I have had the good fortune to work for more than 30 years in the social service field. Twenty-seven of those years were spent helping abused and neglected children find safety and security by learning new skills and returning to a “family.”

In some instances, this family included biological parents or other relatives, but in many cases, children were placed in foster care. It is these children that I write this column for.

In 1997, the Federal Adoption and Safe Families Act was created to help promote permanent placement for children by encouraging the termination of parental rights if a child had been in the foster care system for more than 15 months and the family had not made changes to address the problems that led to the removal.

This legislation cleared the way for children to become adopted, resulting in a new, permanent family. The termination of parental rights, however, has created a class of “legal orphans” who have no parents, no legal family, and no rights to any inheritance or other legal status.

According to the Michigan League for Public Policy (2013), there were 2,724 Michigan children in foster care who had been awaiting adoption for at least 12 months. Older children, or children with behavioral or emotional problems, often wait much longer. One study estimates that 60 percent of the children in foster care who are age 17 or older have been in placement for four years or more. The estimated annual cost for a child in the foster care system is approximately $27,000, depending on the nature of the child’s problems. That same year, there were 3,497 children in the foster care system between the ages of 16-20 and approximately 11 percent of the children who leave the foster care system each year are emancipated by the court.

Many children who “age-out” of the foster care system find themselves without a family, a home, or a sense of belonging. Think about your own early adulthood; if it was anything like mine, I was always asking my parents for help with one thing or another.

These children have nobody to turn to. As a result, they are much more likely to become homeless, suffer from underemployment, experience school failure, experience drug or alcohol problems, suffer from mental illness, become young parents or become involved with the criminal justice system.

Thirteen states have already enacted legislation to allow for the reinstatement of parental rights under certain conditions. There is currently a bill in the Michigan Senate-Senate Bill 484, to allow for parental rights to be reinstated under some very specific conditions: (1) The child must be at least 14 years of age, or the younger sibling of a child for whom parental rights are being reinstated; (2) A legal petition must be filed by the state or the child’s guardian requesting the reinstatement; (3) It must be investigated to determine if reinstatement is in the child’s best interests; (4) A criminal background check and central registry clearance must be completed; and (5) The court may impose a trial period of up to 180 days to insure that the transition is appropriate.

This bill was introduced (last) September but was immediately referred to the Senate Committee for Families, Seniors and Human Services with no further legislative action.

As a society, we want to provide people with the opportunity to succeed. We promote and encourage the opportunity for people to change, grow and learn. People are able to overcome substance abuse issues and live productive, successful lives.

They are able to escape violent, destructive relationships and build strong families. In these situations, there is currently no provision for them to legally have their children back, even if it is the right thing to do. The safety provisions of this legislation help to protect the child in these situations.

Senate Bill 484 provides the opportunity to reinforce positive change, while also providing many children the opportunity to return to a safe, loving family.

Our state senator, Tom Casperson, serves on the Families, Seniors and Human Services Committee. I urge you to contact Senator Casperson at (517) 373-7840, and request that he advocate for a vote on this legislation during the fall term.

Our children deserve the opportunity to have a safe, permanent home, and this legislation may provide another option to insure that permanence.

Editor’s note: Steve Rudness is a native of Marquette, and has served as a social worker for more than 30 years. He has worked extensively with children and families throughout the Upper Peninsula in foster care, residential treatment, and family preservation programs.