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State Rep. |
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Foster parents could gain voice under proposed Shimkus bill
HARRISBURG, June 12 – State Rep. Frank Andrews Shimkus, D-Lackawanna, recently introduced a bill that would give foster parents a say in court decisions about their foster child’s future.
House Bill 1511 would allow foster parents to submit a written report about a child in their care to the court before the child’s permanency hearings. Permanency hearings are held every six months to determine whether a child should return to his or her natural parents, remain in foster care or be put up for adoption.
“Many times, foster parents know these children better than anyone else,” Shimkus said. “Their experiences with the children are more revealing than anything a social worker or an attorney could provide to the court, so it’s only fitting that foster parents should have a say in these children’s future.”
The bill would require county children and youth agencies to notify foster parents of their right to submit a report to the court. The Department of Public Welfare would create a form for foster parents to submit to the court. The form would include descriptions of the child’s adjustment, interaction with others, physical and emotional condition, educational status, behavior and relationship with his or her birth parents, among other factors.
The report would be confidential and only reviewed by the court, the child’s guardian and a court-appointed special advocate, Shimkus said.
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