Written Statement of

Joe Solmonese

President

Human Rights Campaign

to the

Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support

Committee on Ways and Means

United States House of Representatives

July 31, 2008

Statement of Joe Salmonese

On behalf of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) equality and our over 700,000 members and supporters nationwide, I submit this statement about the barriers which often prevent prospective gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals or families from becoming foster or adoptive parents. 

In an effort to increase the number of permanent families for children in foster care and to maximize efforts to identify relatives who can become the legal guardian for children in the foster care system, we must ensure the removal of barriers faced by prospective gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender foster/adoptive parents and guardians.  We know from a recent study published by the Williams Institute at UCLA that two million GLB adults report an interest in adopting a child or children in the future.  This sample includes people from all racial and ethnic categories, and suggests that there is a potential pool of African-American and Latino GLBT parents, both single and couples, who would strongly consider adopting from foster care if they were encouraged to do so.

Recently, the issue of whether same-sex couples should be able to adopt was again in the headlines.  A presidential candidate stated that he believed that only traditional “two parent” families should adopt, even in light of the thousands of children and youth still waiting for what they deserve---a permanent family. Such a position is nothing more than an opinion based on personal beliefs, and does not reflect the myriad of facts and findings from over 30 years of peer-reviewed research concluding that children raised by gay and lesbian parents do just fine compared to those raised by heterosexual parents, nor is it the opinion held by the leading national child health and welfare organizations, including the Child Welfare League of America, the American Academy of Pediatrics, North American Council on Adoptable Children, and the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, all of which have favorable positions on adoption by gays and lesbians. A personal opinion should never stand in the way of placing children in a loving family, and it is irresponsible to put up barriers when there are thousands of GLBT individuals who are ready, willing, and qualified to provide love and support to these children.

Even though most recent attempts at the state level to ban or restrict foster and adoptive parenting by gay and lesbian parents have failed, GLBT people continue to experience discrimination in the adoption process.  The discrimination may be blatant, such as laws or policies that restrict or prohibit adoption by lesbian and gay people (Florida, Utah, Mississippi laws and religiously affiliated agencies that have written policies which forbid placement of children with GLBT adults), or a more subtle form of rejection by agencies that will accept applications from GLBT individuals and same-sex couples but has no intention of placing “certain children” with this population and often treats them as a family of “last resort.”  These negative experiences keep many loving, qualified adults from taking their first step toward foster/adoptive parenting. Research shows that “word of mouth” is the most effective recruitment tool, and in the GLBT community the “word of mouth” all too often is that we will be held to higher standards, more closely scrutinized, and will wait longer for placement of a child.  For GLBT people of color, the dual stigma of being gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender AND a person of color often generates more anxiety about whether and if one can expect to be treated with respect, dignity and viewed as a viable resource for a child in need of a permanent family. 

In addition to the potential pool of foster/adoptive parents who are GLBT people of color, there are missed opportunities within the “relative pool” of some children in foster care.  When social workers engage in exploring all options for keeping a child in their family of origin, there may be relatives who are GLBT, and because of that are not considered as viable resource, either by the social worker or by other family members who do not approve of or believe in placing children with GLBT parents.  When a social worker is doing this “case mining,” it is imperative to ask about all relatives, including those who might be GLBT, regardless of what opinion a family member might have about their ability to be a parent/guardian, or the perceived “closeness” to the family of origin. 

Our recommendations for increasing the number of potential families for children in foster care include: non-discrimination categories be expanded to include sexual orientation/gender identity; training and education for recruiters and other agency staff include information about working with the GLBT community; recruitment efforts that target communities of color be adapted/expanded to specifically reach GLBT-identified individuals/couples within those communities.

On behalf of the Human Rights Campaign, I thank you for holding this important hearing and for providing the opportunity to submit testimony demonstrating how removing barriers to qualified potential GLBT parents can help address the challenges facing our nation’s foster care system.