Two South Florida Democrats are hopeful their bill to keep medically needy children with their parents will pass this year and allow more discretion in child abuse investigations.

Under the bill, when parents allege that symptoms of child abuse are caused by an underlying medical condition, state investigators could delay the arrest of parents for criminal conduct. That delay could keep medically needy children who have been wrongly diagnosed with child abuse with their parents in the long run.

Sen. Barbara Sharief, a Davie Democrat, said at a press conference Monday that she and another Broward Democrat are sponsoring the bill for the second year in a row. The measure passed unanimously in the Senate last year but was held up in the House.

The lawmakers acknowledged the House’s concern was over the potential for delays in the initiation of a criminal probe. But they’re hopeful they’ve resolved that concern by explaining how the process would work under their current proposal.

“This bill does not delay law enforcement’s ability to get involved in the case,” Sharief said about the new legislation, SB 42. “It just delays that arrest process until all of the evidence is weighed and until genetic testing can come back.”

Some of the genetic diseases named in the bill that investigators would be required to consult with a medical professional about include rickets, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, osteogenesis imperfecta, vitamin D deficiency, and “any other medical condition known to appear to be caused by, or known to be misdiagnosed as, abuse.”

Delaying an arrest when a misdiagnosis is suspected can prevent further harm to the families, Sharief said.

“When a parent is arrested right upfront in the beginning, they lose their livelihood, their jobs,” Sharief said. “They lose their houses, they lose their way, their ability to try to get their children back, because they’re labeled child abusers right from the start, even when they’re not.”

Rep. Robin Bartleman, a Weston Democrat who is carrying the identical House bill, HB 47, said she believed they had settled some of the issues raised in her chamber by explaining that “a child is never left in a dangerous situation.”

“People are concerned about the welfare [of] the children,” Bartleman said. “If there is suspected abuse, regardless of the arrest, the child will be removed.”

Republican Rep. Patt Maney, a retired judge, is a co-sponsor in the House, adding clout to the legislation in the Republican-controlled Legislature. He wasn’t at the press conference.

Parents who had been separated from their medically needy children over abuse investigations spoke at the news conference.

Tasha Patterson said her 3-year-old twins were taken from her and her husband in Broward County when they were just 2 months old. She said they suffer from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a genetic disease they inherited from her, and “metabolic bone disease,” which caused “unexplained injuries and fractures.” She became emotional during her statement.

“We are going on four years of litigation, trying to get them home, and it has been an uphill battle against the state of Florida,” Patterson said. “The state’s currently trying to have my children adopted despite the medical diagnosis being put forth.”

Patterson told reporters after the news conference that her children “should never have been taken to begin with.” She and her husband get to visit them a few times a week.

Sharief estimated at least 70 Florida families have reached out to her about being wrongly separated from their children due to a medical condition being misdiagnosed as abuse.

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