County noncommittal on OYFS action plan's public release

Jeff Horvath, The Times-Tribune, Scranton, Pa.
Updated ·2 min read

Jul. 3—Lackawanna County officials would not commit Monday to making public an action plan for its scandal-rocked Office of Youth and Family Services.

Commissioner Chris Chermak ordered county Department of Health and Human Services Director William Browning to prepare the plan following arrests last week of five current and former OYFS workers accused of allowing eight children to remain in dangerous and filthy conditions. The plan had not been finalized as of Monday.

"The Commissioners have to review (the plan) and make any necessary adjustments," county spokesman Joseph D'Arienzo said in an email. "Once it is finalized, we will inform the public how we will proceed going forward in serving children and families."

The county didn't provide a definitive answer when asked in writing if the document itself would be made public. Instead, D'Arienzo referred to the emailed statement.

Melissa Melewsky, media law counsel for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, said the action plan should be made public. It essentially amounts to a policy, she said, noting policies are generally subject to access, sometimes with redactions, under the state's Right to Know Law.

"I think this should be a public record and I think they should provide it outside the context of the Right to Know Law because of the nature of what's happened and the fact that this is going to be the policy that prevents, or is intended to prevent, future similar outcomes," Melewsky said.

Last week's charges stem from an ongoing criminal investigation by Scranton police and county detectives into the handling of cases involving abused and neglected children. The current and former OYFS workers arrested face multiple felony counts each of endangering the welfare of children and failure to report or refer.

They include Amy Helcoski, 50, of Scranton; Erik Krauser, 45, of Dickson City; Sadie Coyne (O'Day), 34, of Scranton; Randy Ramik, 57, of Clarks Green; and Bryan Walker, 51, of Archbald. All but Ramik, who is retired, are on paid administrative leave.

Charging documents in their cases describe children allowed to remain in three squalid Scranton homes rife with rotting food, garbage and animal feces. Reports of abuse and pleas for help were ignored, investigators said.

The defendants are accused of failing to intervene and protect the children from harm.

What changes the action plan may include and how it will be implemented remains to be seen.

Contact the writer: jhorvath@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9141; @jhorvathTT on Twitter.