Kudos to parents who fight for their rights

Right on, parents! Your march on the state Capitol has marked the beginning of a new radical civil rights movement — parents' rights.

In our zeal to protect children's rights, we often deny parents their rights. The message is: "The state knows best how to raise children."

I don't think so.

After 10 years, the state is still under a court order to improve its child welfare system. The result? We often replace parental neglect with state neglect.

Your activism has given "family values" a much-needed jump-start and let legislators know their agenda should reflect those values. Lawmakers say they believe in the importance of families. But, out of the hundreds of bills they file every session, few, if any, have anything to do with helping families unless it is to relieve them of their parental responsibility. Those most neglected are the low-income families, caught in the "safety net," who are powerless and have no voice. Those advocating for parents' rights today should speak for all families.

Let's "leave no family behind."

If you think about it, we have replaced the many responsibilities parents have, or had, in our society with a whole industry designed around symptoms — child care, foster care, group homes, juvenile courts and child welfare to name a few. Though the policies have good intentions, they frequently get bad results.

We need to protect children, but let's not forget that parents are people, too. They need our support, not our condemnation. In today's uncertain world, parents are under great stress trying to meet the most fundamental needs of their members: food, clothing, shelter, education, health care and jobs that pay a living wage. Yet, our public policies are designed to widen the "safety net" that expands bureaucracies rather than solving problems or preventing them in the first place. As a consequence, we have conflicting policies, some that are anti-family, and others that are only concerned with the rights of children. What is needed is for lawmakers to create a coherent set of policies that assist families in carrying out their responsibilities in today's economy while protecting the welfare of children.