The best interests of the child standard, long established as the appropriate standard for deciding child custody issues in the family law arena, should be the sole factor in determining whether an adoptive parent or parents should be considered for child placement. Foster agencies should not be allowed to discriminate against prospective parents or against foster children based on factors that do not affect the best interests of the child, such as the prospective parent's race, ethnicity, county of origin, sex, religion, disability, sexual orientation,  and gender identity and expression.