August 19, 2020
Today, the House Ways and Means Committee Democratic staff released a new report that finds the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to deliberately have failed its mandate to act in the best interest of vulnerable young people in the foster care system. Christina Wilson Remlin, Lead Counsel at Children’s Rights, issued the following statement:
“Today’s House Ways and Means Committee Report findings are confirmation of what Children’s Rights and other advocates have been saying all along: the HHS waiver in South Carolina, and other similar government actions, sanction taxpayer-funded discrimination against LGBTQ and other qualified individuals. This discrimination harms the children we serve.
“Research tells us that LGBTQ families foster and adopt at higher rates and are more likely to take in older, special needs, and minority children. As highlighted in our latest report on the Fulton v. City of Philadelphia case to be decided by SCOTUS this fall, allowing foster care agencies to exclude qualified families based on factors that have nothing to do with the ability to care for a child is not just unlawful, it’s dangerous. We call on lawmakers and the Courts to ensure that federal foster care funds are used as they were intended, in the best interest of children, and not to enable discrimination. The only litmus test for these caregivers should be love and safety.”