Sweeping change in child welfare again proposed

A West Jordan lawmaker wants to resuscitate last year's failed proposal to institute sweeping changes in the state's child welfare system and says early review should help the measure pass.

HB266, sponsored by Rep. Wayne Harper, R-West Jordan, was approved in the House in the 2004 session but was voted down in the Senate, an action Harper blames on too little time.

Harper is hoping this year's version gets plenty of opportunity for review and study, unveiling key concepts Tuesday to members of the Legislature's Child Welfare Oversight Panel.

"The intent of this is to balance out the need of protecting children along with supporting and protecting the rights of parents to manage their children," Harper said. "It is a very fine line."

Harper's measure was among a flurry of child welfare proposals introduced last year on the heels of the Parker Jensen controversy in which the state pursued custody of a then-12-year-old boy whose parents were refusing prescribed treatment for what doctors said was a rare form of cancer.

The state ultimately abandoned its effort to obtain custody, but the case brought to the forefront what many see as the state child welfare system's main flaw — overzealous intervention.

Not yet in draft form, Harper's renewed push is expected to stir the debate once again, raising questions of when the state should act to protect children and if that action is reasonable.

After the meeting, Harper said his proposal will not deviate much from the 120-page piece of legislation introduced late in the session amid concerns of state child welfare employees.

"There will still be some people who believe I caved in to the system and others who will believe this will kill children," he said. "But the idea is to better improve the process."

Among changes Harper proposes:

• Clarifying and simplifying definitions of abuse and neglect, including the creation of a "safe harbor" for unintentional acts.

• Strengthening state recognition of the rights and responsibilities of parents to care for their children.

• Limiting the role of the state involving cases of medical neglect.

• Tightening the grounds for termination of parental rights.

Last year's measure drew opposition from state child welfare officials because it would have implemented a "beyond a reasonable doubt standard" in terminating parental rights in child abuse cases.

Critics argued the burden, generally reserved only for criminal cases, imposes too high a standard in child abuse and neglect cases, which are typically handled as civil proceedings in juvenile court.

Harper says the burden should be higher.