LANSING – In an effort to improve Michigan's foster care system, the Michigan House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill sponsored by State Representative Gino H. Polidori (D-Dearborn) that would give special consideration and preference to relatives who want to care for children entering foster care.
"Our current laws do not reflect the realities of foster care, especially the relationship between foster children and their relatives," Polidori said. "We must ensure that the best interests of our children are upheld when they enter the foster care system."
Polidori's bill would amend Michigan's foster care laws to provide preference for children entering the foster care system to be placed with relatives whenever possible. If a fit and willing relative can be located, the child would be placed with that relative unless a determination is made that doing so would not be in the best interest of the child. The bill passed the House on a vote of 109-0 and now heads to the Senate.
The bill was influenced by a Dearborn couple, whose children were placed with families of a different religion. Ahmed and Rehab Amer were accused of abuse; their children were taken from them and placed in foster care. Ahmed and Rehab were cleared of all accusations, but by then the cultural differences between the Amers and the children's foster families made reunification with their children more difficult. Polidori has worked with the Amer family for more than three years to help prevent other families from suffering similar hardships.
"Since I introduced the bill several years ago, I've heard too often about how families are split apart and some children are even sent out of state – far from their relatives and friends," Polidori said. "I urge my colleagues in the Senate to pass this bill that gives families the choice to care for their young relatives."