Struggling Ohio County Seeks Help After 16 Children Are Rescued From Terrible Conditions

Authorities in Vinton County, Ohio, rescued 16 children from a home where they say the kids were kept in very unsafe and dirty conditions. The children, who range in age from 18 months to 18 years old, are all brothers and sisters. Now the small, struggling county is trying to pay for their care and take their family to court at the same time. Officials say this is one of the biggest child welfare crises the county has ever faced.

Vinton County is Ohio's smallest county and one of its poorest. It covers about 415 square miles of hilly land in the Appalachian region of the state and has only one traffic light and one grocery store. About 12,600 people live there, and the county has the smallest budget of all 88 counties in Ohio. That makes handling a big, costly case like this very hard to do on their own.

Four members of the Siders family have been charged with child endangerment, which is a serious crime. The children's parents, Gary Siders Jr., 36, and Elizabeth Siders, 33, are charged, along with Gary's parents — Gary Siders Sr., 73, and Christina Siders, 67. All four have pleaded not guilty, and some of their lawyers say people should wait before drawing any conclusions about what happened.

One of the biggest problems the county ran into was paying for the medical care of Gary Siders Sr. while he was in jail. He fell while locked up and was found to have a serious medical condition. The county prosecutor, William Archer Jr., said that paying for his care in the regional jail could have bankrupted the entire county. To avoid that, a judge changed his bond so he could be released from jail and moved to a hospital, and the state would cover the cost of a GPS tracking device he must wear.

The county also asked for help with the criminal case itself. A judge agreed to bring in three special prosecutors to share the workload. These include Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson, Assistant Attorney General Kara Keating, and Highland County Prosecutor Anneka Collins, who is an expert in child abuse cases. All three are working without extra pay, which means their own offices will cover their costs.

Authorities say the Siders children were kept in a room about 12 feet by 12 feet for several years. Some of the children were described as unable to speak, and their health conditions varied widely. Two of the children had to be flown to a hospital for care. Prosecutor Archer said this week that all 16 children are now safe and being looked after.

Taking in the 16 children more than doubled the number of kids in temporary custody in Vinton County all at once. The state estimates it costs between $150 and $250 per child per day for their placement and care. That adds up to around $850,000 a year — more than three times what the county's children and senior services fund brings in. Because of this, the state is expected to approve $1 million in extra funding next week to help the county cover these costs.

After news of the case spread, many people sent in donations to help the children. The agency handling the children's care is working with lawyers to set up a trust fund to manage that money. The $1 million in state funding will also help pay for other costs tied to the case, such as court fees and police overtime. Officials say they are focused on making sure the children receive the safety, treatment, and support they need right away.