Foster care nondiscrimination bill proposed

Prospective foster parents would be protected from discrimination during placement proceedings under a bill heard by the Judiciary Committee Feb. 4.

LB647, introduced by Omaha Sen. Jeremy Nordquist, would prohibit the state Department of Health and Human Services from discriminating based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, marital status or national origin when determining the suitability of a juvenile’s out-of-home placement.

The department would be required to make placement decisions based on the health, safety and well-being of a child. The measure also would apply when the department considers issuing foster home licenses.

More than 3,000 Nebraska children currently are in out-of-home care, Nordquist said, with nearly half of them living in four or more locations since 2012. A major reason for the high number of state wards, he said, is a 1995 policy memo issued by the then-named state Department of Social Services that prohibits children being placed in homes of people who identify themselves as homosexual.

Nordquist said that document, which is not state statute, unjustly prevents qualified parents from providing safe and secure homes for children. Forty-nine other states have nondiscrimination policies regarding out-of-home placement, he added.

“All of Nebraska’s children deserve to be part of a loving family,” he said. “Good parenting is good parenting. It’s not just reserved for parents who are straight.”

Amy Miller, legal director for American Civil Liberties Union Nebraska, testified in support of the bill. A state with thousands of state wards should not reject prospective parents solely because they are in a same-sex relationship, she said. Until more homes are available, she said, children will remain in institutions where their ability to thrive is hampered.

“This is actually hurting children in Nebraska every day,” she said.

Joel Busch and Todd Vesley of Lincoln also spoke in favor of the bill. Busch said that although he and his partner offered a safe, loving home for a child, they were told their sexual orientation disqualified them from consideration.

“This has been a fight for us for over seven years,” Busch said.

Linda Cox, research analyst for the Foster Care Review Office, said the high number of children needing homes requires that some placements be based on available space, rather than the best interest of children. Speaking in support of the bill, she said allowing same-sex parents to furnish homes would increase the options for children to be placed in homes based on their best welfare.

Greg Schleppenbach of the Nebraska Catholic Conference testified in opposition to the bill, saying a home with a married man and woman provides the most stable and nurturing environment for a child.

Karen Bowling of the Nebraska Family Alliance also spoke in opposition to the bill.

Child welfare officials should base their placement decisions solely on the best interest of the children, she said, not on the rights of parents. The bill also would subject those making placements to difficult decisions when their beliefs are at odds with those of prospective parents, she said.

The committee took no immediate action on the bill.