimes aren't paid attention to. So I tried to look around during my career and figure out where I can make a difference." With the Ohio General Assembly working on forming the next state biennial budget, DeWine asked those in attendance to advocate for children's programs when reaching out to their legislators, including some proposals that DeWine has made in this area. These include a $1,000 tax credit for lower-income working families for every child under the age of 7. "They can use that money for groceries, they can use for help in regard to childcare to help parents who are working, for example," DeWine said. "It will really help these families who are our working poor. They're out there. They're hustling, and they're doing everything they can to support their family." Others honored at the lunch included Kerri Kelly, the winner of the Family of the Year Award. Kelly was honored for her work in overcoming substance addiction and becoming part of her children's lives again while also obtaining an education to become a certified medical dependency counselor. Other winners of the Friends of Children Award were: —George Cox, Spencerville VFW Clown Unit —Dave and Barb Rasor, builders of bunk beds for children in the system —Carole Enneking, Coordinator for the Allen County Family and Children First Council —Jill Ackerman, Lima schools superintendent —Kara Wente, director, Ohio Department of Children and Youth Featured Local Savings
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Flag ceremony commemorates child abuse victims
Apr. 1—LIMA — The Lima Fire Department Memorial Honor Guard stood at attention, their hands raised in a salute, but this reverent moment was not for a loss of one of their own, but for a different kind of victim. The honor guard gathered with other community representatives Tuesday morning at Allen County Children Services for a flag-raising ceremony to mark the beginning of Child Abuse Prevention Month. The flag used to commemorate this month features outlines of children filled in with blue on a red background with an outline of a child left blank to commemorate children who have lost their lives due to abuse and neglect. "On April 1, we do our annual flag raising to remind the community of the abuse and neglect happening," Allen County Children Services Executive Director Sarah Newland said. "It does happen, and we all play a role in preventing it and making sure as reporters [of abuse] we are ensuring children are safe." During the ceremony, Allen County Commissioner Brian Winegardner issued a proclamation on behalf of the Board of Commissioners, noting that protecting the county's most vulnerable, while primarily a moral imperative, also offers practical benefits to both the county and society at large. "Children are Allen County's most precious and valuable resource, and each child has the right as a human being to live and grow in a safe and supportive environment," he said. "Children who are loved and nurtured grow up to love and nurture others by giving back to their own family, their community and their state the care that was bestowed upon them." According to Newland, approximately one in 13 children in Allen County were the victims of abuse or neglect in 2024, a statistic that makes efforts to raise awareness and encourage community action all the more imperative. "Not a day goes by in Allen County when we're not getting a report of abuse and neglect, and we're responding to those every day," she said. "Those reports come in in the evenings, on weekends and holidays, so it is prevalent, and the recognition that it does happen is the first step in all of us knowing what we can do next to prevent it." For more information on Allen County Children Services and its observances during Child Abuse Prevention Month, go to Featured Local Savings
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Yahoo
Lima man admits to making poisonous drink in police interview
Feb. 18—LIMA — In a police interview played for a jury Tuesday, a Lima man admitted to mixing together chemicals in a plot to poison the mother of his cousin's children. The incident that occurred in March 2024 caused Daniel Elliott, 27, to be charged with a first-degree felony count of attempted murder in the Allen County Common Pleas Court. In opening statements, Assistant Prosecutor Joshua Carp said the defendant was involved in "taking matters into your own hands, believing that you're above the law" because he didn't believe Gloria Triana was a fit mother to the children of his cousin, Charleston Elliott. Daniel Elliott's attorney, Assistant Public Defender Stephen Chamberlain, deferred his opening statement, so he could make an opening statement after the prosecution has presented its case. In an interview with Lima Police Detective Sgt. Steven Stechschulte, the defendant became emotional when he told Stechschulte he believed Triana's two daughters were being physically abused. He said he and his mother, the kids' grandmother, have been taking care of them. Triana was initially living at 204 S. Roberts Ave. in Lima with Daniel Elliott and his brother but was kicked out while the children stayed at the residence. "It was a complete difference without her there," Daniel Elliott told Stechschulte, saying the kids behaved while she wasn't there. "They're just young kids that have been through hell." Regarding the poisoning incident, the defendant's story changed from not being involved, to being a little involved, to being the one to mix chemicals together for Triana to drink, but claiming the whole time that his aunt and Charleston Elliott's mother, Sonya Elliott, was the mastermind behind the plan, and she and her son were trying to force Triana to drink the chemicals. He said his aunt asked him for rat poison and when he didn't have any she handed him a water bottle and said "Do what you gotta do." "She said 'I'll take care of Gloria,'" the defendant said about his aunt in the interview. "I just willingly did it because I was intoxicated, I was easy to manipulate, but I was also kind of on board. "Even if I was the one to make the whole drink, I didn't make her drink it," he said. He said he poured the original concoction down the drain when the incident was over and the next day he tried to make the mixture again to prove he made it because his brother was trying to convince him he didn't. This new mixture was found by police officers in a cabinet in the bathroom and taken for testing. He said the drink contained floor cleaner, Clorox and bug spray. "I don't want her dead. I would never try to do that again," Daniel Elliott said. At the end of the interview, Daniel Elliott was alone in the interview room when he started praying, asking God for forgiveness and to give his family and the kids comfort. Jadyn Meyer, a former investigator for Allen County Children Services, testified to following up on a report made to the agency that Triana was being physically abusive to her two daughters and was possibly using cocaine and methamphetamine. Meyer privately interviewed the kids, who were both under 10 years old, about the allegations and asked if they felt safe. She said she didn't notice any visible marks on the kids as the allegations indicated and the girls denied physical abuse but couldn't articulate if they felt safe or not. She noted one of the girls looked like she had pink eye and was sent home from school because of it. Meyer said Daniel Elliott and his mother told Triana through texts that she couldn't take her daughter to the doctor while she was sitting in the children's services office. Meyer didn't feel there was an immediate safety threat to take custody from Triana. She also said Triana was willing to take a drug test while at the office. The defendant and his mom came to the children's services office and Meyer said the defendant was aggravated and "very diligent in making sure I was failing as a case worker" due to not acting on the allegations. She said she was never shown pictures of the abuse from the Elliott family but she took pictures of possible drug residue. Daniel Elliott has been in the Allen County Jail since March 20, 2024, with a $500,000 bond but he was permitted to wear civilian clothing throughout the trial. Reach Charlotte Caldwell at 567-242-0451. Featured Local Savings
