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Group makes call to change Pennsylvania’s child welfare system after deaths of local children

MECHANICSBURG, Pa. – A local children’s advocacy group is demanding change reform in the state’s children and youth services. Cece’s Chi...

MECHANICSBURG, Pa. - A local children's advocacy group is demanding change reform in the state's children and youth services. Cece's Children's Alliance gathered Sunday in Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County for a meeting on those changes.

The group was formed as the state investigates the death of 12 year-old Ciara Meyer. Meyer was accidentally shot in her Perry County home by a constable. Police say her father pointed a gun at the constable while the family was being served an eviction notice on January 11.  Constable Clarke Steele shot Donald Meyer in the arm, but the bullet went through and hit Ciara. Her father is now charged in her death.

The group also cites the Harrisburg case of 9 year-old Jarrod Tutko Jr. Jarrod starved to death after living in deplorable conditions. His decomposing body was found on the floor of a bathroom in his family home along the 2100 block of Green Street on August 1, 2014. Officers searched Jarrod's room and found feces covering the walls and floor. Flies were also swarming throughout his room. Investigators said Jarrod Jr. had been dead for nearly a week. Both of his parents have been sentenced in his death.

"It's a very tangled and broken system that wasn't broken overnight," alliance member Cindy Weesner said, "And the death of Jared Tutko and now Ciara Meyer have really put it into the forefront."

Tomorrow, the group will present a written testimony to the State House Children and Youth Committee during a hearing.

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