House Status:
Senate Status:
Senate Status:
Minutes for SB276 - Committee on Public Health and Welfare
Short Title
Providing considerations in family law, adoption, foster care, guardianship and child in need of care proceedings for a parent or prospective parent who is blind.
Minutes Content for Tue, Feb 1, 2022
The Chairperson opened the hearing on SB 276.
Jenna Moyers, Office of Revisor of Statutes, provided an overview of the bill. The bill would update provisions in family law regarding parents who are blind. Being blind could not be used to deny custody or parenting time.
Thomas Page, National Federation of the Blind, stated support for the legislation. He stated the bill would protect blind parents from having a child removed from their custody due to their blindness. In the event of removal, the bill would proscribe supports for a parent to have a reasonable ability to regain custody of their child and would clarify the rights of blind parents to independently raise their children. (Attachment 1)
Emily DeVaris Schlenker, joined the committee meeting via remote. She spoke in support of the legislation. She recalled, when she was pregnant, her fears of being overly scrutinized by hospital staff about how she would care for her newborn without being able to see. Ms. Schlenker also stated, due to her blindness, a fear in seeking mental health care. She encouraged the committee's support for the legislation. (Attachment 2)
Robert Tabor, National Federation of the Blind, noted the federal law, Americans With Disabilities Act, does not address the safeguards the legislation would give to parents who are blind regarding their children. He added the legislation would not impede the state's authority to intervene on behalf of a child in the event of potential abuse or neglect situations. (Attachment 3)
Lou Ann Kibbee, Southeast Kansas Independent Living Resource Center, joined the committee meeting via remote. She stated babies and children should not be removed from a parent solely because the parent has a disability, including intellectual, mental health, blindness, deafness or any other physical disability. (Attachment 4)
Mike Burgess, Disability Rights Center of Kansas, stated support for the bill as it is drafted but the issues it addressed apply to all parents who have a disability. (Attachment 5)
Susan Tabor spoke in favor of the bill. She stated, as a former social worker, she worked with a parent who was blind and lost custody of her child. With support services and counseling, the mother was able to safely take care of her child and the child was returned to the mother. (Attachment 6)
Bruce Robards testified in favor of the bill. He stated his family situation involved a newborn grandbaby who was nearly placed in foster care. Mr. Robards was the child's grandfather and able and willing to take care of the baby but he feared his blindness would prevent the baby from being placed with him. He stated he went through questioning and 'what if' scenarios with the discharging physician. The baby was placed with him. Mr. Robards stated the child is now 27 months old and he is in the process of adopting his grandchild. He stated the bill would alleviate much of the fear he experienced due to his blindness and wanting to care for his grandchild. (Attachment 7)
Stephanie Sanford poke in support of the bill. She stated, in 1972, when she was 13, she feared being removed from her mother's care because her mother was blind and her father, who had left the family, was not disabled. She stated her concern, many decades after her own experience, parents are still in fear of losing custody of their child because of a disability. (Attachment 8)
Susan Stanzel testified in favor of the bill. She stated she raised three daughters despite her blindness. She stated she found ways to know where the babies were by the crackle of their diapers and she and her daughters fought through all the normal problems of school, homework, and cleaning their rooms. More recently, at age 76, she has cared for her two and four year old grandchildren while their mother worked. Ms. Stanzel stated she and her five year old grand daughter have a routine of making brownies. Ms. Stanzel asked the committee to support the bill to help assure blind parents will not lose their children because of their blindness. (Attachment 9)
Miles Anderson gave testimony in favor of the bill. He stated as a retired teacher of blind adults, he knew children who were raised by blind parents. The bill addresses problems of discrimination against parents who are blind. (Attachment 10)
The conferees stood for questions.
The Chairperson called attention to the written only proponent testimony.
- Roshunda Holt (Attachment 11)
- Donna Wood (Attachment 12)
- Andrea Travis (Attachment 13)
- Sharon Luka (Attachment 14)
- Tom Basgall (Attachment 15)
- Kambree Purdy (Attachment 16)
- Dr. Margaret Finger (Attachment 17)
- Pete Akers (Attachment 18)
- Julia Walter (Attachment 19)
- Heidi Washington-Akers (Attachment 20)
There were no neutral or opponent conferees.
The Chairperson closed the hearing on SB 276.
