August 1, 2019-  On night of August 1, 2014, I received a phone call from Harrisburg Police Detective Rodney Shoeman advising me of the death of a child on Green Street in the city.  Unfortunately, calls such as the one that I received that night happen far too often.  What struck me as different with this call was the emotion in Det. Shoeman’s voice.  I remember him telling me that they had a dead nine-year old boy at a residence.  Then, as his voice cracked with emotion, he said, “It’s bad.  You need to come out to this one.”  That little boy’s name was Jarrod Tutko, Jr.  He was nine-years old and was born with Fragile X syndrome.  Little did I know how profound an impact his death would have not only on me but also on the entire Central Pennsylvania community. 

 “It’s bad.  You need to come out to this one.”  That was an understatement.  Jarrod starved to death alone in a hot, bare, feces filled third floor room of his family’s home on Green Street.  The locks of his door had been reversed, that is the lock was set so the door was locked from the hallway.  There was no furniture in the room, spare a television bolted to the floor.  The room was covered in feces.  That room was his prison.  It was there that he slowly faded away, naked and comforted only by a blanket and a feces encrusted stuffed rabbit. 

Ultimately, Jarrod’s death was directly the result of the actions of his parents.  They are both currently serving lengthy prison sentences as a result.  However, Jarrod’s death also brought into focus the missed opportunities throughout Jarrod’s short life that could have prevented his death.  Prior to August, 1, 2014, the Tutko family had numerous interactions with the child welfare system across multiple counties in two separate states.  Jarrod’s death was both tragic and seemingly preventable.  A grand jury investigation into his death brought to the forefront both the failures of that system as well as the many obstacles child welfare caseworkers must contend with on a daily basis.  The grand jury’s 122 page report outlined not only the facts and circumstances that contributed to Jarrod’s death, but also made numerous recommendations for changes at both the county and statewide levels.  The five-year anniversary of Jarrod’s death is a good time to reflect back to the grand jury’s work and provide an update on their recommendations.  Enough time has passed to show the work that has been done to improve the system.  It is also the right time to recommit ourselves, in Jarrod’s memory, to finishing the job the grand jury started.

Throughout the course of their investigation, the grand jurors repeatedly encountered common themes around the following areas- (1) insufficient training for caseworkers; (2) the lack of coordination and communication between Dauphin County Children and Youth Services (Dauphin County CYS) and outside agencies and disciplines; (3) concerns regarding the state’s sixty calendar day time limit for child abuse investigations; and, (4) continuous caseworker turnover and high caseloads. These themes were present and true for Dauphin County CYS and further appear to have been themes for children and youth agencies across the state.  The grand jury made recommendations to address all four problem areas.  

Over the next month, we will look back at the recommendations of the grand jury and examine what, if any, progress has been made towards implementing their recommendations.

--Seán McCormack, Chief Deputy District Attorney