Libla's bill advocates children's rights

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- It takes too long to find permanency for children removed from their parents' care because of drug related problems, according to state Sen. Doug Libla of Poplar Bluff, R-Dist. 25.

Libla has pre-filed a bill he will introduce in January regarding the termination of parental rights. Senate Bill 530 shifts the burden to parents to prove they are fit to care for their child in cases of possession, use or manufacturing of methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine.

Parents could accomplish this by immediately entering treatment programs, for instance, according to Libla. The court could move forward quickly with the termination of parental rights if no steps were taken, he said. Local officials have told him it can take 15 to 20 months before juvenile authorities are able to begin some termination proceedings now.

"Fifteen months is a long time, not knowing what's going to happen to you," he said, explaining, "They [parents] have a decision to make, to change their lifestyle and provide a home that's drug free ... but if they choose not to, we need to close that gap and get kids in a home that will take care of them."

Poplar Bluff lawyer Dean Million has represented the juvenile office for more than 20 years and brought his proposal for the bill to a community meeting, which Libla also attended. Libla contacted Million soon after hearing the attorney speak.

"I started thinking about this about a year ago, when it became obvious to me our local foster care system was just getting overwhelmed with the number of children in care because of drug-related contact," said Million, who this month has seen the 36th Judicial Circuit run out of foster care homes and seek placements outside of Butler and Ripley counties.

There are 249 children in custody in the circuit, compared to 148 at this time last year, according to the juvenile division.

"We want these children to have good homes, preferably with their biological parents. But if that is not possible, then with good [foster or adoptive] families. Either way, let's do it more quickly than we're doing it now," Million said.

He has seen parents take a long time trying to rehabilitate themselves, only for the end result to be the same: termination of their rights, all while the children remain in foster care for a long time, he said.

Poplar Bluff lawyer Keith French works on the opposite side of the table during juvenile hearings, defending parents. This legislation would create a radical change in the law, he said. He is particularly concerned with the shift of burden to the parents to prove they are fit and that a conviction or guilty plea as old as three years could become the basis of a termination of parental rights application.

French is a partner at Scott Law Group who accepts appointments to represent parents at juvenile court when they cannot afford an attorney. In the past five years, he estimates about half of the 50 to 75 cases he has represented in area counties were based on drug-related problems.

The families in those cases were low income, often with little education, and almost immediately at a disadvantage in any legal proceeding because of that, he said.

The bill casts too wide a net, according to French, in ways that could harm families who have not committed more serious offenses.

"The objective, what they are trying to do, could be done in a different way, without shifting that burden," said French, who believes as many as half of families are reunited after parents complete all the steps to have children come home.

French said he worked with a Wayne County woman who was reunited with her two children after two years, but the family is happy and intact now. What if the family involved is a friend, neighbor or relative, French asked. What if it is someone you know to be a good person absent the drug addiction, he continued, or children you know who desperately want to go home.

"If you view it through that prism ... A year and a half, is it too long to keep a family intact? I say no," French said. "It's hard to put a time frame on keeping a family intact."

Libla believes the bill is fair to all parties.

"I'm concerned about the children's rights too," Libla said. The current system does not work, he believes.

"My goal is for them [parents] to make a choice," he said. "If they choose to use or sell illegal drugs, then ... we need to find a home for those kids so they can move on with their lives."

SB 530 WORDING:

Under Senate Bill 530, a parent would be presumed unfit upon showing:

* Parental rights to one or more other children were involuntarily terminated under TPR statute in the previous three-year period to the termination adjudication.

* If the child or the child's mother tests positive for cocaine, heroin or methamphetamine, during pregnancy or within eight hours of a child's birth.

* If the parent pleaded guilty or is convicted of a felony involving the possession or manufacturing of cocaine, heroin or methamphetamine within a three-year period immediately prior to termination adjudication.