JOHN HANNA
AP Political Writer
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – A Kansas Department of Children and Families official said Friday that the state will continue to allow qualified single adults to serve as foster parents for abused and neglected children, but she said her agency isn’t ready to say whether it will allow married same-sex couples to do so.
The department has faced questions about its plans because it said earlier this month that it was conducting a broad review of foster care policies. Douglas County District Judge Peggy Carr Kittel wrote a regional DCF official, asking whether it planned to limit foster parenting to only married couples and how such a move would apply to same-sex couples, given the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage across the nation.
Theresa Freed, a spokeswoman for the child welfare agency, told The Associated Press that department officials “haven’t changed any foster care licensing policies.” The department did not issue a public statement.
“Single adults will not be excluded from being foster care parents,” Freed said. “That was never being considered.”
Before the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Kansas banned same-sex marriage and did not recognize such marriages from other states. Brownback has been a vocal supporter of the state’s ban.
But the state allowed gays and lesbians to serve as foster parents, as individuals.
The department began its review of foster care policies after Republican Gov. Sam Brownback this month transferred the licensing of foster homes to it from the Department of Health and Environment. DCF already had administered placements and services for foster children through two private contractors.
About 6,500 children were in foster care at the end of June, though many of them had been placed with relatives. The state has about 2,500 licensed foster homes.
In response to questions about gay-married couples serving together as foster parents, Freed said, “We’re leaving that question for later.”
Later, in a follow-up email, she added: “We are still in the early stages of conducting a long and thorough process of review and deliberation of the foster care licensing program. The health and welfare of children remain our top priority, as well as providing them a stable environment.”
