Khaula Zafar and her husband say they have spent years trying to reconnect a missing piece of their son’s past: his younger biological half-brother. The Grove City couple say their adopted 5-year-old has known the younger boy for about three years, yet a string of decisions by child-welfare authorities has kept the boys apart. They call the separation unlawful and say they cannot find anyone willing or able to hold the agencies involved to account.
Hoping to break through what they describe as a wall of silence, Zafar, her husband and several other families brought their complaints to the Attorney General’s help desk at the James A. Rhodes Tower, asking for an investigation and some straight answers. As reported by The Columbus Dispatch, staff directed the group to wait in a first-floor multipurpose room while they checked whether any official could meet with them. Eventually, a constituent-services representative took down their information but, the parents say, offered little in the way of real help.
"It's just a whole mess," Zafar told The Columbus Dispatch, describing years of being bounced between county offices, state agencies and the courts with no clear roadmap for reuniting the boys. One parent in the group raised concerns that go beyond simple bureaucratic confusion, alleging possible rule violations that have not been substantiated by prosecutors or investigators.
State Reviews Show Gaps In Oversight
The families’ anger tracks with the findings of recent state reviews that have highlighted weaknesses in how county children-services agencies assess risk, follow up on recommended services and document what happens in their cases. According to a report summarized by the Dayton Daily News, many assessments were found to be incomplete, and staffing and record-keeping problems have made accountability harder to enforce. Advocates say those systemic flaws help explain why parents often feel there is no straightforward way to appeal decisions or challenge how a case was handled.
What The Family Wants
Zafar and the other parents are calling for independent investigations, a single, clearly identified point of contact for complaints, and a definitive answer on whether any caseworkers violated statutes or administrative rules. They turned to the Attorney General’s office after they say they exhausted county and court channels, only to be told that privacy laws and jurisdictional limits restrict what officials can share or pursue. State officials insist that oversight systems are in place, but families counter that those mechanisms are opaque, slow and, in their experience, nowhere near enough.
Legal And Oversight Options
On paper, there are formal ways to seek review. Families can file complaints with county children-services agencies, appeal to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, which oversees county programs, and contact the Office of the Ohio Inspector General about alleged misconduct by state employees. A recent report from the state watchdog details how administrative reviews and investigations are supposed to work and includes recommendations for stronger training and better tracking of cases.
Families in Franklin County can also reach out directly to Franklin County Children Services for case information and to request a review of local decisions.
For Zafar and her husband, though, the core issue is not a policy chart or a flow diagram. They say they simply want two boys to grow up knowing each other as brothers instead of strangers separated by paperwork and procedure. They say they will keep pressing until a county agency, the state or an independent watchdog accepts responsibility for what they describe as a violation of both the law and their family’s rights.
