The Legal Aid Society is calling on Governor Kathy Hochul to sign the Preserving Family Bonds Act, legislation that would allow continued contact between biological parents whose rights are terminated and their children, as reported by Gothamist.

Currently, individuals who lose their parental rights in family court are cut out of their children’s lives completely. The new bill would give judges discretion to not sever those ties when it is deemed in the best interest of the child.

“The Preserving Family Bonds Act would provide help that some children in foster care so desperately want — the ability to maintain some contact with their families after the termination of parental rights,” said Dawne Mitchell, Attorney-in-Charge of The Legal Aid Society’s Juvenile Rights Practice. “We know that giving family court judges the discretion to order continuing contact works, because judges in parts of New York State did it for years without grave consequences.”