President Ronald Reagan once famously quipped, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.”
It seems since time immemorialized that bureaucrats have perfected the art of making a bad situation worse. Lately, nowhere is that more apparent than a recent proposal to revise federal foster care regulations.
With nearly 400,000 children currently in foster care, never has the need for healthy and safe homes been more acute. With the need rising, you’d think officials would be concentrating on making it easier and more attractive to be a foster parent – but the current proposal does the exact opposite.
In an alarming move that not only alienates Christians with strong moral convictions but also potentially disqualifies them from stepping up to serve in the foster care system, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is proposing new approval guidelines to ensure parents “affirm” sexually confused children.
Deceptively titled, “Safe and Appropriate Foster Care Placement Requirements for Titles IV-E and IV-B,” the new regulations would basically label any parent who doesn’t go along with a child’s sexual confusion to be unsafe and unqualified to welcome that boy or girl in foster care into their home.
The Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO), a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring and equipping believers to “effectively live out the Bible’s call to care for orphaned and vulnerable children,” is sounding the alarm.
“The underlying assumption of the proposal is that anyone adhering to a traditional ethic of human sexuality is incapable of providing a ‘safe and appropriate’ environment for LGBTQI+ youth,” they warned. “Under the plain text of the proposal, providers or foster parents who cannot affirm a child’s preferred pronouns or facilitate hormone treatments for gender transitions would be considered unfit to provide care for any LGBTQI+ child.”
The CAFO went on to point out that the terms “safe and appropriate” are far too vague. In fact, they cite some of the terms mentioned in the new regulations, including:
An “environment free of hostility.”
“Mistreatment.”
“Abuse.”
“Age-appropriate resources.”
“Services” or “activities” that “support (the child’s) health and well-being.”
Given the trauma and background of many of the children in the foster care system, plus the gender propaganda being peddled in culture, it’s no wonder that children are struggling with their sexual identities. Steeped in a biblical sexual ethic, Christian men and women are perfectly prepared to lovingly, tenderly and compassionately welcome these children into their families. In fact, there is no better place for them to be.
As Jedd Medefind of the Christian Alliance for Orphans told the New York Post, “A rule like this would undoubtedly have a chilling effect on the willingness of people of earnest faith to serve through the child welfare system. In a time when we desperately need more caring families serving children in foster care, this rule would almost certainly lead to fewer.”
If controversy over faith-based participation in the foster care system sounds familiar, it might be because you remember the Supreme Court case from 2021, Fulton v. Philadelphia. A unanimous High Court ruled that Catholic Social Services was within their rights to not certify and place children with same-sex couples.
The proposed regulations may not outright ban Christians from fostering children, but the intent and message is clear: The federal government doesn’t trust Bible-believing Christians.
Enough is enough.
Federal law requires and provides the public with an opportunity to submit “comment letters” through November 27, 2023. We strongly encourage and urge readers to do so as soon as possible.
Original image from Shutterstock.
The post Stop Bullying Christians Who Want to Support Children in Foster Care appeared first on Daily Citizen.
Daily Citizen