There is much attention at the moment to the Virginia Governor's  and the Department of Social Services' priority to increase funding and programming that strengthens Virginia's families.  Those families include adoptive families, foster famlies, single parent families, extended families, and families that include lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender parents and children. There are many strong and healthy families that are not two-parent, heterosexual families.  It is an appalling misuse of data to suggest that there is one type of family that is "better" than another and therefore should be promoted with public funds and through policy and regulation around foster care and adoption. 

In 2011 it is inconceivable, no matter your political affiliation, for the state to promote discrimination against any class of individuals. Such ingnorance has cost our Commonwealth and our nation greatly in our history. Foster care and adoption regulations and the agencies that operate with the benefit of state issued licenses should promote relationships with healthy and caring adults--without regard to gender, class, race, sexual orientation, religion, or number of adults in the family.