CLEVELAND — As employees walked outside the Jane Edna Hunter Social Services Center on Euclid Avenue in Cleveland on Wednesday, they joined the rally to demand safer working conditions.
Joseph Shepherd, a Cuyahoga County social worker, told 3News that at least 35 fellow employees have been assaulted by children staying at the center.
"I was assaulted twice in this building," said Shepherd. "Somebody's gonna get killed in there."
The union representing the social workers called for immediate solutions, including adding a security guard inside the childcare room and training employees for the violence.
"We're looking for security in the room," said Sean Grayson, AFSCME Ohio Council 8 president.
Grayson told 3News employees at Jane Edna Hunter have had objects thrown at them, they've been injured and they've been hospitalized.
However, Jacqueline Fletcher, the director of the Cuyahoga County Division of Children and Family Services told 3News they are addressing the violence.
"We've added crisis intervention training, de-escalation training to our curricula so all of our teams that are working in that childcare room are trained to respond," said Fletcher.
Fletcher told 3News there is law enforcement inside the building 24/7, but they aren't inside the rooms with the children.
"Having an armed guard in a room with a child who may have experienced something very traumatic can also be traumatic, so we don't believe that's an answer," said Fletcher.
3News reached out to officials from Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb's office as well as the office of Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne for a reaction to Wednesday's rally. Here were the statements we received:
Cuyahoga County:
"Cuyahoga County is aware of the rally organized by AFSCME Local 1746.
"We fully recognize the concerns raised by staff at Jane Edna Hunter. We understand the physical, mental, emotional, and professional challenges our employees face every day during this national placement and treatment crisis.
"While there is not one simple fix to this complex problem, we have taken numerous steps to address safety over the past year including modifications to the Jane Edna Hunter building, staffing support for the childcare room, and work is underway on a new Child Wellness Campus. The Child Wellness Campus will provide a safe place for children and teens to stay while receiving treatment and family resources. Ultimately, the ideal solution is to have a secure resource for children - that is not located in the Jane Edna Hunter building.
"We remain committed to the health, safety and wellness of all employees and the young people in our care."
City of Cleveland:
"We stand by and will support the County and the employees who work at Jane Edna Hunter as they work to build on progress and find other solutions to this difficult problem. Just 3 weeks ago, we jointly announced, along with our local Ohio Means Jobs leaders, the creation of a task force that will focus on increasing access to mental health care for youth and young adults. That task force will develop specific strategies and concrete recommendations that we believe will lead to tangible, positive results that will help remedy some of these underlying issues that are impacting our children."