Rep. Chris Corry: The state must protect rights of children over rights of drug-addicted parents
Families are the foundation of our communities, state, and nation. Honoring and respecting the family unit should be a high priority for elected officials at every level of government.
However, when new ideas with good intentions result in tragic consequences, especially for children, we must immediately correct course.
The Legislature passed the Keeping Families Together Act (KFTA) in 2021. The idea was to raise the threshold deemed necessary for a child to be removed from his or her biological parents – parents who make mistakes and are not perfect. Keeping children with their families while providing corrective action, treatment, and services, is something to consider.
Now, however, we’re seeing the consequences of raising this threshold, and possibly a situation where it is being overapplied with unnecessary rigor.
Since the KFTA went into effect in 2021, death and near-deaths for children known to Child Protective Services (CPS) is up 114%.
In addition, fentanyl is the leading cause of death among kids under CPS supervision. And overdose deaths in our state have escalated to nearly 3,600 between May of 2023 and April 2024, again largely driven by fentanyl.
Because the KFTA says that substance abuse by itself does NOT constitute as a reason for taking children out of the home, we’re seeing more cases of infants and small children being killed or seriously harmed by exposure to lethal amounts of dangerous drugs like fentanyl. The availability of these hazardous drugs combined with the lack of treatment services is a perfect storm for the needless death and injury of our most vulnerable children.
Current law requires that the potential physical harm to the child must outweigh the harm of removing them from their biological parents.
As my colleague, Rep. Travis Couture from Allyn, has said: “Removing kids from biological parents is traumatic for them. But not as traumatic as death.”
With the passage and implementation of the KFTA, the state has prioritized the rights of drug-addicted parents over the rights and safety of their children. This is wrong. And it needs to be corrected NOW. Too many children have died because of exposure to, or their parents being under the control of, dangerous drugs like fentanyl.
The Legislature must amend the KFTA with House Bill 1092. This legislation would require law enforcement or CPS to remove kids from homes where parents are struggling with fentanyl or other hard drug abuse.
The Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) has pushed back on this effort, pointing out that “harm reduction kits” are available to addicts with children. These kits contain a lock box for their drugs, fentanyl test strips, Narcan, and educational materials about the dangers of synthetic drugs.
However, the data shows these kits do not reduce harm, but increase exposure to illicit drug usage. There is nothing in these kits that someone in the throes of addiction would ever consider using. They are not the answer. To propose this as the solution to young children being exposed to hazardous drugs is beyond acceptable and threatens the credibility of the entire department.
The fact is, the Legislature needs to own up to our mistake and fix the KFTA by passing HB 1092. While the legislative session is almost half over, there is still time.
Protecting children and the most vulnerable from exposure to drugs should not be political, divisive, or even questioned. It absolutely MUST be government’s highest priority.
