Montgomery County Children Services responds to judge’s comments on Takoda Collins case

DAYTON — A Montgomery County Commons Pleas judge sentenced the three people convicted in the Takoda Collins murder case Wednesday. In court, Judge Dennis Adkins put a lot of the blame on Montgomery County Children Services.

During the hearing, Judge Adkins said in open court that teachers at Dayton Public Schools truly loved Collins.

“They did everything they could in their power by notifying people of authority and notifying [Montgomery County] Children Services. But their cries for help fell on deaf ears,” Adkins said.

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Adkins continued saying, “Children Services just absolutely dropped the ball on this case. They were told of what was going on and what was suspected to go on and they merely just went through the motions in checking the welfare of Takoda. They were very good at passing the buck.”

On Dec. 13, 2019, Dayton police and medics responded to a home on Kensington Drive after Al McLean reported that his 10-year-old son, Collins, was unresponsive. Medics transported Collins to Dayton Children’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

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Court documents indicated that Collins had bruises and cuts all over his body. An affidavit and statement of facts revealed the he was “kept in a dirty, locked dark attic and abused daily over the course of several years.” The records also stated that he was “held underwater and gasping for breath prior t succumbing to his injuries.”

Collins’ father, McLean, was sentenced to 51 years to life in prison Wednesday after being convicted on charges of murder, kidnapping, rape and child endangering earlier this month when he took a plea deal.

McLean’s fiancée, Amanda Hinze, and her sister, Jennifer Ebert, were also sentenced for charges stemming from Collin’s death. Hinze was sentenced to 22 to 27.5 years, while Ebert was sentenced to eight to 12 years in prison.

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In response to Adkins’ comments, Danielle Damon, Public Information Officer for Montgomery County Human Services released the following statement:

“Takoda Collins’ death was felt deeply by our entire community, to include Montgomery County Children Services.

Children Services will continue to work closely with all our community partners in order to strike the proper balance between parental rights and child protection. It is extremely important to note, however, that ODJFS and the Governor’s Office of Children Services Transformation have ultimate oversight for the Child Welfare System. Any major systemic changes must first come at the state level before it can be instituted at lower levels such as the county.

We have updated our local agency policies based upon recommendations made by a working group that included state officials. We have implemented 100% of those recommendations that we are authorized to make at our level. Those recommendations included, updating local policies to include speaking with all members of a household, reaching back out to those who report abuse and neglect, and exploring all case history reports, whether that history resulted in an investigation or not. Additionally, we meet at least monthly with key child protection agencies and mandated reporters where we share feedback and identify issues.

We have also taken staff training to the next level and ensure employees know what type of procedures should be taken for uncooperative parents and guardians when child safety is in question. Staff training on the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, in addition to knowledge of parental rights, is absolutely vital. The ‘red flag’ policy, which details steps staff need to take to ensure child safety, is also more detailed now than it was just last year and we updated our Memorandum of Understanding clearly outlining the responsibilities of CSD and law enforcement in various situations.

It cannot be overstated, the death of Takoda was tragic and our thoughts remain with his extended family. We hope today’s sentencing brings some peace during this painful time.”

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