Dear Town Hall Participants,

I strongly agree that prohibiting discrimination by state-licensed agencies is the right thing to do, and Virginia's policy should be that children cannot be denied services or a loving permanent home, solely on the basis of discriminatory factors.

State-licensed child placing agencies should not be allowed to discriminate against children or prospective parents based on race, national origin, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, political beliefs, sexual orientation, disability, veteran, and / or family status.

The best interests of the child should be the sole factor in deciding whether a child should be placed with a prospective foster care or adoptive parent or parents, and the State Board of Social Services should restore to the final rules the protections against such discrimination included in the proposed rules.

Furthermore, we have worked hard as a nation to end the tolerance of hate crimes between persons, and now it is essential that we put an end to the hate crimes that occur by willful omission of protected classes  (I am speaking specifically, here, with regard to veteran status and / or sexual orientation) when we create hateful public policies / practices and  when active legislate against the same (such as supporting the DOMA).

All best,
Susan C. Stinson

Farmville, VA 23901