What’s at Stake in the Fulton Case: Kids in the Foster System
By: Movement Advancement Project
Tags: Supreme Court, Religious Exemptions, LGBTQ, Foster Care, Adoption

MAP RESEARCH

By Thomas Daillak, MAP policy intern

In 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court will issue a ruling in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, a case that could give a license to discriminate to taxpayer-funded foster and adoption agencies. Depending on how the Court rules, this case has the potential to negatively impact the safety and wellbeing for the nearly 425,000 children in the nation’s child welfare system.

New research released today by MAP finds that a decision against the City of Philadelphia could alter the way 39.8% of agencies nationwide contract with state agencies and provide vital services to children and families. This in turn threatens the wellbeing of children in the system, particularly when it comes to maintaining family ties and securing homes for children who cannot return to their families of origin.

The case concerns a religious-affiliated organization that contracts with the City of Philadelphia to provide foster and adoption services to the public using taxpayer money. The religious agency has since refused to license same-sex couples, in violation of the city’s contract prohibiting such discrimination.

MAP conducted an exhaustive survey of foster care and adoption agencies that contract with the government to care for children and families. Our research reveals that 39.8% of these agencies are religiously affiliated.

It’s important to note that just because an agency is religiously affiliated does not mean that it would seek a license to discriminate against LGBTQ families, single people, unmarried couples, or families who do not share the agency’s faith. In fact, many agencies provide high quality services to all in need without respect to religion, sexual orientation or gender identity, or marital status.

However, if the U.S. Supreme Court rules that government contracted agencies don’t have to abide by key contract terms, the risk is not hypothetical. There are already clear examples of taxpayer-funded, state-contracted, religiously affiliated agencies discriminating against same-sex couples, unmarried couples, Jewish people, and Catholic couples. Given that religiously affiliated agencies are a sizeable portion of all state-contracted agencies, if even a small fraction were to make this choice, the consequences would be significant.

By analyzing child welfare outcomes in states that have already allowed such discriminatory practices, MAP found such states had fewer children placed with family members (13% lower rates of family placements in these states) and had 5.4% more children in multiple foster care placements.

Both trends are detrimental to children. While only nine states have laws permitting state-contracted agencies to discriminate, a court ruling against the City of Philadelphia could permit agencies across the country to discriminate, to potentially devastating impact on the children and families in the system.

Freedom of religion is important; it’s one of our nation’s fundamental values. That’s why it’s already protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution. But that freedom doesn’t give anyone the right to impose our beliefs on others, or to discriminate.

Should the U.S. Supreme Court rule in favor of religious exemptions for state contractors, the beliefs of a handful of individuals who run these agencies could define how an entire state provides taxpayer funded care to its citizens. If states cannot issue contracts with terms that might constrain the religious beliefs of any organization that might apply for that contract, it would compromise the state’s ability to provide its citizens with taxpayer-funded supports of all kinds, such as job training programs, food assistance, emergency shelters, disaster relief agencies, and more.

Included amongst these programs is the child welfare system, one which even a very narrow ruling in this case has the potential to upend how our nation’s most vulnerable children and families are cared for.