Wood County Job and Family Services investigators handled 84 physical abuse and 110 sexual abuse investigations during the first nine months of the year.
Most reports come through telephone calls, Brandy Laux, family assessment unit supervisor at Wood County JFS, told the Wood County Commissioners at their Oct. 3 meeting.
JFS has eight investigators on staff that meet with household members, and the department does everything possible to keep the kids in the home but keep them safe, Laux said.
Sometimes the alleged perpetrators don’t live in the home, she said.
They have 45-60 days to conduct their investigation and either close the file or report it to juvenile court.
There have been 714 reports to date in 2023, which also have included 106 neglect cases and one emotional abuse.
There were 969 reports in 2022.
“We should be right around that number” by year-end, Laux said.
The department has handled 43 family in need of services calls, which have been increasing to the point one investigator has been made the primary interviewer on these cases. The Wood County prosecutor’s office wanted more consistence in the interviewing process, Laux said.
More reports are received in September-October due to children going back to school and more people being in contact.
“There’s a great misunderstanding with the public about what constitutes child abuse,” said Dave Wigent, JFS director.
There is a legal standard that in considered during investigation and there are protections built in for parents “so we can’t just wander the county kicking in doors checking on children,” he said.
If we don’t know the family and are knocking on the door, until we physically lay eyes on the child and talk to the parent, we don’t know what’s going on, he said.
There is a timeline they have to follow to close a case, and in every month since October 2022 – except March and May due to clerical errors – they have succeeded in 100% closure.
The state average was in the mid-70%.
“We’re typically a high-performing county,” Laux said.
We’re not just a little bit above state average and that can be attributed to staffing, Wigent said.
“We put a lot of effort into making sure we always have a pool, so a vacancy doesn’t last long,” he said.
They are being creative in how they recruit, including at classes Laux teaches at Bowling Green State University.
The department also has benefited from long-time investigators who have moved into management.
“We’ve been blessed that people want to stay,” Wigent said.
He said the Wood County JFS is more heavily staffed than the 50% of the counties in Ohio that are not funded by a levy.
“Without the levy, we would probably have to live with one-third less staff,” he said.
JFS collects a 1.3-mill levy that provides it with $4 million per year.
“That levy funding allows us to do things right,” he said.
