By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
A St. Joseph state representative who pushed for foster care reforms worried the legislation wouldn’t make it through the COVID-19 shortened session.
Rep. Shelia Solon got her bill to the Senate in plenty of time. Then, the six-week coronavirus break disrupted the session.
Solon says the Senate loaded down the bill, but with amendments familiar to legislators, paving its way to passage.
“When the bill came out of the Senate, everything on there was good policy, good legislation, had been vetted and I was able to pick it up and pass it in the House overwhelmingly,” Solon tells St. Joseph Post.
Solon says the bill requires a risk assessment for children in a troubled home within 72 hours to guide whether children should be removed from their home. It also increases accountability in the Missouri Children’s Division.
“Regarding data, increased accountability, and modernizing foster care management system programs, which is really important to put us in line with the Family First (Prevention Services) Act, which will help us receive federal funds,” Solon says.
It also would end the requirement that foster children attend every court hearing on their case.
“Only when necessary, very disruptive for foster kids to constantly have go to court, be taken out of school,” according to Solon. “It’s a lot of stress on them that they don’t need.”
Solon says it also puts a lot of strain on foster parents who are charged with making sure the child gets to the court appointments.
Legislators returned to work in Jefferson City to pass the $35 billion state budget by the constitutionally determined deadline, but also had just enough time to pass a few pieces of legislation. As the weeks dwindled to days, lawmakers looked for any vehicle to carry their legislation, often loading down bills with so many diverse amendments the bills no longer could attract the votes needed to pass.
Solon worried amendments added to her bill could kill its chance of passage.
“Fortunately, we got it over the finish line, but you know up until you get it passed, it’s always pretty nerve-racking,” Solon says with a laugh. “It had a lot of really important things in it that would help the children of our state. So, with that came a lot of responsibility and anxiety to make sure that it got passed.”
The bill, HB 1414, is now on Gov. Mike Parson’s desk.