Law Returning Custody To Parents Of Mentally Ill Kids Starts To Take Effect

A state agency is starting to give children back to the parents who had to give up their parental rights so the children could get medical treatment. The Legislatureand the Governor have acted quickly this year to throw out a state law that forced some parents to reliquish custody of their children before they could be treated for mental illness. Social Services Department Spokesman Jim Harrison says hundreds of children are under state care. They’re being evaluated to see how many can go back to their parents. Within a few weeks, the system of returning children to families will be in use in 18 counties. Harrison says the system of evaluating incoming children – and perhaps letting them stay with their parents – and of returning the children now in the system to parents who can care for them, should be complete by the end of summer.