Regardless of sexual orientation or any other discriminating factors. As long as the potential parents are able to provide for the child as well as any other heterosexual, married couple. Why should a child be denied a home, a loving home with loving parents, just because of prejudice and discrimination? Who does that hurt in the long run? The child. The child who is shuffled from foster home to foster home, while you deny them potential loving parents who want to adopt and can provide a good up-bringing for such child. A child does not care about the sexual orientation of the parent(s), all they care about is that the parent(s) can give them the love, affection, and attention that they hunger for---that they need in order to feel wanted, like they belong. If a child does not care about sexual orientation and is happy being there as well as are better off, why should they be denied that? Why should they be taken away from that? As many kids there are in the system in need of a good home and loving parents, we should be opening doors to any and all who can provide them with good opportunities, well-being, happiness and love as well as providing for their every need financially.
2. 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 and family status.
Because when it all comes down to the bottom line, the last say should be about the well-being of the child and whether or not he/she can be provided for. It is wrong to judge a person wrongly because of discriminatory factors. What are we telling and teaching them by saying, "You can't have this loving couple take you in because they love one another or because of their religion or political beliefs and I don't agree with that." They don't care about that. They don't care about race, ethnicity, national origin, family status, etc. They just want a place they can call home and feel loved in it as well as be taken care of. Discriminating against prospective parents is wrong based on the above factors and it just keeps more children out of loving homes than in them.
3. The State Board of Social Services should restore to the final rules the protections against such discrimination included in the proposed rules.
Because in the end, it should always be about and only about, the interests of the children. No one else's matters but theirs. So long as they are properly taken care of and can be provided for, there should be no hesitation to let them go into a wonderful, loving couples home.