A bill in the Kentucky state senate would restrict foster care and adoption in the state to married couples or single people living alone. A similar bill passed in Arkansas last November. If Kentucky passes this one, it will be the seventh state with an essential ban against same-sex foster and adoptive parents.
In every time, everywhere, foster parents and those interested in adopting older children from the public system are too few and far between. Kentucky has over 7,000 children currently in foster care, about 2,000 of which are available for and awaiting adoption. The state, like most, is trying to recruit more foster and adoptive parents for these kids.
Restricting the available homes for children in the greatest need, with the steepest odds against ever being adopted is not just a matter of being unfair to gay and lesbian couples, it's a matter of outrageous disservice to children. In difficult economic times, not only are more children likely to face losing their homes due to being removed on the grounds of "neglect" (often resulting from parents' extreme poverty), but fewer people are likely to step up and sacrifice some of their family budget to bring in another child on a temporary basis. This is no time to be rejecting possible homes for kids who need them, on the basis of blind homophobia.
California Cutting Assistance to Foster Families
Mother and Daughter Parted By Court after Lesbian Break Up
