Jaidon's Law crackdown on drug-abusing parents passes Senate, expands Social Services reporting requirements

The S.C. Senate passed a bill that would make it more difficult to return children to their drug-abusing parents by requiring the state’s child-welfare agency and judges to consider whether those parents still are using drugs.

The bill, called Jaidon’s Law, came about after 22-month-old Jaidon Morris died in 2008 from a drug overdose a week after he was removed from a foster home and returned to his biological parents, who had a history of drug problems.

The Senate gave the bill the second of three required nods on Wednesday, but added, on third reading, expanded reporting requirements for Social Services with details about numbers of cases and children in the system.

The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Mike Forrester, R-Spartanburg, now returns to the House for approval.

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This story was originally published May 29, 2014 at 12:00 PM with the headline "Jaidon's Law crackdown on drug-abusing parents passes Senate, expands Social Services reporting requirements."