How Important are Parental Rights and Marriage? Not very to leading Virginia Democrats

On 22 February, HB 121, legislation that would have required state health clinics to inform parents if their minor child sought mental health counseling was killed by the Senate Education and Health committee. In a year when mental health reform is one of the priority issues in the General Assembly, the Ed and Health committee believed that involving parents when their children are in a mental health crisis would be detrimental to the children! In response to the Virginia Tech tragedy, the General Assembly has proposed numerous bills and included millions of dollars in additional spending on mental health – but involving parents when a child is under 18 years of age was rejected, according to Chris Freund, VP of the Family Foundation of Virginia.

Freund also reports that on the same day a legislative priority of The Family Foundation passed unanimously out of the Senate Social Services and Rehabilitation committee. This bill, HB 871 patroned by Delegate Joe Johnson (D-4, Abingdon), would direct 1 percent of unrestricted Temporary Assistance for Need Families Funds (TANF) to initiatives that encourage and strengthen marriage. This legislation was proposed by The Family Foundation’s marriage commission. Unfortunately, the bill was changed by the House of Delegates from a requirement to a bill that simply permits the Department of Social Services to spend the money. Should the bill become law we will have to work in the future to strengthen the language.