Bishop Chairmen, Ecumenical and Interfaith Leaders Strongly Support Legislation Keeping Kids First in Adoption and Foster Care
May 1, 2018
WASHINGTON—At the start of National
Foster Care Month, three bishop chairmen, faith leaders, and numerous nonprofit
organizations sent a letter to House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin
Brady urging the committee to give a high priority to the enactment of the
Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act of 2017 (H.R. 1881) this year.
The Inclusion Act protects child
welfare providers from being discriminated against by federal or state
government entities due to the providers’ religious beliefs or moral convictions.
The letter states that “keeping
kids first involves protecting the birth mother’s choice to place the child
with the family she feels is best,” and it quotes a birth mother who chose to
work with a Christian adoption agency “because their values match mine.”
The letter continues: “At a time
when the opioid crisis is driving more children into foster care and adoption,
we need all available agencies to assist with placing vulnerable children in
stable homes. Faith-based agencies in particular excel at recruiting good
families who can provide stability for children in crisis; that excellence is
propelled by both the faith-driven mission of these agencies as well as their
connections to houses of worship where they can recruit prospective foster and
adoptive parents.”
Signatories from Bethany Christian
Services, Catholic Charities USA, Buckner International, Ethics and Religious
Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, Assemblies of God,
Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of
America, and many other organizations concerned about the freedom of adoption
and foster care providers to serve children in need of loving homes joined
Bishop Frank J. Dewane of Venice, Chairman of the United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development,
Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Chairman of the USCCB Committee for
Religious Liberty, and Bishop James D. Conley of Lincoln, Chairman of the USCCB
Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, in signing the letter.
A link to the letter can be found
here: http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/upload/Support-for-the-Child-Welfare-Provider-Inclusion-Act-of-2017-HR-1881.pdf.
A backgrounder is available at: http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/marriage-and-family/marriage/promotion-and-defense-of-marriage/upload/Backgrounder-Inclusion-Act-2017.pdf.
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Keywords: Bishop Frank Dewane, Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, Bishop James
Conley, USCCB, Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act, adoption, foster care,
keep kids first, freedom to serve, National Foster Care Month
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Media Contact:
Judy Keane
202-541-3200