Letter: Homosexual foster parents
Fort Worth Star Telegram, January 8, 1998
P. O. Box 1870, Fort Worth, TX 76101
(Fax 817-390-7789) (letters@startext.net)
Should gay and lesbian couples be allowed to act as foster parents? The answer is a
clear-cut "no" for Rebecca Bledsoe, caseworker with Child Protective Services.
Bledsoe recently ordered a 3-month-old child removed from the foster home of a lesbian
couple because of their sexual orientation. According to Bledsoe, Texas' anti-sodomy law
left her with no recourse but to remove the child because the lesbian couple's
relationship constituted "criminal sexual conduct." Bledsoe stated that workers
with CPS were "ignoring [the] law because they didn't think it was right" and
that she was simply upholding the law to protect the interests of foster children.
Bledsoe is reportedly seeking to force CPS to adopt a formal policy against placing any
children with gays and lesbians. If CPS does not issue such a policy, then she has vowed
to taker her battle to the courts.
I support Bledsoe's effort to get CPS to adopt a formal policy regarding placement of
children with gays and lesbians. The policy should state that an abused or neglected child
who is in need of foster services be placed with the best family available -- one that
could provide love, structure and stability. The policy should specifically state that the
selection of a family for placement of a child would be based upon the above criteria and
not upon the couple's sexual orientation, religious affiliation or race.
Bledsoe expressed the belief that removing the foster child from a family whose sexual
orientation is different from her own was "the right decision." The "right
decision" is to offer the most qualified and willing families the opportunity to act
as foster parents. Abused and neglected children deserve nothing less.
-- Jim Roaten, Fort Worth
[Home] [News] [Texas]
