The truth is in the facts and the Lima Chapter of the NAACP will be asking for the documents.
Reverend Ron Fails and others from the NAACP gathered outside the Allen County Children Services building asking why two fathers have not been reunited with their children. The dads say they have finished all the class work and other requirements the agency asks them to do and they are still waiting to be with their kids. Both say the children were placed in foster care because of the actions of their mothers. Each father has been active in the programs to be reunited with their child but believes there is some discrimination in the process.
"Basically, I'm asking the system to be fair. Here it is I did everything I was supposed to be doing and it's always some type of excuse or always like a power struggle for me to get my kids," commented Cenica Williams, who has children in foster care.
"I've been trying to get my child back for a year now. I've complied with all the stipulations and things that they need me to do as far as going to parenting classes and getting checked out for making sure my home is suitable for my child. Which all those things have been done," expressed Zarkee Hall, who has a daughter in foster care.
Both men say they have not gotten any additional visitation and both have to drive an hour or more to visit their kids. Williams says he is faced with racial discrimination when visiting his children. The NAACP says they have been told that others taking the same classes are getting extended visitation while these men are not.
"And one way to affirm whether or not reunification is the same percentage wise for persons of color and as it is for non-persons of color is to look at the records. So we're submitting a public records request so we can examine the actual data," said Reverend Ron Fails, Lima NAACP president.
Fails says he hopes the data doesn't show any discrimination but if it does he wants to work with children services to improve the process of getting children back with their families.
Allen County Children Services did release a statement regarding the NAACP comments of today.
In the written statement, the agency states that prior to today, the NAACP has not reached out to them to discuss the concerns they allege. It goes on to say that Allen County Children Services is mandated to ensure the safety and well-being of children when placed in foster care due to abuse and neglect. The agency is not allowed to discuss specific cases and takes the responsibility of reunifying children with their family seriously.
