[T]he Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday removed a controversial measure in the child protection bill that would give social workers the authority to remove children from a home.
S.9 grew out of a joint legislative committee that met over the summer to determine a response to the deaths of two young children whose families had been in contact with the Department for Children and Families.
The 43-page bill proposes a broad range of reforms to the state’s child welfare system. Among the most controversial changes to the system would be the creation of a new crime, “failure to protect a child,” and empowering social workers to take a child into custody.
The latter measure sparked strong reactions from DCF and external groups that represent social workers.
Under current law, only law enforcement officers are able to remove a child from a home.
DCF aired concerns over the safety of social workers, who, unlike law enforcement officers, are not trained to handle the sometimes physically threatening situations that can occur when taking a child away from the parents.
Beyond posing a danger to physical safety, the new provision could affect social workers’ ability to do their jobs, said Eilis O’Herlihy of the National Association of Social Workers.
O’Herlihy told committee members that if social workers have the power to take children into custody, it would likely drive a wedge between them and the families they serve.
“Doing anything to jeopardize the hard work that professionals put into creating openness, it’s counter-productive to the overall goal,” O’Herlihy said.
After testimony Wednesday, lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee decided to strike the section.
Sears said after the meeting that the measure had been included in the bill based on testimony over the summer that suggested that social workers would like to have extra power. He believed it would give them the flexibility to act quickly in situations where children were clearly in danger.
“I trust them being able to have that opportunity,” Sears said, noting that he did not expect the concerns about social worker safety. “I did not want them to be in danger.”
Section 10, which empowers social workers to prepare an affidavit requesting an emergency care order, remains in the bill, which Sears said is important.
Sen. Claire Ayer, D-Addison, who chairs the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, said she is open to the possibility of removing the section from the bill when it comes over from Judiciary. She said her committee heard testimony from numerous sources, and came to the conclusion that the original intention to enhance the power of social workers was lost.
“The whole concept was misunderstood,” Ayer said.
DCF officials praised the committee’s decision to throw out the section.
“We’re glad that they made that decision,” DCF Deputy Commissioner Cindy Walcott said after the meeting.
The removal of section nine comes toward the beginning of a long process facing lawmakers to tailor the original S.9 draft down to reflect testimony. The committees will continue taking testimony this week. Sears hopes to have a bill ready to move out of committee at the end of next week.
HIGH RATES OF PARENTAL RIGHTS TERMINATION
Bech asked lawmakers to consider putting more resources out to support keeping children with their parents, by providing treatment for drug addiction or subsidized housing to reduce homelessness.
“There are a lot of our parents whose children are being removed because we are unable to provide them with substance abuse treatment because of their long waiting lists,” she said after the meeting.
Walcott, of the DCF, said that the agency is aware that Vermont has high rates for taking children into custody, but does not know how to interpret the numbers.
“I think on its face it’s hard to know whether this is a good thing or a bad thing,” Walcott said.
However, Walcott did say that drug use is increasingly involved in DCF cases. She cited an informal study done last year, asking social workers around the state if opiates were a factor in cases where children were taken into custody. In 80 percent of cases, the answer was yes, she said.
“Clearly, the opiate use is in particular driving young children into custody,” Walcott said.
