Republican legislators in Tennessee have put forward a bill to ensure that people with anti-LGBTQ+ views can foster and adopt children. Critics are concerned that this could lead to situations where LGBTQ+ children are placed with parents who do not accept their sexual orientation or gender identity.
The “Tennessee Foster and Adoptive Parent Protection Act” was introduced in the Tennessee House and Senate in January. It would stop the state’s Department of Children’s Services (DCS) from rejecting potential adoptive or foster parents based on their religious or moral beliefs about sexual orientation or gender identity.
During a House Civil Justice Committee hearing, the bill’s co-sponsor Rep. Mary Littleton (R) stated that it would increase the number of potential foster families in the state, as more people would be willing to step up without having to go against their anti-LGBTQ+ religious beliefs. Littleton emphasized that the bill does not ignore the values and beliefs of the child.
The bill, which is being voted on in both chambers of the Tennessee General Assembly, “does not prevent the department from considering the religious or moral beliefs of an adoptive or foster child, or their family of origin, when determining the most appropriate placement for that child.” However, according to Tennessee Lookout notes, the bill’s wording does not actually require the DCS to do so.
According to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and FosterClub, a national network for young people in foster care, LGBTQ+ youth are disproportionately represented in the U.S. foster care system, with many entering the system because they have been rejected by their families due to their gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation.
Nashville attorney Nanette Clark told Tennessee Lookout that if the bill becomes law, it could lead to further traumatization of LGBTQ+ foster kids.
“Requiring DCS to place an LGBTQ child in a home that will refuse to support their sexual identity not only creates additional adverse childhood experiences and trauma, but also leads to situations where children will try to escape from that placement, either by running away, attempting suicide, or making false allegations against the foster or adoptive parents,” Clark stated. “They will find a way to escape that situation.”
During a Senate hearing, HRC’s senior director of legal policy Cathryn Oakley warned lawmakers that they may lose federal funding if the bill becomes law. In September, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services put forth a new rule mandating that all state and tribal foster care agencies place LGBTQ+ children in supportive homes, refrain from subjecting them to “conversion therapy,” and provide access to gender-affirming care.
According to Tennessee Lookout, state Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti (R) has publicly opposed the DHHS’s proposed rule, arguing that it would “further divert resources away from protecting foster children from physical abuse and toward enforcing compliance with controversial gender ideology.”
