01-05-2023, 05:14 AM
This Jewish couple is suing the Tennessee Department of Children's Services after being denied access to one of their foster parent certification programs, and given the reason that their religious beliefs are not the same as the people running this adoption agency. It's sad that bigoted religious organizations have been given so much control over orphaned and foster kids, and per their own statement, this has been going on for several years. I think this country can do better.
Elizabeth and Gabriel Rutan-Ram, a Tennessee couple, were denied access to a state-sponsored foster parent certification program because they are Jewish. The rationale? The foster agency they applied to claims that they should be allowed to turn away Jewish people because they are a Christian adoption agency.
The Rutan-Rams (and six others) have now filed a lawsuit against the Tennessee Department of Children's Services and its commissioner. According to court documents cited by the Washington Post, the Holston United Methodist Home for Children (which is not named as a defendant in the suit) told the couple in an email, "As a Christian organization, our executive team made the decision several years ago to only provide prospective adoptive families that share our belief system in order to avoid conflicts or delays with future service delivery."
Holston told the Post, ""Holston Home places children with families that agree with our statement of faith, and forcing Holston Home to violate our beliefs and place children in homes that do not share our faith is wrong and contrary to a free society."
The agency, though it is a religious organization, receives taxpayer funding and assists families (on behalf of the Tennessee Department of Children's Services, which declined to comment to the Washington Post, citing impending litigation) with foster-care placement, training and other related services.
Elizabeth and Gabriel Rutan-Ram, a Tennessee couple, were denied access to a state-sponsored foster parent certification program because they are Jewish. The rationale? The foster agency they applied to claims that they should be allowed to turn away Jewish people because they are a Christian adoption agency.
The Rutan-Rams (and six others) have now filed a lawsuit against the Tennessee Department of Children's Services and its commissioner. According to court documents cited by the Washington Post, the Holston United Methodist Home for Children (which is not named as a defendant in the suit) told the couple in an email, "As a Christian organization, our executive team made the decision several years ago to only provide prospective adoptive families that share our belief system in order to avoid conflicts or delays with future service delivery."
Holston told the Post, ""Holston Home places children with families that agree with our statement of faith, and forcing Holston Home to violate our beliefs and place children in homes that do not share our faith is wrong and contrary to a free society."
The agency, though it is a religious organization, receives taxpayer funding and assists families (on behalf of the Tennessee Department of Children's Services, which declined to comment to the Washington Post, citing impending litigation) with foster-care placement, training and other related services.