LaPoint Issues Call to Action on HB340
Bill would require DHR to notify parents when under investigation.
Author and investigative journalist Terri LaPoint has issued a Call To Action (CTA) on HB340, asking that it be put on the agenda for the Alabama House’s Children and Senior Advocacy Committee. The Committee’s next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 19th at 10:30 AM.
At present, there are no uniform procedures requiring notification be given to parents or custodians who are under investigation by the Alabama State Department of Human Resources (DHR). HB340 addresses this by creating standards and requirements for how DHR conducts child abuse and neglect investigations.
HB340 would require DHR to notify parents or legal custodians in writing if they are under investigation for alleged child, abuse, or neglect. The bill would also mandate that DHR provide a written explanation of due process rights and strengthen family protection policies. The goal of HB340 is to improve transparency, standardize investigations and encourage the preservation of families.
State Representative Kenneth Paschal (R-Helena) is the sponsor of HB340.
State Representatives on the children and senior advocacy committee include Ginny Shaver, Tracey Estes, Barbara Boyd, Jim Carns, Barbara Drummond, M. Moore, Rick Graham, Jeana Ross, Tim, Wadsworth and Ernie Yarborough. They can be contacted through the Alabama Legislature website.
“DHR has a significant amount of power, and too often they get it wrong,” LaPoint said. “Many innocent families are being ripped apart by the overreach of this government agency. HB340 is an important bill to ensure that the Constitution rights of families are protected. It's common sense, really - "The Constitution - do that."
“Due process is not a right that citizens should lose capriciously just because it is DHR instead of the police. The stakes couldn't be higher - it's literally the lives and futures of our children.”
LaPoint and Emily Jones of Moms4Liberty worked together to create the CTA. They suggest that people who support HB340 use the following as a guide when they contact the Committee members in support of HB340:
Dear Representative,
I am contacting you today to express my support for HB340 sponsored by Rep. Kenneth Paschal. This bill is a priority of the Alabama Republican Party and my local community. As a conservative, I value the rights of parents and believe they deserve full transparency into our government agencies when it impacts their children. I ask that you put HB340 onto the committee agenda immediately and vote in support of this bill.
HB340 has been endorsed by the Alabama Federation of Republican Women and the Alabama Republican Party (ALGOP). It is also supported by the College Republican Federation of Alabama, Moms for Liberty Alabama, Patriots First Alabama and the Parental Rights Foundation.
LaPoint is the President of the Republican Women of Trussville and the author of “Voices That Will Not Be Silenced”, which exposes the dark underbelly of agencies that are supposed to protect children. An award-winning investigative journalist who has covered hundreds of cases of medical kidnapping, she is passionate about speaking out in support of unjustly separated families. She lives in Trussville, and is on Facebook.
