RICHMOND, Va. -- Bipartisan efforts to reform Virginia's foster care system by placing children with extended family members before they enter the system is making its way through the General Assembly.
"You get the child and they say, 'Can you take the child and be OK?'" Allison Gilbreath, the policy director for Voices for Virginia's Children, said. "And they say goodbye, and they don't see you again."
Gilbreath describes what it can be like for someone who becomes a kinship caregiver by taking in a family member's child because that child can no longer safely stay in their home.
"And suddenly you are faced with all the expenses that require care of that child," Gilbreath explained. "You might realize this child needs therapeutic services, there's no one there to help guide you through the process."
It is something she faced herself when she became a guardian for her four-year-old niece.
Gilbreath was among many showing support Friday for a bill that would help future cases like hers that's part of a larger effort to fix Virginia's foster care system.
"It's just very disruptive and it's not giving us our best outcomes," State Sen. Barbara Favola (D - Arlington County) said.
Virginia ranks among the lowest in the country for placing children in foster care with relatives, which advocates say studies shows better outcomes for kids placed with family.
"Think about being a six-year-old kid and going to live with a stranger," Janet Kelly, former Secretary of the Commonwealth and the founder of Virginia's Kids Belong said. "Think about going to as a six-year-old kid to live with your favorite aunt. There's a very, very big difference in outcomes and experience and trauma and all of those things."
A bill sponsored by Republicans and Democrats, aims to keep kids from even entering the foster care system by creating a program to allow parents at risk of having their children taken away, agree to have them placed with relatives.
"We're trying to provide what we think is a more humane option for the child," Favola said. "It's a tough situation."
Advocates say there's no set guidelines for this type of situation. They highlighted an Augusta County case where a mother heading to prison tried to send her nearly three-year-old daughter to a sister several hours away. She was convinced by Child Protective Services to pick someone closer, eventually choosing a woman she knew from prison.
"They go to somebody else who, maybe is known, but not a family member and there have been some horrific situations that have occurred," Ryan McDougle said.
No welfare checks were ever done on the child, Khaleesi Cuthriell, who was tortured to death by the woman and her boyfriend over a three month period.
This bill would lay out the requirements for cases like that, including background checks, agreements on visitation and follow-up visits.
The initial placement would be for up to 90 days with one 90-day extension allowed.
The hope is the parents could fix their problems and allow a reunification. But if not, the official foster care process would kick in.
The plan also includes funding for the relatives to help with costs, which Gov. Glenn Youngkin has already included in his proposed budget.
"It's best for the kids, it's best for the families, it's best for taxpayers, because it keeps costs down as well," Kelly said.
What is not included in the bill was funding for legal counsel for parents. That was among the reasons why the Legal Aid Justice Center voiced their opposition to the bill, saying many families involved in the system are either minority or low-income and might not be able to afford it.
"All of this is typically under the guise or threat that if you don't agree, we will file a petition for abuse and neglect against you, and your kid could end up in foster care, right?" Legal Aid Justice Center Youth Justice Program Director Fallon Speaker said. "When we're talking about voluntary choice, that's not a voluntary choice in many ways."
Advocates say there is a separate bill this year to address that particular funding aspect.
In the meantime, they say this bill is the first step in giving kids in crisis a chance to reach their full potential.
"They deserve a chance to succeed and this bill will give them that," Kelly said.
While there are several legislative steps remaining before the bill could become law, it has unanimously passed its initial committee and sub-committee hearings in the Senate and House.
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