Ronald R. Browder and Barbara Turpin of the Ohio Grandparent/Kinship Coalition say Ohio’s family members who take on kin in state custody need equal payment.
Ronald R. Browder and Barbara Turpin of the Ohio Grandparent/Kinship Coalition say Ohio’s family members who take on kin in state custody need equal payment.
MaâKhia Bryantâs Journey Through Foster Care Ended With an Officerâs Bullet
The 16-year-old girl was fatally shot while threatening a young woman with a knife. She had spent two years shuttling among Ohio foster homes, hoping to return to her mother.
A memorial where MaâKhia Bryant was killed by a Columbus police officer. Her tragic death was preceded by a turbulent journey through the foster care system.Credit.Amr Alfiky/The New York Times
May 8, 2021
COLUMBUS, Ohio â The voice on the 911 call is a teenage girlâs, and it is quavering, as if she has been crying.
Ma Khia Bryant was 13 years old when Columbus police removed her and three siblings from their mother s home and placed them in the emergency care of Franklin County Children Services in March 2018.
Three years and one month later, on April 20, Ma Khia was still in the agency s custody when a Columbus police officer fatally shot her outside the foster home where she lived in the 3100 block of Legion Lane on the Far East Side.
The initial reaction to the death of the 16-year-old girl was outrage among community members who have grown weary of police killings of Black people.
But in the days since the shooting, attention increasingly has turned to questions and allegations regarding the child welfare system, specifically Ohio s foster-care system, and whether it played a role in the tragedy.