Michigan HB 4976,HB 4977,HB 4978

See HB 4976 here. See HB 4977 here. See HB 4978 here.

“The Michigan House of Representatives last week voted to approve a package of bills that would act as a bill of rights for foster children.

The Children’s Assurance of Quality Foster Care Policy — a bipartisan package of three bills — passed the house with nearly unanimous support, on Tuesday, May 17, it was referred to the Senate Committee on Families, Seniors and Human Services.

Rep. Marcia Hovey-Wright, a Democrat from Muskegon who sponsored one of the bills, is hopeful that the package could be made law before the Senate breaks June 16. The former social worker said Michigan has about 13,000 children in its foster care.

Closures of institutions like Muskegon’s Child Haven facility have put more demand on the foster care system, Hovey-Wright said, but she said the children’s Bill of Rights wouldn’t necessarily increase that burden.

“The rights that we identified are just normal things that kids should have,” she said.

Hovey-Wright’s bill, House Bill 4976, lists the components to be included in a Children’s Assurance of Quality Foster Care Policy. They include items such as requiring a child to be placed with relatives and siblings when possible; ongoing contact with parents, relatives and friends when permissible; access to medical, emotional, psychological, educational and other services; access to and participation in cultural or religious activities; and a permanency plan designed to facilitate children in a permanent placement or return them to their homes in a timely manner. The bill also includes a grievance procedure to address violations of the policy.

House Bill 4977, offered by Rep. Jim Runestad, a Republican from White Lake, outlines a foster child’s right to access the court system, including regular contact with their caseworkers, attorneys and advocates.

House Bill 4978 from Rep. George T. Darany, a Democrat from Dearborn, would require the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to distribute a written guide to foster children that outlines their rights in an age-appropriate manner, and informs foster children about how to seek help if they believe the policy has been violated.

“Children come to the foster care system after a traumatic experience or after suffering from abuse or neglect. We owe it to them to make sure they get the best care possible,” Rep. Darany said in a news release. “These bills give foster children the assurance that they do have rights, and provides them with the tools they need to exercise them. I look forward to seeing this package of legislation signed into law.”

Hovey-Wright said several conditions were right for the bills to come forward in 2016. A bill of rights for foster parents was passed in 2014, and Hovey-Wright said the children’s bill of rights was “trying to even the playing field.”

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is ready to reform after being hit with a lawsuit, she said — set to adopt many of the changes outlined in the package of bills.

“We were really on the same page,” Hovey-Wright said. “They knew that they had to change.”

Bill of Rights for foster kids passed by Michigan House of Representatives [M Live 5/21/16 by Stephen Kloosterman]

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