Amid some local criminal cases involving the deaths of children, one of Ohio’s Senators is working on legislation aimed at making sure more children don’t slip through the cracks.
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Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, is working on bipartisan legislation that will, in part, give a universal definition to child abuse deaths, in an effort to identify at-risk families before a child dies.
“The lack of a clear definition for child maltreatment fatalities lets too many kids slip through the cracks. We can’t solve this problem if we don’t have accurate data on how bad it is,” Brown said during a call with reporters Wednesday.
“Our bill would require Health and Human Services to consult with state officials and with child welfare practitioners – with pediatricians, with public health officials and law enforcement to develop a national standard definition related to child abuse deaths.”
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“Without a standard, national definition we’re never going to be able to accurately track this problem,” he said.
The bill goes on to require states to report information specific to the case to National Center for Fatality Review and Prevention, in an effort to understand the circumstances of a child’s death, Brown added. From there, states would also be required to see if the family of the child who died had access to housing, mental health services, or drug treatment services.
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“We need to treat child abuse prevention like the public health issue that it is. The fight to end child abuse and neglect deaths starts with community awareness and responding to at-risk families before they are in crisis,” Brown said.
The proposed bill comes after the deaths of two area children, Takoda Collins and James Hutchinson, were both murdered by their birth parents, according to prosecutors.
Investigative reporting previously by News Center 7 found multiple public agencies not communicating about Collins’ welfare case, as they were allowed to under the law, played a role in leading to his death.
>>RELATED: Timeline: How the investigation into James Hutchinson’s death unfolded
In Hutchinson’s case, court records indicate his mother, Brittany Gosney, attempted to relinquish custody of the boy and his siblings but ran into barriers trying to do so. Prosecutors then said Gosney tried to abandon her kids at a Preble County park when she killed Hutchinson.
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News Center 7′s John Bedell asked Brown how this proposed bill would limit cases like this.
“That’s obviously a hard question. I think this legislation will begin to help focus – will bring more information, more data for all public health authorities and public safety authorities to look at in a community,” he said.
“If we can pass it, just having this new discussion today will help bring more attention to this and once we have that data and pass this legislation and have this data available, I think it will encourage more cooperation among authorities.”
Brown went on to say he believes the more data that’s available for different agencies, the better they can do their jobs.
“I’m not critical or an apologist for any of the officials who may or may not have risen to the occasion here, I just don’t know. But I think more attention paid to this will help all of the those responsible in positions of authority to do their jobs better.”
Cox Media Group
