The Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (DCS) has scrapped a policy that required adoptive families to care for a child with “dignity and respect” regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, following the passage of a new “religious freedom” law this month.
On April 11, Republican Gov. Bill Lee signed the Tennessee Foster and Adoptive Parent Protection Act, which prohibits DCS from requiring adoptive or foster families to “affirm, accept, or support” a policy regarding LGBTQ+ identity if it conflicts with “sincerely held religious beliefs.” Under the law, DCS may not deny an application based on the applicant’s religious beliefs, and further asserts that even if someone holds openly anti-LGBTQ+ beliefs, being placed in their home would not be “contrary to the best interest of the child.” There are more than 6,000 youth currently in the state foster care system, according to one department estimate, who will be affected when the law takes effect July 1.
Since the law’s passage, the Tennessee Lookout reported this week, DCS officials will no longer mandate care that “promotes dignity and respect for all children/youth and families” regardless of gender or sexuality.” DCS spokesperson Ashley Zarach told the Lookout that the agency’s policies for LGBTQ+ youth are now “under review and will be updated on the web site once the review is complete.”
“Prior to this legislation, the DCS home study process included asking prospective foster and adoptive parents a series of questions to identify their placement preferences,” including questions about willingness to parent an LGBTQ+ child, a department spokesperson clarified in a statement to the Lookout. “Our goal always is to find the most appropriate placement to meet the unique needs of each child in our care.”
As the Lookout noted, the law has made Tennessee the first state in the nation to explicitly allow anti-LGBTQ+ adults to adopt queer and trans youth. Supporters of the law, like its author GOP Rep. Mary Littleton, have claimed it “does not disregard the values and beliefs of the child,” and will lead to better placements for children and increased interest in adoption or fostering among religious families. But LGBTQ+ advocates and Democratic lawmakers condemned the law, pointing out that it no longer requires the state to consider a child’s preference either.
