Bipartisan Senate votes to strengthen grandparents’ rights, foster sibling relationships
Senator Amanda Ragan of Mason City addresses a Statehouse news conference attended by more than 50 children in foster care.
Grandparents will have more visitation rights and siblings in foster care will have closer relationships if legislation approved Tuesday morning by a unanimous Iowa Senate becomes law.
A unanimous Iowa Senate majority on Tuesday voted to strengthen the rights of grandparents and to support the sibling relationships of children in Iowa’s foster care system.
File 264 gives all grandparents the right to petition a court for visitation with their grandchildren and great-grand children.
Senate File 480 requires the state to help children in the foster care system to visit and maintain relationships with their siblings or state the reason why such visits would not be in the best interests of the child.
Foster child Jewel Barnes of Des Moines spoke at the news conference. She described how she was separated from her two brothers when her mother’s parental rights were terminated.
“I didn’t get to see them for almost three years,” said Barnes. “That was a big gap for me because they meant so much to me. I now have a good relationship with their adoptive parents and can visit them whenever I want.”
Barnes is a member of a group of more than 50 foster children who were at the Iowa Statehouse on Tuesday morning who watched the legislation pass the Senate. They are members of Elevate, a group of young people who seek to inspire others to new levels of understanding and compassion for the needs of foster care and adoptive teens by sharing their personal stories of hope. (http://elevate2inspire.com/)
A unanimous Iowa Senate majority on Tuesday voted to strengthen the rights of grandparents and to support the sibling relationships of children in Iowa’s foster care system.
File 264 gives all grandparents the right to petition a court for visitation with their grandchildren and great-grand children.
Senate File 480 requires the state to help children in the foster care system to visit and maintain relationships with their siblings or state the reason why such visits would not be in the best interests of the child.
Foster child Jewel Barnes of Des Moines spoke at the news conference. She described how she was separated from her two brothers when her mother’s parental rights were terminated.
“I didn’t get to see them for almost three years,” said Barnes. “That was a big gap for me because they meant so much to me. I now have a good relationship with their adoptive parents and can visit them whenever I want.”
Barnes is a member of a group of more than 50 foster children who were at the Iowa Statehouse on Tuesday morning who watched the legislation pass the Senate. They are members of Elevate, a group of young people who seek to inspire others to new levels of understanding and compassion for the needs of foster care and adoptive teens by sharing their personal stories of hope. (http://elevate2inspire.com/)
Audio: State Senator Keith Kreiman on helping foster siblings stay in touch
(1:08) MP3 WAV TRANSCRIPT