LGBTQ Parenting Roundup
A mixed bag of news this time, with a few big wins, one legislative loss, and two library battles, among other news.
Adoption
Fighting for Children Against Religious Exemption Laws
As a growing number of states allow child welfare agencies to discriminate against LGBTQ prospective foster and adoptive parents and LGBTQ youth in care, a new campaign is fighting back—but it needs our help and our stories.
Queer Foster Parent Series Aims for Second Season
The two moms who gave us a glimpse into their foster-to-adopt journey this fall want to bring us a second season of their video series, looking more broadly at the world of foster care.
12 Children’s Books Featuring Queer Adoptive Families
November is National Adoption Month, so here are a dozen children’s books about adoptive families with queer parents!
How a Two-Dad Couple Made History in 1997
Continuing my series of posts for LGBTQ History Month, here’s a look back at 1997, when a two-dad couple in New Jersey made history with a joint adoption that forced a change in state law.
Watch the Video on Adoption Discrimination that Fox News Found “Too Powerful”
It’s no secret to most readers here that so-called “religious freedom” laws on adoption and foster care in several states are nothing more than permission to discriminate—often against LGBTQ prospective parents and LGBTQ youth, among others. The ultimate effect is that child welfare agencies are allowed to act in ways contrary to the best interests of the children in their care. When a leading LGBTQ equality think tank tried to place a 30-second ad about this on Fox News, however, the network refused to air it.
New PBS Series Follows Queer Couple Adopting from Foster Care
Nicole and Kristan want to start a family, and they’re taking us along on the journey as they venture into the world of foster-to-adopt care, facing the emotional and sometimes funny challenges of bureaucracy, childproofing, and patience. Watch a trailer.
The Price of LGBTQ Parenthood
What does it cost for an LGBTQ person to become a parent and raise a child in the U.S. today? What are the particular challenges we face? I investigate those questions in a new article for the Advocate.
Texas Joins List of States Allowing Discrimination in Adoption and Foster Care
The governor of Texas has added his state to the list of those that allow child placement agencies to discriminate against LGBTQ, Jewish, Muslim, single, divorced, or other prospective parents based on the agency’s “sincerely held religious beliefs.” This will serve to limit the number of homes available to children in need. The new law will also permit LGBTQ youth to be sent to widely discredited “conversion therapy” and allow agencies to refuse to refer people to medically appropriate reproductive health services.
Every Child Deserves a Family Act Reintroduced to Ensure Children Find Homes
For the fifth Congress in a row, the Every Child Deserves a Family Act has been introduced in an attempt to ensure that no child in need of a home is denied one because of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.