Today’s guest blogger is Rachel Hanle.
As of 2012, twenty-one states have passed laws or guidelines regulating the exposure of children in foster care homes to second-hand smoke. Because children who are in foster care are considered wards of the state, it is the state’s responsibility to provide them with living arrangements that protect and nurture their health and well-being. It is estimated that 80% of children in foster care have a chronic medical condition (1). Conditions such as asthma may be exacerbated by exposure to second hand smoke.
In March 2014, The Pioneer Press released a news article discussing Ramsey County’s transition towards more tightly regulating smoking in foster care homes. “Ramsey County urges foster parents to stop smoking around children in their care” an article written by Frederick Melo reflects upon Ramsey County’s recent decision to adopt and amended a version of the recommendation from the Community Health and Human Services Department regarding smoking in foster care homes.
The Ramsey County Board is finalizing the new guidelines for Ramsey County families who are providing or wish to provide foster care. According to Melo, as cited in the resolution, the guidelines, “intend to keep smoking from occurring when foster children and adolescents are in residence in the home, but are not intended to ban smoking by foster care providers … altogether.” One weakness of the news article is that it does not expand on what the new guidelines will entail. However it does state that the new guidelines are intended to protect foster children’s right to live in an environment free of second hand smoke while also respecting the foster parents’ right to smoke tobacco at their homes.
Importantly, the article mentions that the new guidelines are not a ban on smoking altogether. An all out smoking ban in foster homes could affect children who are in relative foster placements. If smoking were completely banned, relative foster care placements and kinship ties could be jeopardized if the family member continues to smoke in the home. It could also affect American Indian children and families for whom tobacco plays a role in their spiritual and cultural traditions.
The article mentions that stable placements or relative foster care placements would not be disrupted based solely on the occurrence of smoking in the home. This dispels the myth that children will be removed from appropriate placements based solely on the smoking habits of the caregiver. This bill addresses the goals of the child welfare system. It promotes the well-being of children in foster care by ensuring that they will not be exposed to second-hand smoke.
Reference