A tougher tack on parents with drug issues cuts against Arizona's family-first focus

The state could be at a crossroads, or cross purposes, when it comes to dealing with children in families dealing with drug addiction.

Over the last six months, state policies have pivoted to a more-compassionate approach toward people with addiction issues.

But a proposal at the state Legislature would put strict timeframes on that compassion when it comes to children who have been reported to the state Department of Child Safety.

A bill that passed a Senate committee last week would cut off parental rights more quickly, deny services that might help parents address their addiction or other problems, and open a quicker path to adoption.

Protecting kids' rights

Proponents say the legislation is a way to protect the rights of children, particularly the very young.

"Some kids are resilient," said Darcy Olsen, the founder of Generation Justice, a newly formed organization that works for children's rights. But others aren't, she said, and all kids are best served by a permanent home rather than bouncing around in foster care.

MORE:Back-to-back claims: Kids were abused in foster care, DCS dropped the ball

"They need to attach, they need families," said Olsen, who has fostered seven children, and adopted three.

The legislation she's pushing would move kids to a permanent situation within a year, instead of dragging through the juvenile courts for years, she said.

"This is about getting the clock to work for children," Olsen said.

Breaking the family bond

Skeptics say the provisions of Senate Bill 1452 fly in the face of not only current DCS policy that favors family unification and the importance of the mother-child bond, but also federal laws. And it would strain the wider child-welfare system, from the courts to legal services.

Worst, with its strict timeframes and reduced help, it cuts off hope for struggling parents, they say.

"It's just writing people off," said Sen. Katie Hobbs, D-Phoenix. "Substance abuse and addiction is a medical condition. We know from research that relapse is a common occurrence."

Not all recovery from substance abuse can happen in the tight timeframes the bill envisions, Hobbs said.

Others note the changes seem aimed primarily at speeding up the availability of babies for adoption, as the proponents are initially targeting only children from birth to age 3.

Quicker timeframes

The legislation has the endorsement of the influential Center for Arizona Policy, which has rarely ventured into the child-welfare realm. But the issue is in line with the center's focus on traditional family values and opposition to abortion.

“Babies born to drug-addicted mothers deserve to have a chance at life,"  Cathi Herrod, the center's president, told lawmakers.

Olsen said there's a reason for focusing on quick permanency for the youngest children.  The trauma of an infant being moved from home to home is more severe than for an older child, she said. 

"A baby doesn't have a way to deal with separation," she said. 

To deal with those babies, as well as children up to age 3, the bill sponsored by Sen. Nancy Barto, R-Phoenix, speeds up the process that determines whether a parent keeps or loses their child.

What the bill does

Among other things, the legislation would:

•  Requires DCS, within 30 days of taking custody of a child, to find other family members who would take in the child. Agency officials say that's unrealistic, as they rely on the parents to point them to grandparents, aunts, uncles or other relatives. And then it takes time to be sure it would be a safe placement. To move more quickly, DCS would likely have to create a new unit dedicated to this task or hire private investigators.
• Add exposure to drugs while pregnant to the list of conditions that would trigger the severance of parental rights. This would apply only in cases where there is a long-standing history of drug exposure or extremely dangerous situations. But social-service advocates say the terms lack specificity and could penalize people who are battling back from a relapse. The bill does not provide an exception for people on prescription drugs.
• State that after a child has spent six months in foster care, that placement is considered the best setting for the child. That's a reversal from current state and federal policies, which put preference on family placements.
• Require a case that meets certain "aggravating circumstances" to move to a trial that would end parental rights within 24 to 40 days after DCS takes a child into custody. 
• Deny automatic services to families if the aggravating circumstances are verified by the court. That is counter to DCS' current policy of working with families to get clean, and clashes with the "hand-up" provisions of the opioid law that Gov. Doug Ducey signed into law last month.

A close vote

The bill passed on a 4-3 vote from the Senate's Health and Human Services Committee after hours of emotional testimony.

Foster mothers talked about the struggles they've witnessed of children who have been bounced around the child-welfare system while waiting for birth parents to get their acts together.

Olsen pulled many of these stories together through her experience with the foster-care system. "If I know this many people with this many failings, what's going on?" she said of their stories of neglectful parents.

Child-welfare advocates spoke of the trauma a child, especially a very young child, experiences when separated from her mother. Numerous studies have shown that children do better with their families, even when there is dysfunction than in foster care. But they and their parents need help, and cutting off services in certain conditions undercuts their ability to successfully reunited a family, they said.

Lawmakers were torn.

Sen. Kate Brophy McGee, R-Phoenix and one of the bill's co-sponsors, reversed her initial support for the bill.

It is too rushed, she said, and lacks many details. She has asked for the Legislature's budget staff to come up with a rough price tag for what the speeded-up legal process could cost the state, in terms of providing more courts, more prosecutors and more defense attorneys. 

Sen. Rich Gray, R-Peoria, balked at the prospect of waiting until the next legislative session to act.

“We want protection for our kids," he said. "My view is, maybe it’s not prime time, maybe we don’t have all the wrinkles ironed out of it yet. But it’s just crushing to think we’ll blow it off for another year.”

Sen. David Bradley, D-Tucson, said the blame for much of the problem points back at the Legislature, which reduced the social safety net for families during the recession and has balked at restoring it.

“We’re screaming at a system that needs more resources, that needs more training," he said. "There has never, never been a glorious day in child welfare. We’ve never had this figured out. Never.”

It will never be perfect, where all children are in the perfect setting, he said. But the legislation, while well-intentioned, is the wrong answer, Bradley said.

He, along with Hobbs and Brophy McGee, voted no. 

The bill now advances to the Rules Committee and will likely be scheduled for a vote before the full Senate.

Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com and follow her on Twitter @maryjpitzl

MORE ON CHILD WELFARE ISSUES:

Back-to-back claims: Kids were abused in foster care, and DCS dropped the ball

With warrants now the rule to remove children from homes, Arizona looks at exceptions

'Biggest challenge, biggest opportunity': DCS aims to keep more kids at home

About this report

Adoption is just one of the many complex issues of child welfare in Arizona. A three-year grant from the Arizona Community Foundation supports in-depth research on the topic at The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com.

Are you part of the child welfare system? We want to understand your story. Go to childwelfare.azcentral.com.