same-sex marriage

A bill that would enable faith-based child welfare providers to choose what families to serve based on religious beliefs, introduced into the House appropriations process in July, was removed from a spending bill before it passed this week.

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (R) signed into law a bill that permits the state’s faith-based child welfare partners to discriminate against same-sex couples, single or unmarried people, and possibly even LGBTQ youth.

Since the U.S. legalized same-sex marriage in 2015, several states have passed laws allowing publicly funded child welfare organizations to exclude millions of LGBTQ adults as potential foster parents. This, combined with a Trump administration executive order on religious liberty, is cause for concern over the future of child welfare programs, according to a new policy brief from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC).

Two Republican senators on July 30 introduced a bill that would allow faith-based child welfare providers the freedom to discriminate against foster parents based on religious beliefs. The Child Welfare Provider Act 2014 co-sponsored by Sen.

“The Fosters,” a television drama about a same-sex couple raising foster youths will return to screens tonight, Jan. 13, at 9pm EST. The show first aired on June 3 of last year, and has been picked up by ABC Family for a second full season.