Missouri lifts
restrictions on gay foster parents
USAToday from the
Web, July 19, 2006
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. --
Following a court mandate, Missouri officials said Tuesday that they have lifted
regulations that automatically prevented homosexuals from becoming foster
parents.
But while the decision clears the way for gays to get licensed to care for
foster children, officials with the Department of Social Services said it might
still be difficult for a gay person to become a foster parent.
"We're considering the biological parents' preferences, and we're also
considering the abuse and neglect that occurred to the child and whether or not
an alternative lifestyle environment would be confusing or add trauma to an
already abused or neglected child," said department spokeswoman Deborah Scott,
whose office filed the new rules with the Secretary of State.
Jackson County Circuit Judge Sandra Midkiff ruled in February that the state
could not reject a foster parent license application by Kansas City lesbian Lisa
Johnston. Johnson, who wanted to foster children with her partner, Dawn
Roginski, was turned down three years ago after officials said she lacked
"reputable character" because homosexuality was illegal in Missouri.
Midkiff, in her ruling, cited the 2003 U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck
down a Texas law against same-sex sodomy.
State Attorney General Jay Nixon last month said he wouldn't appeal Midkiff's
decision, saying Gov. Matt Blunt had just signed a law that repealed Missouri's
anti-homosexuality language.
Blunt's office had urged Nixon, a Democrat, to pursue the appeal, saying the
Republican governor opposed gays as foster parents.
The Department of Social Services said it filed the new language to comply with
the court decision. But department officials added that from now on, they
will ask prospective foster parents about their sexual orientation, something
the department didn't routinely do before.
Scott said that the department considers a foster family's cultural background
and religion when matching them with children, so sexual orientation is
important as well.
"If you have a child who's been abused by someone of the same sex, then placing
them in the home of a couple of the same sex might not be in the best interest
of the child," she said.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas and Western Missouri questioned the
reasoning for the additional information.
"If they're going to comply with the measure, why do they need to know if people
are gays or lesbians?" said Brett Shirk, the group's executive director.
Blunt spokesman Spence Jackson said the governor "still believes gay foster
homes aren't the best place for foster children," but said the department
shouldn't intentionally discriminate against people solely because of their
sexual orientation.
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