They saved the best (and most important) comment for last.

 “Homeless kids must find food and shelter on their own, but it’s difficult for them to obtain health care,” I began my testimony.  “They need their parents’ consent, but they’re living on the street without them.”

 House Bill 32 would allow someone from 12-18 years old to consent to medical care if certified as homeless, abandoned, or a runaway by the director of a homeless services provider, a health care provider, or a licensed social worker.

 We hadn’t anticipated some of the questions from committee members:

 “What if the child is living in a homeless shelter with one or both of his parents?”

 “Why did you make 12 years old the cutoff?”

 The dysfunctional nature of many of these families and the unwillingness of these kids to deal with a government system that has failed them were concepts that our witnesses knew well but several committee members did not. 

 The hearing was drawing to a close. 

 My chief of staff whispered to me, “We should meet with our folks afterwards to discuss how to respond to the issues raised by the committee members.”

 As I started to respond, I heard the chairman say, “We’ll be working on this bill in the Public Health Subcommittee.”

 That’s a very positive sign. A chairman doesn’t ask a subcommittee to work on a bill unless he thinks it’s worthy. 

February 9