Ohio Siders Case Emergency: State Attorney Files Report On County Placement & Care Costs

The Ohio Siders case just got a million-dollar emergency price tag. We follow the money, line by line, through the state filings on the Siders case. On July 13, 2026, Ohio's Controlling Board approved $1 million in emergency funding after sheriff's deputies and Ohio BCI agents found sixteen children inside a home on Ohmer Street in Hamden, Vinton County. Joel Potts of the Ohio Department of Children and Youth called it "unprecedented" — a county agency doubling its kids in temporary custody overnight. Four adults were arrested: Gary Siders Sr., Christina Siders, Gary Siders Jr., and Elizabeth Siders, all charged with endangering children and all pleading not guilty. This video tracks what happened next in the Ohio Siders case: Prosecutor William Archer asking Vinton County commissioners for $20,000 more, the South Central Ohio Job and Family Services agency run by Jody Walker already stretched thin across Vinton, Ross, and Hocking counties, and a bond modification after Gary Siders Sr.'s hospitalization that Archer said "could potentially bankrupt Vinton County." We compare the state's $150–$250-per-day placement estimate against the Associated Press's $850,000 annual figure, Jody Walker's 2025 Senate testimony on skyrocketing care costs, and Governor DeWine's September order for a state review of how the agency handled the case. If you want to see where the state's own numbers on county placement and care costs do, and don't, line up, this one goes through the documents piece by piece. What would you ask Ohio about the cost of these children's care? Tell us in the comments, and subscribe for the next update on the Siders case and the pending cap bill. #truecrime #ohiosiderscase #childwelfare