Utah lawmaker wants to let shelters house runaways

[September 17, 2008]  SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A state representative is seeking to change a law that forces homeless shelters to turn away runaways and homeless children seeking refuge for the night.

"The point is to allow the shelters to take care of these kids so they're not out on the street," said Rep. Lorie Fowlke, a Republican. "This will just allow them to have a safe bed, a safe meal, take a shower, access some information and help them get on their feet."

Employees at private shelters can currently be prosecuted for harboring a minor if they allow them to stay overnight. Runaway children over 10 can stay at a state-run shelter, but some refuse to for various reasons.

Lawmakers were scheduled to take up Fowlke's bill Wednesday. Under the measure, a runaway's parent or the Department of Child Protective Services would still need to be told where the child is within eight hours of a shelter learning the child's situation. But if a guardian, parent or a law enforcement officer fails to pick up the child, the shelter wouldn't be forced to kick out the runaway.

A child could also stay at the shelter if a parent intentionally fails to provide food, shelter or clothing or make reasonable arrangements to get the child home safely. Employees also wouldn't be prosecuted for providing shelter if there wasn't a reasonable way for the youngster to immediately notify parents and authorities.

Fowlke said many runaway children belong to parents who, because of drugs or other problems, don't care where their children are, leaving them no place to go.

"The shelters do describe these kids as throwaways and not runaways," Fowlke said. "In the past they've always had to throw them out at night, even if it's a blizzard or whatever. That sounds horrible to me."

Fowlke also said her bill might be able to help teenage boys referred to as "lost boys," who have either left or been kicked out of polygamist communities.

However, Shannon Price, director of the Diversity Foundation, which provides aid to so-called lost boys, says very few of those boys would be helped by removing shelter restrictions. She said other options are needed for such boys.

"It doesn't really come up that often because the children aren't going to tell you who their parents are because polygamy is illegal. Some may, but more often they won't," Price said. "What these kids need is stability. Most of them are not going to go back to their parents, so they need to have a permanent residence they can have some sense of belonging to."

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On the Net:

Utah Legislature: http://www.le.utah.gov/

[Associated Press; By BROCK VERGAKIS]

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