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FULTON v. PHILADELPHIA 

Opinion of the Court 

Children’s Bureau to place children in foster homes.  Peti-
tioner CSS continues that mission today.

The Philadelphia foster care system depends on coopera-
tion between the City and private foster agencies like CSS.
When  children  cannot  remain  in  their  homes,  the  City’s
Department of Human Services assumes custody of them. 
The Department enters standard annual contracts with pri-
vate  foster  agencies  to  place  some  of  those  children  with 
foster families. 

The placement process begins with review of prospective
foster families.  Pennsylvania law gives the authority to cer-
tify  foster  families  to  state-licensed  foster  agencies  like 
CSS.  55 Pa. Code §3700.61 (2020).  Before certifying a fam-
ily, an agency must conduct a home study during which it 
considers statutory criteria including the family’s “ability to 
provide  care,  nurturing  and  supervision  to  children,” 
“[e]xisting  family  relationships,”  and  ability  “to  work  in
partnership” with a foster agency.  §3700.64.  The agency
must decide whether to “approve, disapprove or provision-
ally approve the foster family.”  §3700.69.

When the Department seeks to place a child with a foster
family, it sends its contracted agencies a request, known as 
a referral.  The agencies report whether any of their certi-
fied families are available, and the Department places the
child with what it regards as the most suitable family.  The 
agency  continues  to  support  the  family  throughout  the 
placement.

The religious views of CSS inform its work in this system. 
CSS  believes  that  “marriage  is  a  sacred  bond  between  a 
man and a woman.”  App. 171.  Because the agency under-
stands the certification of prospective foster families to be 
an endorsement of their relationships, it will not certify un-
married couples—regardless of their sexual orientation—or
same-sex married couples.  CSS does not object to certifying
gay or lesbian individuals as single foster parents or to plac-
ing gay and lesbian children.  No same-sex couple has ever