State Representative Proposes a Bill of Rights for Foster Children

A state legislator has reintroduced a bill that would create a bill of rights for foster children. Representative Phyllis Mundy of Luzerne County says she has introduced her “Children in Foster Care Act” legislation during every session since 2005. But this time, she’s made some adjustments that may make the bill more popular, by omitting a section that would have protected children against discrimination based on sexual orientation. Because many children are in foster care because of their sexual orientation, she says the clause would be relevant in the bill of rights. However, since she’s had trouble passing it with that inclusion, she says she’d “rather pass an imperfect bill than no bill at all.”
Mundy says some of the included rights in the list are to live in a safe, healthy home, to receive proper routine medical treatment and to retain a solid education. Other rights are to protect children against corporal punishment and other abuses.