New Mo. law on mental health treatment for kids slow-going

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A state law that took effect last month was designed to spare parents from having to give up custody of their children to get them state-funded mental health treatment.

But so far, no parents who turned their children over to the state have sought to regain custody.

"What surprised me is that there weren't parents banging on the door saying 'I want my kids back,"' said Beth Viviano, a St. Louis parent who sits on a state advisory panel that is helping implement the new law.

Under the old system, parents who could not pay for mental health treatment for a son or daughter had to relinquish custody to the Department of Social Services before the state would provide the care. The new law allows state officials to decide whether a specific child should receive state-funded care without having to become a ward of the state.

Nearly 600 children could be affected, according to state estimates. But so far, no children have been restored to their parents' legal custody.

State officials say determining which families meet the requirements of the bill has been tricky and could take several more weeks. Sponsoring Sen. Michael Gibbons, R-Kirkwood, and others don't know why no parents have come forward to regain custody of their children.

Sorting through the thousands of foster care cases and searching for eligible families has been has been more complicated than many expected, Keith Krueger, of the Missouri Children's Division, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

It's possible, he said, that the state took custody of a child for more than just mental health reasons, such as a history of abuse by a sibling or other relative. Before custody can be restored, those factors must be investigated.

But parents who believe they are entitled to being reunited with children will have their cases reviewed immediately, he said.

Meanwhile, the state advisory panel is working to make sure that from now on, parents won't be forced to give up custody of their children. By December, the panel should complete recommendations of how state agencies should handle new cases of mentally ill children.

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Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com