April 2011 Action Alert:
Debate over Proposed Adoption Rules in Virginia

As our friend James Parrish, new Executive Director at Equality Virginia, says, “Bob Marshall is at it again.”

Marshall (pictured left) tried and failed in 2005 to ban gay adoption. Now he’s trying to get the Governor to overturn a regulation a year in the making that would ban discrimination by state-licensed child placing agencies against potential GLBT foster parents and adopters.

The proposed rules would not fix what we consider fundamental flaws in Virginia's current adoption rules. They would not authorize second parent adoptions or adoptions by unmarried couples (same sex or opposite sex). 

The fact that we can’t get those issues addressed is due to the Marshall/Newman amendment (another reason to work to build the movement to overturn it). There is, however, an important nondiscrimination provision in the proposed rules that would protect GLBT persons from being denied the opportunity to be a foster parent or to adopt a child simply because of their orientation.  

Section 22VAC40-131-170 B. of the proposed new standards for licensed child placing agencies, says that such an agency licensed by the state shall "prohibit acts of discrimination based on race, color, gender, national origin, age, religion, political beliefs, sexual orientation, disability, or family status to:  1. Delay or deny a child's placement; or  2. Deny an individual the opportunity to apply to become a foster or adoptive parent."  

This provision does nothing more than ensure that a person who seeks to adopt or foster a child is not denied the opportunity to do so simply and solely because of who he or she is or what he or she believes.

The proposed rules have been working their way through the rule-making process for more than a year without objection. That’s because those who know the issues put children first, ahead of homophobic agendas.

The proposed rules were published with the approval of the Attorney General, the current Secretary of Health and Human Resources and the current Governor's Office.  At a public hearing twenty-two minutes long on February 17, no significant objections to the proposals were raised. Nonetheless, a massive email campaign by organizations that have opposed every regulatory and legislative effort to afford gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender Virginians the basic human right to live, work and raise their children in the Commonwealth free from discrimination resulted in a flurry of comments on the final day of the comment period opposing the non-discrimination provision included in the proposed rules.

Equality Virginia, joined by People of Faith for Equality in Virginia, has written to the Chair of the State Board of Social Services (with a copy to the Governor) asking that the proposed rules be published in final form without any change.  The EV letter is available here. The POFEV letter is available here.

It is vitally important that you make your voice heard as well.  Tell the Chair and the Governor that you want the regulations implemented as proposed without changes to the nondiscrimination provision that protects people from discrimination based on sexual orientation.

The Governor's contact information is here.

The contact information for the Chair and Members of the State Board of Social Services is here.