Jamie Gragg Townhall
State Rep Jamie Gragg held a Town Hall covering issues like foster care reform, daylight savings time, education funding, and initiative petitions. He discussed a mother who unjustly lost custody.
Rep. Holly Jones and Rep. Jamie Gragg holding their amendment to a 1982 statute that gave Police, the DSS, and Medical professionals inordinate power to remove children without a thorough investigation.
Jamie Gragg Town Hall
February 17, 2024
Issues Going on in the State
Committees and Bills
Senate
Not doing anything currently
Education Committee
Primary
Secondary
Children and Family Committee
Foster Care Bill
Seen "yo-yo children" go in and out of the system 7-9 times
More likely to be absorbed into human trafficking or criminalized
Gives children a 3-strike system before being put up for adoption
Parents given a plan of action to complete (rehab, anger management, etc.)
Goal is still reunification
Concerns: Old statute allowed children to be taken for homeschooling, vaccines, etc.
Will empower parents and tackle issues in the foster care system
Healthcare Reform
Education Appropriations
Budgets
DESE
Replacing Cashew Chicken as the State Dish Bill (for fun)
Daylight Savings Time Bill
Switching clocks is bad for health and safety
Leads to more car accidents, heart issues, less family time
Library Board Bills
Cannot allow taxpayer dollars to fund obscene materials
Require elected library boards
Give citizens more oversight
Initiative Petitions
Constitutional amendments done through signature gathering
Need to protect Constitution from out-of-state interests
Reform bill filed to address issues
Mary Hernandez-de Carl Question: How are petitioners getting access outside libraries?
They aren't doing anything malicious, just trying to fill their clipboard to get paid
There are no rules for initiative petitioners like there are for other petitioners
They can use public buildings like libraries without getting special permission
Gretchen Garrity Question: Will there be legislation to prevent children being taken due to medical issues?
Mother lost custody of all five children because youngest had broken leg and brittle bone disease
Children were removed despite established medical diagnosis explaining injuries
Took years and a State Representative's involvement to get children returned
Incident highlights problems with current foster system
New legislation will require verification of medical conditions before removal
Need process to immediately expunge false "child abuser" labels if children returned
Unacceptable that family was separated and mother was listed as child abuser when medical reason was known
Will advocate at legislative level to prevent similar gross negligence and overreach from happening to other families