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Georgia committee hears bill to limit out‑of‑state court‑ordered reunification camps
Summary
Lawmakers heard testimony on HB 253, “Ethan’s Law,” a proposal to prohibit superior courts from ordering children to attend out‑of‑state reunification programs and to give greater weight to a minor’s wishes in custody reunification orders. The committee did not vote and plans to consider a committee substitute at a later meeting.
Rep. Will Clark introduced House Bill 253, called "Ethan's Law," on behalf of children who, he said, were ordered by superior courts to attend out‑of‑state reunification programs against their wishes.
"This law would have been in place since 2022 to know that my brother and I would have been protected," said Owen Atsma, who addressed the committee by video and described being sent by court order to a Family Bridges reunification program on July 7, 2022. "They cut off all communication with support, system, and save family... my brother is still in Family Bridges and has been for the past 2 and a half years from what the 90 days they told us." (Video testimony, Owen Atsma.)
The bill's sponsor, Rep. Clark, told the…
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