I think it is prudent to explain how I became interested in children being considered adults at the age of 18 so you can understand the significance of this age. I will summarize the journey otherwise it would be too long for a blog; it would be more suited to be a literary short story. My story began in 2004 when I became a single parent of three children. I realized that it was going to be financially difficult to support my children, without the assistance of their father, after the age of 18 and that he would have a choice to either continue, or not continue, financial support.
I contacted my representative in 2005 and proposed that the age of emancipation be changed to age 23. The proposal included a section that stated if the child is employed full time before reaching that age, child support would cease. It seemed fair to both parents but most of all, fair to the child. Never knowing exactly how a bill becomes law, and honestly, I'm still a bit confused, I didn't realize the effort this simple request would take.
He wrote the proposal in 2005 for the 126th General Assembly. The proposal was not made into a bill since the representative was in his last year of office and didn't have the opportunity to propose the legislation. I had then met Josh Mandel, outside my voting poll, and asked him if he agreed with my thoughts about raising the age of emancipation in the State of Ohio. He said that if elected, he would be interested in looking into it further. Josh Mandel was elected to represent my district so I contacted his office to see if he would sponsor the proposal. Many, many hours went into discussing the proposal, with his wonderful aides and many hours were spent researching other state's legislation who already had the age of emancipation at age 21 or 23. A friend and I even drove to Columbus, to the State House, to personally meet the aides and discuss the substance of the proposal. Unfortunately, Josh was asked to return to active duty in the military and so the proposal sat for years unattended. Upon returning, he was unable to bring the proposal to the floor because the House was controlled by the Democrats and he is a Republican.
Wow, what an eye-opener that bit of information was. I was astounded that a proposal to assist the children of the state was being held-up because of politics!
Fast-forward six years, from the start of this journey, to 2011 and Marlene Anielski is now my representative. Of course, I have already personally met with her and have provided a vast amount of material on the subject in hopes that she will sponsor the proposal.
My journey is far from over; it is just beginning a new chapter to help the children of the great State of Ohio.
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