TOLEDO, Ohio — Twenty children in Lucas County died within the last year to abuse, neglect and gun violence, according to the Lucas County Childrens Services at its annual child memorial.
LCCS Interim Executive Director Donna Seed said the number is always too high.
"Today was an opportunity to honor the families that have lost children in this community to either child abuse and neglect or to gun violence," Seed said at the event in downtown Toledo.
For more than 20 years, the memorial has served as a way to keep the names of the children the county has lost alive.
"I think this year we had a great participation from families and I believe one of our speakers called those families brave," Seed said. "I cannot think of a better word that can be used to describe their ability to be present and to remember their children."
Of the 20 children that have died in Lucas County since April 2022, nine were victims of gun violence and eight were victims of abuse or neglect. All but one of the victims who died from abuse or neglect were younger than 4 years old, according to LCCS.
The agency's incoming executive director, Randy Muth, said he wanted to make a message loud and clear about April, which is Child Abuse Prevention Month: "The goal is to really illustrate in the strongest possible terms the effect of child abuse on our community. I don't think you can say anything more definitive than child abuse can result in the death of a child."
Muth said Thursday's memorial is a call to action as Lucas County needs foster parents more than ever before.
"Don't put this on the backburner because child abuse is one of our most significant threats," Muth said. "We all know that communities thrive when every child feels safe and protected, so it affects all of us."
The agency is also asking anyone with answers to gun violence cases to speak up.
"It takes a whole community to keep a family safe," Seed said.
In 2022, 4,000 families were reported for abuse or neglect to the agency, according to LCCS. Those reports account for 5,400 children. The number of children serviced by the county is down by 7%.
The event's keynote speaker, State Sen. Paula Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo), said to honor the children lost we have to continue to speak out against violence in our community.
"We can no longer allow the status quo to be what it is," Hicks-Hudson said. "We cannot let the progress that had been made in this community to slip. But we must continue in the honor of these children our children to make a difference so that their lives are not lost in vain."
LCCS is also calling on the community to consider fostering a child. And they said if you see abuse, report it at (419) 213-CARE (2273). The phone line is 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
