HB 984- Your letter and comments

I have already received some comments on HB 984. Thanks for your quick response. We have until Monday afternoon to get information to legislators.

As a parent who cared for and adopted children that had lingered in the hospitals waiting for placements, I know the damage done by not being in a home. Facilities are not capable of providing the emotional needs of these kids and separating the family breaks the bond between parent and child when it is needed the most.

Renn Doyle, Partners graduate, Atlanta


I am a parent of a child with special needs and I am very concerned about HB 984 being passed. For certain, the individual who introduced this bill had good intentions. However, I wish that he or she had first decided to gather input from parents like me, before taking this forward.
If my child were to ever need medical care outside of a hospital, I hope and pray that it would be made available in our home. No matter how well-meaning and nice someone else may be, they could never take the place of a family's care. With proper supports, a family should be allowed the opportunity to take care of their loved one. It is appropriate for a child or anyone to be able to sleep in their own room and have familiar faces around. It is even more frightening to think of someone who is limited verbally and physically to be taken away from what they are accustomed to. When I read the bill, all that came to mind was that this would be a way to "institutionalize" the children.
I am asking you to please vote "No" to HB984 and encourage your constituents to do the same.

Sincerely,
Jackie McNair, Partner graduate, Gwinnett


In general, I think children should not live in facilities. How is that a good thing? People need nursing care, and families may be overwhelmed but many families have been taught how to care for their children with medical needs. In the spirit of the Children’s Initiative, it is hard for me to imagine that this would be a good solution. I want children to have what they need, I am just not sure that this is it.

Mary Kissel, Executive Director, Georgia Options