Proposal Would Force Foster Kids to Buy Used Clothing 7
If a new cost-cutting measure from Michigan State Sen. Bruce Casswell passes, only clothes from used clothing stores could be purchased for children in the foster care system. Casswell told Michigan Public Radio: "I never had anything new. I got all the hand-me-downs. And my dad, he did a lot of shopping at the Salvation Army, and his comment was — and quite frankly it’s true — once you’re out of the store and you walk down the street, nobody knows where you bought your clothes.” Gilda Jacobs executive director of he Michigan League for Human Services disagrees. She thinks poor kids are too good to wear Dukes of Hazzard shirts or parachute pants. Jacob says: "Honestly, I was flabbergasted. I really couldn’t believe this. Because I think, gosh, is this where we’ve gone in this state? I think that there’s the whole issue of dignity. You’re saying to somebody, you don’t deserve to go in and buy a new pair of gym shoes. You know, for a lot of foster kids, they already have so much stacked against them.”