I am writing to express my support for rules to prohibit discrimination against prospective adoptive parents that is based on factors having nothing to do with children's welfare.

I believe that . . .

1) the child's best interests should be the sole consideration when placing a child with a prospective foster caretaker or adoptive parent(s);

2) State-licensed child placing agencies should not be allowed to discriminate against children or prospective parents solely on the basis of race, national origin, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, political beliefs, sexual orientation, disability, and family status; and

3) the State Board of Social Services should restore to the final rules the protections against such discrimination included in the proposed rules.

Only those factors that directly affect a child's welfare--not those reflecting the decisionmaker's personal prejudice--should be considered in the process of placing children in need into loving homes.