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Policy

Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act

Bill to prohibit federal, state and local governments from discriminating against child welfare service provider based on the provider’s religious or moral beliefs.

Supporting children

Faith-based providers play a critical role in our nation’s child welfare system by placing thousands of children in loving homes each year. Eighty-four percent of children in the system seeking families qualify as “hard-to-place”, i.e. kids who are older, have special needs, or come from troubled backgrounds. Faith-based providers excel in this space.

45 percent of Catholic Charities and 32 percent of Bethany Christian Service adoption placements are for “hard-to-place” children.

Unfair discrimination

What these faith-based providers do for women, children, and for our communities is irreplaceable. And yet, state and local governments across the country are discriminating against these faith-based adoption agencies and foster care providers — and in some cases shutting them down — because they offer birth mothers the choice of placing their children in homes with both a mother and a father.

Religious freedom

As attacks on religious freedom become more blatant and mainstream, the need to protect these faith-based child welfare providers from discrimination becomes even more immediate.

The Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act, introduced in the House by Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pennsylvania) and in the Senate by Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyoming), would prevent this discrimination, safeguard the choice of birth mothers to place their children in homes with both a mother and a father, and help place thousands of children in their forever homes with their forever families.

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