Religious adoption and foster care agencies should be free to follow their faith convictions in their work serving vulnerable children. A recently proposed bill in Virginia (HB 1051) would unjustly restrict that freedom.
There are approximately 5,000 foster children in Virginia, more than 900 of whom are ready for adoption now. Virginia is ranked 49th in the country for children aging out of the foster care system without being adopted. HB 1051 would do nothing to help these children. To the contrary, if enacted, the bill would reduce the number of adoption and foster care providers operating in Virginia, many of which are from religious communities that were caring for orphans long before governments got involved.
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