[Ohio-Talk] S.B. 202 Hearing

[Barbara Pierce]

Nice job, Todd! I hope that S 202 will very quickly make it to the floor of the Senate, but I suppose that we are looking at months.

Thanks again,
Barbara
Barbara Pierce (she, her, hers)
President Emerita
National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
Barbara.pierce9366 at gmail.com
440-774-8077
 

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise expectations for blind people because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and their dreams. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back.

> On Oct 26, 2021, at 7:41 PM, Todd Elzey via Ohio-Talk <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Good evening!
> 
> Earlier today I had the pleasure of traveling to Columbus to testify before
> the Ohio Senate Judiciary Committee on our parental rights Senate companion
> bill S.B. 202. This hearing was for the Committee to hear "Proponent"
> testimony. I am pleased to report that the hearing went well.
> 
> I testified on behalf of the NFB and on my own personal behalf. I told the
> Committee about how the NFB of Ohio gets several calls per year from
> parents who are either being threatened with having their children taken
> away, or in some instances have already lost custody of their children
> simply because a social worker believed that a blind parent can't take care
> of children. I explained to the committee that blind people can and have
> indeed taken care of their own children. I pointed to the nearly 20
> examples we submitted via written testimony from NFB members from across
> the State. I also told the committee that there were many more examples of
> capable blind parents throughout society.
> 
> I also spoke of how blind parents are often held to a different standard by
> hospital social workers and CPS workers than are non-disabled parents. I
> spoke of how often blind parents currently have to prove they are capable
> of caring for their children. I told them how this is different because
> non-disabled parents are not asked to prove that they are good parents -
> rather when a complaint is received, social workers simply look to whether
> or not the non-disabled parent is endangering the child. I also pointed out
> that often social workers bend over backward to give non-disabled parents
> an opportunity to resolve any care issues before taking children away, but
> how often blind parents either lose their children right away or are
> threatened with that loss immediately without ever being given an
> opportunity to cure the problem through supportive services, etc.
> 
> I then spoke about how some parents, including myself, have faced the loss
> of their children during divorce proceedings because of their vision or
> other disability. I spoke of how this happens despite the fact that these
> parents often co-parented with a non-disabled parent for years without
> anyone raising the issue of blindness or disability. But that then during a
> divorce it is often alleged that it is not safe for the children to be with
> the blind or disabled parent because of their disability. I once again
> talked about how when this happens, it becomes the burden of the person
> with a disability to prove that they are a capable parent rather. I spoke
> of how it should be the other way around, that a person alleging an issue
> should have to prove by "clear and convincing" evidence that a person's
> disability endangers the child.
> 
> I concluded by asking the committee to approve S.B. 202.
> 
> I believe the Committee understood our concerns. There were no questions
> asked about the substance of the legislation.
> 
> Please let me know if you have any questions about the hearing.
> 
> Todd Elzey
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