>> RELATED: County reviews Children Services’ handling of 10-year-old who died after alleged abuse
Wednesday, Montgomery County officials announced that they are looking into how Children Services handled multiple reports of abuse and neglect involving Collins.
“You could be the adult that saves a child’s life,” said Ginger Goubeaux.
A former social worker, she now works with children at Daybreak Dayton where she serves as shelter director.
“Any time you suspect child abuse, you should call and make that report,” she said. “Reason being, we can’t guarantee that we know for sure if a child is being abused, but it’s also not our responsibility to know that.”
If you see warning signs, Goubeaux said it’s not being nosy to call Children Services immediately.
>> RELATED: ‘Everybody let Takoda down,’ grandmother says of 10-year-old boy’s death
“They will investigate and determine if it’s actually occurring or not,” she said.
News Center 7 discovered there were multiple reports to Montgomery County Children Services and Dayton police that Collins was in danger before he died.
According to Dayton Public Schools, employees at Collins’ school contacted Children Services 15 times while he was a student in the district from 2014-2018.
“All we can do is report to Children Services in good faith,” Goubeaux said.
The question many people are asking following Collins’ death is how did the 10-year-old fall through the cracks?
>> RELATED: Records: 10-year-old boy abused daily for years prior to death; man indicted
“Police knocked on the door of the home,” Goubeaux said. “Nobody answered. You have to think — where do we have follow up in these cases? Maybe if someone had made additional report after report after report — something is going to happen. Someone will come in and intervene.”
She said when McLean started homeschooling Collins it made it harder to report abuse because the boy was not interacting with adults that could intervene on his behalf.
“If you have a parent that removes them from the system that can make a report or intervene on behalf of the child, that creates a situation where the child is isolated with the abuser in the home,” Goubeaux explained.
>> RELATED: Dayton teachers reported abuse concerns for years before child’s death
The more people that speak up, the better, she said.
“Even if you do it repeatedly, that’s a good thing because it raises a red flag,” she added. “There is an ongoing issue that needs to be addressed.”