Lawmakers mull family reunification, foster family bonds

On the heels of a recent Nevada Supreme Court decision to reinstate parental rights for one young couple, a bill that involves the termination of such rights was amended and approved by the Assembly Committee of Health and Human Services Wednesday.

The Supreme Court’s order to reverse the Clark County Family Court ruling came after the parents appealed. The higher court concluded Family Court abused its discretion in the case.

“It’s very telling about the problems in practice in child welfare,” Assemblywoman Teresa Benitez-Thompson, D-Reno, said of the Supreme Court’s decision during the Wednesday meeting. Discussion juxtaposed the family reunification issue raised by the Supreme Court case with a bill calling for stronger consideration of the bond that forms between foster parents and foster children in deciding placements.

Under state law, there needs to be clear and convincing evidence of parental fault, and the best interests of the child need to be considered when deciding to terminate parental rights.

For the parental fault in this case, Family Court Judge Cynthia Giuliani relied on the parents’ failure to complete additional recommended counseling, according to the order. However, that recommendation was never included in the parents’ case plans developed by caseworkers in the Clark County Department of Family Services and approved by the court.

The judge also relied on the parents’ inability to explain the child’s injuries.

The parents maintained they believed it was one of the mother’s relatives who caused the injuries. But a Child Protective Services investigator testified that she did not interview all of the mother’s relatives who had contact with the child at the time of her injuries.

The child was taken into protective custody after she suffered two skull fractures. Family Services initially filed an abuse and neglect petition alleging the parents were at fault, but the petition was later amended and the allegation was withdrawn.

The parents did everything asked of them, but the child still wasn’t returned, Benitez-Thompson said. The system that’s not serving children well needs to be fixed.

As lawmakers discussed this case, they also expressed some concerns with Senate Bill 303, sponsored by Scott Hammond, R-Las Vegas. The bill revises provisions related to when a child is in need of protection and provisions in proceedings related to termination of parental rights. On Wednesday, the bill was amended to remove two paragraphs that called for the court to consider whether the child has formed a strong bond with the foster parents and whether the removal of the child from the foster parents is likely to cause psychological harm.

Foster parents and Family Services support the bill, which was approved by the committee, with four of its members voting against it. Assemblyman Tyrone Thompson, D-North Las Vegas was one of them.

“We need to be focused on reunification,” he said.

Contact Yesenia Amaro at yamaro@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0440.