Utah legislation strives to serve the family
“We talk about the drug crisis, the education crisis and the problems of teen pregnancy and juvenile crime, but all these ills trace back predominantly to one source: Broken families,” said Elaine Kamarck, researcher for the Progressive Policy Institute.
Utah legislation is trying to help out families in Utah without causing too big of a tax burden on residents, said Brent Parker, Cache Valley State Representative.
“Probably 70 percent of what we do affects families directly or indirectly,” he said.
Karmarck said, “There is a mountain of scientific evidence showing that when families disintegrate, children often end up with intellectual, physical and emotional scars that persist for life.”
Parker said, “Basically, the state legislature speaking as a body is conservative. That relates to a heavy Republican makeup of the state and the House. It’s about two to one. As a result of the conservative nature of the State of Utah, family values are more conservative.”
Gayle Ruzicka, Utah affiliate for the Eagle Forum, said she juggles her time between being a “full-time stay-at-home mom” and volunteering for the Eagle Forum.
“We are a pro-family group which lobbies legislature and other government organizations that have to do with passing laws or dealing with policies. We deal with the legislature, the school board, bureaucrat or whatever,” she said.
Bruce Bayley, family and human development doctoral student and teacher, said the Eagle Forum is a right-wing group that has a powerful phone network and a great ability to sway legislation in Utah.
“We should rely on the government to get past the humps,” Bayley said. “In some cases, if the government does not intervene, members of the family can be harmed.”
“The issue of family legislation depends on government. Some think government shouldn’t do anything outside of things such as defense. I think government has a responsibility to take care of areas such as child immunization, education and intervention of social problems. If kids are headed the wrong way, it is appropriate for the government to intervene and make programs available,” Parker said.
Parker said the question becomes how much society should do. Some believe the government should be heavily involved.
“I think it’s a good idea to let people do what they can and let private enterprise help,” he said.
Ruzicka said, “We have so many laws that are unconstitutional. Four hundred new laws are passed a year and many of them are deemed constitutional simply because of precedents even when it is clear, if you read the constitution, that they are not constitutional.”
Ruzicka said she thinks many laws are passed simply because legislatures want their ratings to go up, but she said “some laws need to be fixed.
“We have been heavily involved in pushing parental rights over the last 10 years, and it still continues today,” she said. “We were very involved in the issue of child abuse and getting laws passed, so if an individual is abused, they will be protected and removed from the situation.
“But now there is a different problem. There is a high percentage of parents falsely accused of child abuse to the Child Welfare Reform Act, which was passed because of a lawsuit. Parents lost almost all their rights with this. The legislation will be changing many laws in the next session and the Eagle Forum will be heavily involved,” Ruzicka said.
Parker said, “The state has been accused of being insensitive to parental rights. We need to make corrections this summer. Occasionally, parents are accused and children are pulled out of the home. The parents are unable to get them back, or the children are pulled out on unsubstantiated accusations.
“Right now, if a child wanted to get a guardian in trouble, he or she could lie, and if an accusation is made, it could put the parent out of work. We will modify this with a system of checks and balances. You have to be thorough in investigations,” he said.
At one time children were not listened to in cases of abuse, and now parents are not listened to, Bayley said.
“Now that the pendulum has swung both ways, I expect it to settle down and there will be a balance,” he said.
Ruzicka said, “There are a lot of funds set aside by the Federal Government [for child abuse] and they require accountability, as they should, for it. But in order to get the money, they have to increase the number of children removed from homes. The worst kind of child abuse is often taking children from the home and family,”
Utah has turned to taking many children on unsubstantiated or irrelevant reasons, she said. In most states inner cities, they would never dream of removing children for these reasons.
“In Utah, 70 percent of abuse cases are emotional abuse or negligence. One example of negligence can even occur when mothers take their children to the doctor too often,” Ruzicka said. “And when a mother is diagnosed with a mental illness, there is a high chance children will be taken out of the home.”
Other controversial issues in Utah right now involve some of the databases Utah provides. One is the sex offenders registry.
Utah Code currently requires the Utah Department of Corrections to develop, operate and maintain a registry of persons who have either been convicted of or entered a plea in abeyance to certain sex offenses.
Registration is also required of individuals who are committed to the Utah State Hospital by reason of their mental condition, and who also have committed or been alleged to have committed any of the listed offenses.
According to the department’s Web site, information such as a photo, description of offense and address is available to the public.
Ruzicka said there is also a database so those charged with child abuse, even if they are found to be innocent, are listed.
“And, if the judge hears the case and says, ‘this is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard of, there is nothing to it,’ the adult is still on the database for five years. Last year we got it changed from 10 years,” she said.
“These laws are passed by people who are well-meaning,” Ruzicka said. “And they want to protect the child, but they cause a nightmare.”
Another issue that affects families is whether or not women should get birth control through insurance companies. This bill has come up before, Parker said, and is sure to come up again. One of the reasons women want this bill is because men are provided Viagra through insurance.
“It’s an interesting one,” Parker said. “Last year, I voted against it. Viagra is put out for a dysfunction, not a convenience. For women, some may need the medication for health reasons. For others, it is a convenience.”
In 2000, more than a dozen women’s health-care activists stood in the Utah Capitol in support of putting birth control pills on drug insurance plans.
“They wouldn’t look at us. They wouldn’t talk to us,” said Beverly Cooper, a lobbyist for Utahns for Choice and Planned Parenthood.
Cooper said, in 2000, the bill never made it to a public vote.
This next legislative session, Ruzicka said, is sure to have many issues related to families. It is the public’s job to stay up to date as much as they can and encourage their representatives to keep the interests of the family in mind.