GOP governor signs law allowing anti-LGBTQ+ foster parents to take in LGBTQ+ youth

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) has signed a law explicitly allowing anti-LGBTQ+ foster and adoptive parents to take in LGBTQ+ youth with no provision to take into account the young person’s wishes on the matter.

S.B. 1738, called the Tennessee Foster and Adoptive Parent Protection Act, states that the Department of Children’s Services (DCS) cannot require a current or prospective foster or adoptive parent “to affirm, accept, or support any government policy regarding sexual orientation or gender identity that conflicts with the parent’s sincerely held religious or moral beliefs.”

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“We are asking a group of humans to do something we’re not asking another group of humans to do.”

The legislation emphasizes that the state cannot take a parent’s beliefs about LGBTQ+ identities into account when deciding on the placement of the child because “such beliefs do not create a presumption that any particular placement is contrary to the best interest of the child.”

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For the past ten years, DCS has had a policy requiring children to be cared for in a way that  “promotes dignity and respect for all children/youth and families inclusive of their gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation,” as explained by the Tennessee Lookout. That policy is now under review as DCS works to create new policies for placing LGBTQ+ youth.

Molly Quinn, executive director of OutMemphis, an organization that works with homeless LGBTQ+ youth, said it’s “really sad” that the needs of the “high volume of LGBTQ+ kids in foster care” are no longer being met.

“The fact that the state would accept a family that is willing to discriminate into this broken system with such vulnerable kids is difficult to understand,” she said.

The bill’s Republican supporters have argued that it is needed to expand the pool of potential foster and adoptive families in the state and that it does not prevent a child’s values from also being taken into account when deciding where they should be placed. But LGBTQ+ activists say the bill does not explicitly state that the child’s wishes must be considered. Some activists are worried that the law will not only lead to children being placed in unsupportive environments but also that it could lead to them being subjected to conversion therapy.

The bill’s opponents also argue that Tennessee law has never required prospective foster and adoptive parents to be LGBTQ+-affirming. Rather, it has required them to respect the identities of any child they take in. The new law removes that requirement.

The law could have wide-reaching effects since LGBTQ+ youth are disproportionately represented in foster care, as they are more likely to be kicked out of their homes or rejected by their families. Studies have shown that many LGBTQ+ young people end up in the foster care system specifically because they have already faced rejection or mistreatment from their family of origin due to their sexual orientation or gender expression. Placing them with foster families with religious or moral objections to their identity would lead to further trauma, according to the bill’s opponents.

State Rep. Justin Jones (D) described the bill as immoral. “Discrimination cloaked under the guise of religion is still discrimination. Hate cloaked under the veil of religion is still hate,” Jones said. “You stated that you want these kids to be sent into a home where they can be loved, where they can flourish. Can you explain the logic of a child being placed into a home where they are told they are wrong, that their identity is wrong, that they don’t belong, that they made a mistake with who they are? How can they flourish in such an environment?”

“This legislature should be ashamed,” Jones added.

Ahead of the bill’s signing, The Tennessee Equality Project noted that it could put the state’s entire child welfare system at risk. The bill, the LGBTQ+ advocacy organization said in a press release, would conflict with a new rule proposed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in September requiring all state and tribal foster care agencies to place LGBTQ+ children in homes where they will be supported, will not be subjected to so-called “conversion therapy,” and will have access to gender-affirming care.  

During a hearing last month, Cathryn Oakley, senior director of legal policy at the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), warned lawmakers that they risked losing federal funding if the bill becomes law.