Arizona HB2049, HB 2047 and HB 2283

“Three bills have been introduced focusing on foster children after a legislator learned about confidential cases from the Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS).

While meetings with DCS are classified, certain cases have prompted Rep. Kelly Townsend, R-Mesa, to file three bills regarding foster care: House Bill 2049, House Bill 2047 and House Bill 2283.

Titled “State wards; medical experimentation prohibition,” House Bill 2049 states that a foster parent, nor a child welfare agency, will be allowed to order a foster child to be subject to medical or genetic experimentation, or administer any medication not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Furthermore, physicians may not conduct medical or genetic experimentation or administer any medication not approved by the FDA to a foster child.

Rep. Jay Lawrence, R-Scottsdale, a co-sponsor of the bill, said that conducting medical and genetic experimentation on foster children is an “awful thing to do.”

“That’s like when people were put in concentration camps and put through medical experimentation,” Lawrence said. “It’s awful to think that these young people have been used for genetic experimentation. That’s just not acceptable.”

Townsend’s goal is to reform DCS, she said.

“We’re trying several approaches to reform DCS and we need to work on it, if not this year, then next year,” Townsend said.

According to a child welfare report published by the DCS on Jan. 5, 32 children are removed from Arizona homes each day.

Though a court process is required for the removal of the child from the home, families may be forced to wait up to a year before they can get a trial to represent their case, Townsend said.

Townsend also noticed that supervisors of DCS are often unable to supervise the removal of the children due to the large amount of cases. This contradicts its own internal policy within the DCS’ Clinical Supervision Guide, which advises the supervisors to “assess child safety and risk factors, identify family needs” before the removal of a child.

“There’s no supervision, there’s no oversight of these entry-level college graduates removing children from their homes,” Townsend said.

To combat this problem, Townsend proposed House Bill 2047, which states that DCS will establish clear policies and procedures. Supporting information provided by the child safety worker and the worker’s supervisor’s approval must also be needed in order to remove the child from the home, according to the bill.

Karen Kline, project manager at the Center for Applied Behavioral Health Policy at Arizona State University, however, is unsure if the statute needs to be established.

If a child is left in a home with dangerous circumstances and the social worker needs to get a supervisor’s permission to remove a child from the home, the child may be put in harm, she said.

Kline faced a similar situation when she received a call from a hotline as a social worker. The parent had just beaten their 5-year-old child with a coat hanger and Kline had to react immediately to ensure the safety of the child, she said. If she had left the child in the home to contact a supervisor, the child would have been in an “unsafe situation,” she explained.

Townsend also proposed a bill that makes it harder for DCS to remove children that are considered abused or neglected from their home without adequate explanation. According to the bill, foster children are not to be considered abused, neglected or dependent based on the treatments of religious beliefs and good faith, for that reason alone, under House Bill 2283. In addition, a parent, guardian or custodian may take the child to another doctor for a second opinion without the child being considered abused. The department must also have at least three licensed physicians’ allegations of abuse or neglect before removing the child from the home.

Kline said that the bill needed clarification on the physicians’ allegations of neglect and abuse.”

East Valley lawmaker files 3 bills focusing on foster care[Akwatukee Foothills News 3/2/15 by Jenny Ung]

REFORM Puzzle Piece