Dyan Neary

It's overwhelming.

The testimony goes on for two hours.

Several of the commissioners seem to be listening closely.

Others seem maybe a little uncomfortable, looking down at the desk or at their laptops.

And then it's over, and the room gets quiet.

Mark already knew a lot of what the families were going to say, so what he most wants to hear now is how the commissioners are going to respond.

This is Jeff Brace, chairman of the Board of Commissioners.

A couple other commissioners respond as well.

They have kids themselves, they say.

They can't imagine the trauma these parents have endured.

One says her heart is, quote, absolutely broken hearing about it.

But they don't go further than that.

They don't say a word about any of the changes Mark recommended, including his main one, requiring a second opinion from a doctor if a child is going to be removed from their home based on a medical finding.

At one point, Jeff Brace, the chairman, says that Mark should have sent his report to the state's Department of Human Services, which sets a lot of child welfare policy.

Mark pipes up.

It's been sent.

The state already has it.

He also makes a point of saying he never tells anyone how to do their job, including Mark.

The whole thing is brief, tense, weird.

After the meeting, we filed into the hallway, a little stunned.