Senate Bill Would Subject Children to Mental Health Screening Without Parental Consent

Nothing would prevent a social worker from taking a child from an innocent family and having a “mental health care provider” (which could even include an unlicensed intern) conduct a psychological witch hunt under the guise of a “mental health screening,” prior to the initial detention hearing. The results of the screening (that is, the subjective analysis of one hand-picked mental health provider) could then be used as evidence to give the state authority over the child when in fact no abuse or neglect exists.