COMMENTARY | Trumbull County Children’s Service Board (CSB) held a public meeting Tuesday evening, which I observed. During the meeting, three citizens were given the opportunity to speak.
The first to speak were a woman and then a man (names withheld) there to represent a 4-year-old child placed in their care by CSB nearly 4 years ago.
The problem they were there to address was that the status of the child was in limbo for the last 2 years. They stated the child was supposed to be adopted by them but CSB was standing in the way. What made their commentary notable was when she stated she had made many attempts to resolve the issues and was given the run around or outright ignored. The man later added that they had also been subject to retaliation from CSB due to their persistence.
The details of their story are not known, but this is not the first time claims of retaliation and intimidation have been leveled against CSB.
Attorney David Engler was warned to “stay out of Trumbull [county]” by a county employee after Engler began investigating CSB. Engler is representing the families of several children murdered while in the care of CSB and a baby raped on the premises during a supposedly supervised visit.
It was only discovered that the baby had been raped by her parents after the child’s grandmother found video of the assault on her daughter’s and son-in-law’s cell phone and turned it in to Warren Police. The grandmother who reported the incident was then banned from CSB, as were cell phones, in response according to WYTV. Are these the proper priorities of a government “protective” agency?
Engler is also representing citizens forced to sign in to a public meeting at CSB in violation of the law, as reported by the Tribune Chronicle.
Harold Smith, an outspoken critic of the improprieties of Trumbull County government, brought this up at a commissioners meeting and was berated by Commissioner Paul Heltzel as can be seen on video at WKBN.com.
Smith was at the CSB meeting and was the third person to address the board. Smith asked the board if they had read a document he had provided them previously at which time board member Atty. Daniel Letson, “This is your time to talk.” and refused to answer the question.
After the meeting adjourned without a response, I asked Letson why. Letson told me the board does not answer questions from the public, which is “why it is called public comments” and not a dialogue.
What really grabbed my attention was when Letson cut himself short when saying, “We don’t work for the…” then clarified by saying “We are a board of private citizens, not social workers,” and went on telling me they were “incompetent to answer questions.”
It is clear that county officials do not feel any accountability to their constituents and they must be replaced. This is our government and it’s time to take it back.