Week 3 - Takoda Collins an Angel

The story of Takoda Collins is a tragedy that has become too familiar and tone deaf.  The worst part is how an entire system failed to protect a child from being tortured, abused, sexually assaulted and murdered.   Although details about Takoda’s story is protected under privacy laws, it isn’t unreasonable to assume that he suffered severe trauma. 

When Takoda was 11 months, his mother was sentenced to probation for hitting him and eventually because of drug use, Takoda was placed in foster care while his mom served time in prison.  By the time Takoda turned one, he experienced separation from his mother and physical abuse. At the age of two, his father who was known for his violent criminal background became his fulltime caretaker (Staff, 2020). Even though Takoda’s mother tried to regain custody, it was to no avail and Takoda ended up in Ohio.  Records indicate that reports of abuse was made over a period of years, including  his brother having a black eye and running away from home yet welfare checks were made but no action was taken.  The lack of communication across agencies like law enforcement, social services, courts and schools took a deadly toll on Takoda’s life. By the time authorities were able to intervene, Takoda’s had experienced severe trauma from abuse and neglect over the course of seven years. 

School authorities claim they reported abuse and neglect at least 15 times but somehow police authorities only made contact with Takoda twice (Staff, 2020). Imagine the feeling of living in fear on a daily basis and the need to dissociate from your reality just to survive (Richardson, 2020).  In fact, on one occasion when authorities made contact with Takoda, initially it was because his father and girlfriend wanted authorities to take Takoda to juvenile hall for behavioral problems but decided a medical center was better so a behavioral analysis could be completed. In addition, this isn’t surprising because it’s common for children to act out from emotional, physical and psychological trauma. Nearing the end of Takoda’s life, he was taken out of public school to be placed in an attic without electricity or a bathroom, beaten and raped. His life depicted severe signs of physical, emotional, mental and social trauma until his death by his 10th birthday. 

More than a half of a dozen agencies are responsible in some way for failing Takoda of his basic human rights of protection, education, health care, shelter and good nutrition – rights that have yet to be ratified by the US and we ask ourselves why tragedies like this occur? In order to address the issue, families, local agencies, school authorities and communities need to be educated about the signs of trauma and intervention strategies.  Establishing local policies that protect children and working with organizations like the Black Child Legacy Campaign and its Steering Committee on Reduction of African American Child Deaths has reduced African American child deaths in the Sacramento region (Hewitt, Woods Andrews, & Co-Chairs, 2020). Policies that foster communication across social services programs, agencies, communities and families is impactful in minimizing traumatic child life events.

Black Child Legacy Campaign -1321 Garden Hwy, Suite 120, Sacramento, CA 95833: (916) 993-7701 or email raacd@shfcenter.org visit https://blackchildlegacy.org/.

References

Hewitt, C. P., Woods Andrews, D. N., & Co-Chairs, S. C. (2020). The Foundation of a Revolution Five Years of Legacy. Sacramento.

Richardson, J. (2020, October 6).Takoda Collins' estate files lawsuit against Montgomery County, Children Services. Retrieved from Dayton 24/7 Now: https://dayton247now.com/news/local/takoda-collins-estate-files-lawsuit-against-montgomery-county-children-services

Staff, W. (2020, June 16). Takoda Collins homicide: Investigating agencies did not share information, Prosecutor Heck says. Retrieved from WHIOTV7: https://www.whio.com/news/local/takoda-collins-information-sharing-permitted-by-law-between-agencies-didnt-happen-prosecut