"It doesn't matter if families have two mommies or two daddies. Kids need love and a good home where they are safe from bad people." - my daughter, Michelle, age 9, adopted from foster care at the age of 6

"If you have a desire to nurture a child who needs a safe place to live, if you feel called to care for children who have lived through difficult experiences, if you think it is the right time to open your heart and home to these children, consider becoming a foster parent." Department of Social Services website

When my daughter, adopted through foster care, was 8 years old, she found out that our neighbors would never be able to become foster parents because they were gay. She bursted into tears and asked, "But why, Mommy? There are so many kids waiting!"

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.

Let's open our doors a little wider and help a few more kids. Please.