State Board of Social Services Voted to Authorize Discrimination by State-Licensed Agencies

Equality Virginia condemns the Virginia State Board of Social Services for voting to authorize state-licensed adoption and foster care agencies to discriminate against prospective parents and children in need of loving families based on sexual orientation, religion, age, gender, disability, political beliefs and family status. 

On December 14, 2011 the State Board of Social Services told the people of the Commonwealth, who they represent, that it is okay for agencies licensed by the state to discriminate in making their services available to prospective adoptive and foster care parents, the 1,200 children waiting for a loving forever home and the 6,000 children in foster care.

Apparently, the Board and the Commissioner think it is okay, regardless of the best interests of the child, for single people and married couples and the children they seek to provide homes for to be denied services by state-licensed agencies based solely on their age, religion, gender, disability, political beliefs, family status, or sexual orientation.  

Equality Virginia believes that best interests of the child should be the sole basis for child placement decisions. Discrimination based on any of the factors stripped from the final rules has no place in the decision by the state or its licensed agencies whether to provide adoption or foster care services to children or to prospective loving parents.  

The Board’s decision falls particularly hard on the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth who are in the foster care system waiting for a loving permanent home.  These youth, many of whom have been kicked out of their homes, are rarely, if ever, able to be reunited with their families.  State authorized discrimination against them by any state run or state licensed agency is simply immoral.

The Board voted in April to approve final rules that only prohibit discrimination based on race, national origin and ethnicity.

In August, the Board agreed to suspend the effective date of the rules and solicit additional public comment on the final rules. During the 30 day comment period which ended October 11, 2011, more than 1600 comments (60% of the total) were submitted in favor of the broader nondiscrimination provisions published in the proposed rules.  

Despite the strong public support for broader nondiscrimination rules, on December 14, 2011 the Board voted 5-1 to publish final rules effective May 1, 2012 that only afford protection against discrimination based on race, national origin and ethnicity.

Campaign to End Workplace Discrimination

Equality Virginia believes every Virginian should have the right to a workplace free from discrimination and committed to equality of opportunity without regard to sexual orientation or gender identity. In Virginia, there is no state-wide law to protect people from discrimination on the basis of their real or perceived sexual orientation in the private or public workplace.

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