LANSING – In an effort to improve Michigan's foster care system, the Michigan House of Representatives today passed reforms that bolster the rights of relatives who want to care for children entering foster care, give the State new tools to help locate relatives when children need to be placed in foster care, and help ensure that children are placed with foster families that have the same religious background.
"Michigan's current laws do not reflect the new realities of foster care, and especially the relationship between foster children and their relatives," said State Representative Gino H. Polidori (D-Dearborn), a lead sponsor of the package. "We need to fill that gap. These reforms will ensure that the best interests of our children are upheld when they enter the foster care system, and that the move to another family is as easy as possible for our kids. This is a good day for Michigan's families."
Michigan's foster care system relies heavily on relatives to care for foster children. According to the Department of Human Services, the state has experienced a 67 percent increase in relative care placements in the past 10 years. However, few modifications have been made to address the changing nature of the system. Many relative caretakers are ineligible for state and federal funding, and do not have access to the same types of resources as traditional foster families.
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. HB 4735 passed the House on a vote of 106-0.
State Representative Robert Dean (D-Grand Rapids) sponsored a bill that would require parents of a child entering foster care to provide a list of relatives for potential placement. This would assist Department of Human Services employees in efforts to locate relatives and give suitable relatives the option of caring for children who would otherwise enter traditional foster care. HB 4737 passed the House on a vote of 103-2.
"Many individuals who may be willing to care for their relatives' children are unable to do so simply because they are not aware of a need," Dean said. "The most basic step we can take is to ensure that family members are alerted when a child needs care, and allow them to be a part of the solution."
State Representative Barb Byrum (D-Onondaga) sponsored a bill in the package that would provide a preference for children to be placed with foster families who have the same religious background as the child. HB 4736 passed the House on a vote of 106-1.
"For a child, the experience of entering foster care and leaving their own family to live with another is very traumatic," Byrum said. "My plan aims to ease that transition as much as possible by placing children in homes with similar traditions. It also will help ease the transition again if children are eventually reunited with their parents."
The package of bills was inspired 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 the past two years to ensure that other families do not suffer similar hardships.
"These bills are an important step, but they are only a first step," Polidori said. "This legislation gives families the choice to care for their young relatives if they so choose. The next step is to ensure that these loving families have the resources and support they need to make relative care a realistic option for every family."