PSU Magazine Winter 1994

Professor Barbara Friesen Oregon Senate passed the bill 29-0 before Gov. Barbara Roberts signed it on July 14, 1993. And on Nov. 4, 1993, the bi ll went into effect. The Research and Training Center wasn't a co-sponsor of the bill, as the group does not get directly involved in political is ue , Friesen notes. "But we were there to give support. We helped all the partie involved gather the neces ary information." The end re ult is a law that is agreeable to parents, CSD, and the federal government. "CSD was very supportive of the bill's aim. It really enhances CSD's goal to provide services to families in the least intrusive way possible," says Cheri Emahiser, CSD's Title IV-E program coord inator. Emahiser points out that the new voluntary placement agreement between parent and the state requires parents to be more actively involved with their child 's care. "The agreement line ut acttvltle the parent will part icipate in. In many ways it helps ease the burden of our caseworker . The parent and caseworker are working as a team," says Emahiser. CSD has the right to challenge the parent 'custody if the parent aren't upholding their end of the agreement. In special cases, some parents may still be required to relinquish custody of their child under a voluntary custody agreement. "We felt it was necessary to 14 PSU Magazine Guide to custody The Oregon Family Support Network, using fund s from a Meyer Memorial Trust grant, has publish– ed a detailed account of efforts to pass Hou e Bill 3577. It's designed e pecially for parents outside Oregon who may run into legal cu tody obstacles when trying to place a disabled child in a state facility. "We hope it will be used as an advocates' guide that can have the ripp le effect of eliminating the custody relinqui hment require– ment in tates outside Oregon," says McManus. The document is ava ilable by calling the Resea rch and Training Center on Family upport and Children' Mental Health, 725-4040 or the Oregon Family Support Network in alem, 581-2047. keep the custody agreement fo r parents who need medical attention (for alcoholism or drug treatment, for example) and have no one else to care for their children," say Emahiser. For Judy Rinkin, director of the Oregon Family Support Network, the new law removes a tigma attached to parents who have lo t custody of their mentally disabled children. "For many parents, giving up custody is not an option," says Rinkin, who is the parent of a 22-year-old , adopted son diagno ed a being bipolar (manic-depressive). "Parent hould have been getting another option a long time ago. We've not abused, neglected or abandoned our children." Rinkin will never forget the day six years ago when she and her husband brought their son, then 16, before a Salem municipal court judge. The youth had run into trouble with the law. The Rinkins had sought help for their son's manic-depress ive condition for years, but the judge decreed that they could no longer help their son. "The judge said some cruel, unkind things to us and to our son," Rinkin recalls. "He said we couldn't take care of our child. He aid our son would be Linda Reilly in and out of in titutions all his life-that he was beyond help." The Rinkins temporarily lo t custody of their son to the state, but fortunately state officials made Judy Rinkin the teen's surrogate parent. Noting her pursuit of an advanced degree in education, they invited her to participate in her son's educationa l plan. Like Linda Reilly, Rinkin wa lucky to be given the opportunity to have a ay in her chi ld 's treatment. Today, the Rinkins' son lives in his own apartment, and the Rinkins help him manage his money. The Salem judge's predictions turned out to be wrong. "We're still involved in our son's treatment," Rinkin says. Colleen Wagner, fami ly info rmat ion coordinator for the Research and Training Center, says the new law will help en ure that all parents have the opportunity to participate in their child 's treatment. "The history of fami lies with emot iona lly or developmentally disabled chi ldren has been that if you don't know what your rights are and what's ava ilab le, it's not given to you," says Wagner, the parent of a 13-year-old boy who has been diagnosed with a mental illness. For parents such as Linda Reilly, Judy Rinkin and Colleen Wagner, the revi ed Oregon law helps ease the pain of caring for children with disabilities. D