First lady, DeWine discuss children’s issues
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and his wife met with first lady Melania Trump and officials from the president’s administration in a virtual roundtable Tuesday to discuss the challenges facing the state’s children services system and a task force created to find solutions.
DeWine said in a tweet that he looked forward to sharing with the first lady steps Ohio has taken to improve Children Services.
“Fran (DeWine) and I will be sharing the work of Ohio’s Children Services Transformation Advisory Council — which I convened last fall to conduct a top-down review of Ohio’s foster care system and develop solutions.”
It is unclear whether the issues in Montgomery County Children Services was addressed during the meeting. A Dayton Daily News investigation has found Children Services was contacted multiple times by teachers about possible abuse of Takoda Collins, a 10-year-old boy who authorities say was subjected to extreme abuse before his death.
The investigation also found that agencies did not communicate with each other about the potential abuse and other flaws in the system.
The governor ordered a review of Montgomery County Children Services, and his office said afterward he was disappointed by its findings.
“As a United States Senator, (DeWine) included language in (federal law) that emphasized the importance of a child’s safety in all child welfare decisions. Unfortunately, that was not always the case in Montgomery County,” the office said in a statement.
The governor’s office declined comment prior to today’s meeting and a recap of the meeting wasn’t available immediately afterward.
Melania Trump has talked about the nation’s foster care system and the need for reform.
“#BeBest is committed to supporting & advocating for our nation’s child welfare system. Today, I joined @ POTUS for the signing of an Executive Order that will provide critical improvements to help protect the well-being & outcomes for children in foster care,” she said in a tweet last week.
The executive order signed by President Donald Trump calls for an outline of reasonable best practices and standards for risk and safety assessments, including how to address domestic violence and substance abuse.