State Sen. Bill Blessing considers new home-schooling safeguards after 16 children found in Vinton County home

An Ohio senator said lawmakers should consider new safeguards for home-schooled children after authorities discovered 16 children allegedly living in squalor in a Vinton County home, and one idea is to cross-check existing government records for warning signs.

State Sen. Bill Blessing, R-Colerain Township, said the case raises questions about how the state can ensure children who are not enrolled in traditional schools do not fall off the radar. Authorities have said none of the 16 children were enrolled in school, while reports indicate some could not speak, read or write.

“Clearly this family was not fit to be doing home schooling, and we need to figure out what we can do to make sure this does not happen again,” Blessing told the Statehouse News Bureau.

Blessing said state agencies could cross-check existing government records to identify inconsistencies that might indicate a child is not receiving an education or has otherwise fallen off the radar.

“There has to be some tax information. There has to be some Medicaid information. There has to be some education information,” Blessing added, per the report. “They are all siloed in the various departments or agencies. But if you have some sort of AI system that looks and tries to catch red flags but is looking at all of that data, I think we might have been able to catch that earlier.”

Blessing said he does not want to impose additional paperwork on homeschool families but believes the Vinton County case demonstrates a need for greater accountability to ensure children are receiving an education.

Blessing’s comments come less than two weeks after authorities discovered the children on June 30 while searching a home in Hamden as part of a separate investigation.

The 16 children ranged in age from about 18 months to 18 years old and were found living in conditions authorities described as deplorable. All required medical attention, and two were flown to trauma centers because of the severity of their conditions.

As Ohio.News previously reported, authorities have charged Gary Lee Siders Jr., 36; Gary Lee Siders Sr., 73; Christina Lynn Siders, 67; and Elizabeth Ann Siders, 33, with felony child endangering. The defendants have pleaded not guilty.

Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain previously said some of the children had extremely limited communication abilities.

“They can communicate, but it’s extremely limited — and some not at all,” Cain told WLWT-TV.

Authorities have also said investigators believe at least some of the children were confined in a 12-foot-by-12-foot room inside the home. Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson described the conditions investigators encountered as among the worst he had seen during his career.

“Conditions you cannot even imagine people being in, let alone children being in,” Wilson said after the children were discovered.

The state has also moved to provide financial assistance for the children. The Ohio Controlling Board was expected to consider $1 million in emergency funding for South Central Ohio Job and Family Services, which provides child welfare and foster care services in Vinton County. State lawmakers have said the money may not be the last assistance needed as the children receive care.

No legislation addressing the issue has been introduced.