Ohio approves $1 million to aid Vinton County child welfare crisis

Ohio approved $1 million in emergency aid to help Vinton County care for 16 children rescued from a Hamden home, money meant to cover foster-care placements and court proceedings after the county’s child-welfare caseload jumped 55 percent. The award moves through the state budget process and is being drawn from the Controlling Board’s emergency purposes fund. Ohio is also seeking federal matching support.

The children were removed on June 30 after Vinton County sheriff’s deputies and Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation agents went to the house in Hamden, a village of about 720 people. Seven of the children were hospitalized and two were flown to trauma centers. The adults arrested were Gary Siders, 73; Christina Siders, 66; Gary Siders II, 36; and Elizabeth Siders, 33, and each was charged with 16 counts of endangering children. Gov. Mike DeWine called the conditions heartbreaking.

State officials calculated the request using estimated care costs of about $100 to $250 per child per day for the rest of the fiscal year. The children ranged in age from 17 months to 18 years, and all 16 were expected to be placed in new homes. The emergency money is meant to keep those placements, treatment needs and legal proceedings moving while the case continues.

The county has about 12,800 residents, making it Ohio’s smallest county by population, and State Rep. Mark Johnson said it has among the state’s most limited social services. Ohio state authorities are also reviewing child-welfare agency records tied to the family. Local officials and a county child-welfare agency have also coordinated donations for the rescued children.

The family of 20 lived in a five-room, one-bath home with 1,336 square feet above ground and a 518-square-foot basement.