Changing the system

On the final episode of 150 days, we look at what happens to Theresa after her involvement with child protective services concludes. Families are supposed to leave the child welfare system better than they were when they arrived. But can that really be said for Theresa or her children?

Theresa's story isn't unique. Across the U.S., parents like her — the overwhelming majority poor, a disproportionate number nonwhite — are torn from their children long before other options are exhausted. The checks and balances that should protect them fail. On this episode, experts both local and national weigh in on how we can do better.

Theresa's younger son Azriel goes back to Butler County to live with his aunt. His condition deteriorates rapidly, and he begins expressing thoughts of suicide. Theresa tries desperately to arrange therapy for him, but the agency appears to be dragging its heels. When it finally does act, the result is anything but what Theresa hoped.

Theresa is eager to fight the agency in court, but she doesn't sense the same enthusiasm from her court-appointed lawyer. The stakes are high: If she wins her next hearing, the case is over and her kids come home. But some vague wording in an Ohio law threatens her efforts before she even enters the courtroom.

Theresa's two daughters go to a foster home in Muskingum County, over an hour away from Glouster. Their description of the home immediately sets off warning bells for Theresa. When the agency appears to ignore her concerns, she takes matters into her own hands.

Video evidence undermines child protective services' claim of abuse against Theresa. Witnesses call other allegations into question. Theresa might have used this to convince the judge to give her kids back — if she'd only had a lawyer representing her at her first hearing. As it turns out, she's not the only parent with this problem.

Child welfare agencies are supposed to do everything they can to prevent removals. That includes creating a "safety plan" with the parent's help. Court documents claim Theresa refused a safety plan, but Theresa says the caseworker never even brought one up. A 911 call log raises further questions about how much effort the agency really put into keeping Theresa's family together.

On the first episode of 150 days, we meet Theresa Fogel at the moment her family is blown apart by accusations of child abuse and neglect — accusations Theresa strenuously denies. Theresa has moved to the small town of Glouster, Ohio, with her boyfriend and four children in search of a new life away from the drama of the Cincinnati suburb where she grew up. But the drama follows her to her new home, with devastating consequences for Theresa and her kids.