Iowa’s governor has signed a bill into law that will help parents who’re finding it hard to pay for the meds a mentally ill child needs. In many instances, parents in that situation have been forced to give up custody of their kid so the child would be a ward of the state and the state would pay for the child’s medications and counseling. Susan Benson-Blaine of Harlan fought to keep her son at home rather than give him up to the state. Colton, who is now 14, is bipolar and has some anxiety disorders. She convinced state officials to provide her the financial help to pay for her son’s medications and counseling without giving up her parental rights. So what was her reacton when Benson-Blaine was told she should give up her son? Benson-Blaine says she got very angry, and decided it wasn’t right. She believes her son would have gotten worse if he had been put in an institution. “I just decided I’m fighting for this one, and luckily I won,” Benson-Blaine says. Benson-Blaine got emotional when talking about the bill. “I hope it helps a lot of families like us,” Benson-Blaine said. “Thank you.” Benson-Blaine was by the governor’s side Thursday, holding a picture of her son, as Vilsack signed the bill into law. Representative Lisa Heddens, a Democrat from Ames, is a social worker who says the issue movtivated her to run for the House. “I’ve been listening to families for probably three-and-a-half, four years, listening to their stories about how they had to relinquish custody in order to access services,” Heddens says. “It really became my drive into politics to rectify the situation.”
