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A National Legal-Action Antismoking Organization Entirely Supported by Tax-Deductible Contributions
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Foster Parents That Smoke Face New Restrictions [09/29-4]
Excerpts from: Foster parents' smoking may be curtailed
MaineToday.Com [09/29/03]
Foster parents who smoke could face new restrictions next year that will require
them to shield children in their care from second-hand smoke.
A new law that took effect this month tells the Department of Human Services to write rules to regulate smoking by foster parents. By Jan. 1, the department is required to submit the rules to the Legislature's Health and Human Services Committee for review.
The head of a group that represents foster families worries that the regulations will discourage families from taking in children. There are now 1,200 licensed foster homes in Maine and 3,100 children in foster homes and group homes.
Hoxie says most foster parents already go outside when they smoke and that the group's board of directors is hoping for a common-sense approach to the issue.The change is the result of a bill submitted by Rep. Marie Laverriere-Boucher, D-Biddeford, a foster parent and member of the human services committee. In its original form, the bill would have forced parents to smoke only outside the home and would have prohibited them from smoking in vehicles.
But the bill was amended to give DHS a chance to write a regulation that is likely to be less prohibitive. Laverriere-Boucher says she isn't thrilled with what she sees as a watered-down regulation, but she says it's better than nothing.
Sullum also says the age and health of the child should be taken into consideration. Very young children and those with asthma or other conditions that could be made worse by smoke could make restrictions justified in some homes, he says.
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