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Some of the 16 children discovered<\/a> at a Ohio home in deplorable conditions were unable to speak and one \u2014 an 18-year-old who was developmentally disabled \u2014 could not even write her name. <\/p>\n After being rescued Tuesday, seven were taken to hospitals, including one who was in critical condition, investigators said. Their current conditions weren\u2019t immediately known Thursday. Child welfare officials have temporary custody of the children.<\/p>\n If what investigators allege is true, it could be the beginning of a difficult road ahead to undo years of abuse, neglect and trauma and not all foster families can accommodate such severe cases. Ohio also has a shortage of foster families and it\u2019s getting harder to recruit, like in many states. <\/p>\n Some children could be placed into specialized treatment centers as part of their recovery.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s going to take a lot of work to address the emotional harm and some of the issues that are going to result from this,\u201d Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said during a news conference this week, adding he’s seen nothing like the conditions that the children were subjected to.<\/p>\n \u201cBut we need to make sure those kids are surrounded and loved and supported by people who truly care for them,” he said. <\/p>\n Four people who are the children\u2019s parents and grandparents were arrested on child endangerment charges. Defense attorneys have urged people not to draw conclusions and wait for the facts to come out in the case.<\/p>\n Other cases have shown the challenges that lie ahead after children are rescued from horribly abusive conditions. In one case in Michigan, children were left alone in a home in conditions so offensive<\/a> that police evidence technicians wore hazmat suits.<\/p>\n In Southern California, 13 children were rescued from their home in 2018 after being locked up for years and starved by their parents. <\/p>\n Like in Ohio, the abuse in the Turpin home went unnoticed in the community of Perris, about 60 miles (96 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles, until then-17-year-old Jordan Turpin escaped from the house and called police. When the 13 siblings were rescued, all but the 2-year-old were severely underweight and hadn\u2019t bathed for months.<\/p>\n The parents, David and Louise Turpin, pleaded guilty<\/a> to torture and years of abuse and were sentenced<\/a> to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years.<\/p>\n The children were later failed at different points by a social services system that was supposed to help them transition to new lives and treat their trauma. <\/p>\n Six of the Turpin siblings went to a foster home where they said they were again abused. In a lawsuit, they described being hit with sandals and forced to eat their own vomit. The foster family pleaded guilty in the case and the foster father was sentenced in 2024 to seven years in prison.<\/p>\n A 2022 report from a law firm hired by Riverside County to investigate the children\u2019s care concluded that the county\u2019s social services system was short-staffed and underfunded, leaving workers struggling with high caseloads that made it hard to ensure safety and care \u201cfor our most vulnerable populations.\u201d<\/p>\n Not all foster families have the capacity to help in complex cases where children are dealing with a multitude of traumas, said Scott Britton, assistant director of the Public Children Services Association of Ohio.<\/p>\n The system is already overwhelmed, with one in four children in Ohio coming into foster care not due to abuse or neglect, but behavioral health issues, developmental disabilities or juvenile justice involvement, Britton said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a lot of kids with significant and serious needs, not all of which unfortunately can be met by a foster family,\u201d he said, noting that residential care facilities and psychiatric treatment centers have to step in. \u201cSo we unfortunately are all too accustomed to managing a very broad range of significant deficits in children.\u201d<\/p>\n Many states\u2019 child welfare systems are overburdened. <\/p>\n State and federal data shows worker turnover rates can range from 20% to 40% in some places due to burnout and the emotional toll. Recruitment is another challenge, as state agencies struggle to attract and keep qualified workers, with rural areas and high-need regions often hit the hardest.<\/p>\n