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Bill would restore reunification services for parents who previously lost rights; advocates urge favor
Summary
HB48 (Right to Fight Act) would stop the Department of Social Services from denying reasonable reunification services for parents who previously had parental rights terminated; public defenders, clinicians and impacted parents said the current rule forces an unfair, lifelong penalty and deepens racial and economic disparities.
Delegate Tolles presented HB48, the Right to Fight Act, saying that current law allows the Department of Social Services to refuse reasonable efforts to reunify a subsequent child with a parent who previously lost parental rights to another child. "No parent should have to make this choice," Kenneth Wardlaw of the Office of the Public Defender told the committee, summarizing why he and his colleagues support the bill.
Nina Villamar (Parental…
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