They're most concerned about several cases of overzealous child
protection workers taking children away from innocent parents.
Padfield also was motivated by concerns over what he calls overly
personal questions on the state's skills test. He and three other
lawmakers unsuccessfully sued to stop the test last fall.
Children's advocates acknowledge Padfield's bill tries to address real
flaws in the child welfare system.
But they worry that the bill may hinder efforts to stop actual cases
of abuse, both by revealing the identities of those reporting abuse
and giving people an explicit right to sue the state if they're
falsely accused of the crime.
Under the bill, welfare workers and police would have to tape-record
all reports of abuse. If a report is found unsubstantiated -- meaning
there isn't enough evidence to prove abuse -- those accused would have
a right to read transcripts of those reports, with the name of the
accuser and other identifying information deleted.
But many worry that the identities of accusers would be easy to
discern.
"If the transcript says something like, 'At 10:03 at recess, I
observed (abuse),' it doesn't take too many investigations to figure
out who was on recess duty at that time," said Frank Bush, executive
director of the Indiana School Boards Association.
Federal law also says such reports must be confidential, which makes
the Family and Social Services Administration worry about losing
federal money. Padfield and the bill's Senate sponsor, David C. Ford,
R-Hartford City, say they're willing to change the wording of the bill
to make sure funding isn't jeopardized.
Bush and other educators, however, are even more concerned about the
bill's possible effects on public education.
By giving parents the right to direct their children's education
"without the interference of state or local government," some parents
could decide they want a say in their child's daily classroom
activities, Bush says.
But Padfield insists: "The bill was never intended for 20 parents to
go into the same classroom and say, 'Use this textbook.'"
Nonetheless, many expect the bill's language, particularly as it
pertains to schools, to change significantly if it is to make it out
of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
But in the end, lawmakers may find it politically difficult to vote
against the bill.
"In an election year, it's very difficult not to be enticed to vote
for something that's titled parental rights," said Jan Lindemann, a
lobbyist for the Indiana Coalition for Human Services.
(C) 1996 Indianapolis Newspapers Inc.  All rights reserved.
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