Marcus' death was an isolated incident

Ohio's foster care system under scrutiny after 3-year-old's death ; Industry insiders say improvements could be made but the state's public and private agencies function well.
Lou Grieco Staff Writer. Dayton Daily News. Dayton, Ohio:Sep 3, 2006. p. A10

When he was placed with the foster parents now accused of killing him, Marcus Fiesel was one of the more than 10,000 foster children across Ohio.

Roughly 5,000 of those children are placed with foster families by private agencies. Threeyear-old Marcus was placed with his foster family by Lifeway for Youth, a nonprofit company based in New Carlisle.

"Lifeway was viewed as a pretty good agency," said Crystal Ward Allen, executive director of Public Children Services Agencies of Ohio, a private nonprofit association. "I think they must have a decent reputation."

But Marcus' death and the criminal charges against foster parents Liz and David Carroll Jr. have brought statewide attention, both to Lifeway and to the foster family system, which blends both private and public organizations.

"When something like this happens, it really hurts us all deeply," said Penny Wyman, executive director with the Ohio Association of Child Caring Agencies, a group that represents nearly 90 of the approximately 100 private agencies operating in Ohio.

But Wyman said there should be no rush to judgment against private agencies, noting that the Carrolls had passed criminal background checks and had been certified day care providers for two years.

"This family appears to have been quite good at looking good while not being that good," Wyman said.

The trade association was formed in 1973 by a dozen agencies, including some that date back to the Civil War, Wyman said.

In Ohio, private foster care agencies are required to have licensed mental health professionals on staff, so private agencies have gravitated toward providing services for children with the most serious problems.

Some sparsely populated counties might have a shortage of those professionals, and public budgets can be tight, so county officials turn to the private agencies, Wyman said.

But kids who are placed by private agencies often see more oversight, as caseworkers from both the county and the private agency check on them, Wyman said.

In the 14 weeks Marcus was with the Carrolls, he was seen more than 20 times by Butler County Children Services and Lifeway case workers, according to Lifeway and Butler CSB officials.

Allen, representing the public agencies, said private agencies are a necessary part of the system. There is a natural tension, as private agencies tend to look at immediate needs and public agencies focus on long-term needs, she said.

Allen said that Marcus' case showed some systemic failures that should be addressed, including more frequent criminal background checks, since the state currently relies on foster families to self- report encounters with law enforcement. The Carrolls did not report a domestic violence charge, later dropped, against David Carroll.

"Domestic violence has a very high correlation with child abuse," Allen said.

Credit checks could also be useful, and county officials should have a greater ability to get foster parents' licenses revoked, she said.

"There are sociopaths in this world," Wyman said. "We may find that everybody did exactly what they were supposed to do and these people were too slick."