Ohio is expected to allocate $1 million to help care for 16 children removed from what authorities have described as a feces-filled house of horrors, as prosecutors weigh severe penalties for the parents and grandparents accused in the disturbing child-abuse case.
A state legislative panel is expected Monday to approve a request from the Ohio Department of Children and Youth, directing the emergency funding to rural Vinton County to support services for the children.
The Siders siblings, who range in age from 18 months to 18 years, have drawn alarming descriptions from officials. Some were reportedly “almost feral” and unable to speak when they were found.
Their removal placed an immediate and extraordinary strain on Vinton County, more than doubling the number of children in temporary custody there. The small Appalachian county has about 12,600 residents and operates with the smallest budget of Ohio’s 88 counties.
The scale of the case is the reason state officials are stepping in with the $1 million infusion.
Vinton County Prosecutor William Archer Jr. said the cost of medical care for one defendant — the children’s grandfather, Gary Siders Sr. — alone threatened to overwhelm the county’s finances. Because of those concerns, the court modified Siders Sr.’s bond and released him from jail on his own recognizance so he could receive hospital care without leaving the county responsible for the bill.
According to Archer, Siders Sr. fell while in jail, after which it became clear that he “has a serious medical condition that requires specialized care.”
“Based on the information the county was provided, his medical care could potentially bankrupt Vinton County,” Archer told reporters Wednesday.
“We were not going to put that burden also on our local taxpayers.”
Siders Sr. had been held in a county jail on $300,000 cash bond; along with his wife Christina Sanders, 67; son Gary Siders Jr., 36; and daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Siders, 33.
The couples’ are collectively facing 68 felony child endangerment charges after authorities allegedly discovered all 16 victims suffering from serious physical harm inside the home on June 30.
The Siders were arrested after local cops went to their Hamden home to carry out a warrant for an unrelated investigation – and allegedly found the kids living inside a horrific cramped 12-by-12 room littered with feces.
The siblings — who are believed to belong to Gary Siders Jr. and his wife Elizabeth Siders — were taken to hospitals across Ohio following the rescue, some in serious condition, cops said.
They have never been enrolled in school, can barely communicate – and some cannot speak at all, according to authorities.
The Department of Children and Youth estimates that placement costs for the siblings will run between $150 and $250 per child daily — adding to roughly $850,000 a year, or more than three times the amount generated by Vinton County’s levy that’s split between children’s and senior services.
South Central Ohio Job & Family Service is consulting with its attorneys about setting up a trust for the the siblings after an influx of financial and other types of donations poured in following news of the case, the regional government agency said on Facebook.
The state cash headed to Vinton County will allow the agency to “ensure vulnerable children receive the safety, treatment, and support they urgently require,” the funding request said.
Additional expenses, such as court costs and police overtime associated with the case, can also be covered with the state money.
With Post wires
