Some Ohio parents say their disability can actually be used against them in family court. In some cases, courts have taken children from their disabled parents or denied them equal custody because of their disability.
A new Ohio bill seeks to protect disabled parents in these cases. Senate Bill 202, co-sponsored by Sen. Bob Hackett, R-London, and Sen. Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, would prohibit courts and child-placing entities from "using a person’s disability as a reason to deny or limit that person’s care for a minor."
Kara Ayers, co-founder of the Disabled Parenting Project and associate director of the University of Cincinnati's Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, who is herself a parent with a disability, is advocating for Senate Bill 202. She says she has worked on several cases where courts took children from their disabled parents of denied them equal custody. She joins Cincinnati Edition along with Ohio State Sen. Nickie Antonio.
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