President Obama’s proclamation of National Foster Care Month has once again included parents and children of all sexual orientations and gender identities. It also mentions marriage equality as a factor in giving more kids the chance to find loving homes.
This is the second year he or any president has mentioned either sexual orientation or gender identity in a proclamation for National Foster Care Month. In his proclamation this year, Obama said:
Last summer, the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution guarantees marriage equality, giving more kids in foster care the opportunity to be part of a loving family. My Administration will continue fighting to ensure eligible and qualified caretakers have the chance to become an adoptive or foster parent — regardless of race, religion, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
He also noted, too, the children’s side of the equation:
When we create environments for all young people to grow and flourish and safely live as who they are — regardless of race, background, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity — our country is stronger.
Marriage equality has indeed meant that states which permitted only married couples the chance to become foster parents must now give same-sex couples the same opportunity. As we’ve seen in Mississippi, however, even as marriage expanded the ranks of prospective foster and adoptive parents, “religious freedom” bills threaten that expansion. Four states now allow state-licensed child welfare agencies “to refuse to place and provide services to children and families, including LGBT people and same-sex couples, if doing so conflicts with their religious beliefs,” according to the Movement Advancement Project.
Meanwhile the federal Every Child Deserves a Family Act (ECDF) lingers in committee. The bill would halt federal funding for foster care or adoption programs that discriminate against prospective parents because of their marital status, gender identity, or sexual orientation, or the sexual orientation or gender identity of the adoptive child. It is modeled after the 1994 Multiethnic Placement Act that prohibits discrimination in adoption and foster placements based on race, ethnicity, or national origin.
This is the fourth Congress to consider ECDF. It keeps getting more sponsors, but has died in committee each time. That’s no reason not to keep trying, however. Tell your members of Congress today to support the bill.