Christian foster parents with traditional, biblical beliefs on gender and sexuality are being systematically excluded from California’s foster care system due to the enforcement of SB 407. This new law, authored by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), mandates that foster parents, irrespective of whether they have an LGBTQ-identified child in their care, must affirm a child’s chosen gender identity or sexual orientation. Neutrality is no longer acceptable under the updated guidelines issued by the California Department of Social Services (CDSS). (Read guidelines here: https://www.cdss.ca.gov/Portals/9/Additional-Resources/Letters-and-Notices/ACLs/2024/24-69.pdf?ver=2024-11-19-154231-617)
According to a letter distributed to all county and state-licensed foster care agencies last month, “Each resource family must have the capacity, ability, and willingness to safeguard a child’s or non-minor dependent’s personal rights and respect and honor the child’s identities regardless of their own values and beliefs.” The letter further asserts that any failure to affirm a child’s self-determined identity constitutes a “risk or threat” to the child’s health and safety. Consequently, this would result in the denial of foster care applications or the revocation of existing approvals.
This policy shift underscores a troubling development: the state now regards traditional views regarding gender and sexuality as harmful, not only to foster children, but to all children under the system’s care.
The California Family Council (CFC) recently received a call from a foster father who, along with his wife, had provided temporary care to multiple young children over several years. Despite their history of offering loving homes, their social worker denied the renewal of their foster care license because they could not commit to affirming any identity a child might choose. This was a marked departure from previous practices, where their beliefs were accommodated, and they were not assigned LGBTQ-identified children.
“Their social worker told them that under SB 407, the promise of affirmation is now a requirement for fostering any child, regardless of age,” said Greg Burt, Vice President of the California Family Council.
Leading Christian legal organizations specializing in religious liberty cases have condemned the CDSS directive as unconstitutional. Kevin Snider, Chief Counsel for the Pacific Justice Institute, highlighted the broader ramifications of SB 407.
“The implications of SB 407 and the recent Directive from the Dept. of Social Services is that foster families holding religious or traditional views on gender and sexual orientation are unqualified to provide care for foster children,” Snider explained. “California parents may think, ‘This doesn’t concern me — I’m not a foster parent.’ In fact, it does concern you. There is now a very small step for the state to deem any parent as unfit to raise their own children if the family holds a view that contradicts the state’s ideology on gender and sexual orientation. This could result in a visit by Child Protective Services with tragic consequences for the home.”
Kelly Rickert, an attorney with Advocates for Faith and Freedom, emphasized the dire need for foster parents in California, particularly in Los Angeles County, which has over 25,000 foster children in care. She said, “For centuries, Christians have stepped up to care for these children. But now, the State is stripping Christians who have previously provided years of care of their foster care licenses because they cannot in good conscience agree to promote the state’s onerous directives promoting LGBTQ+ ideologies.”
Rickert also pointed to legal precedents, such as Fulton v. City of Philadelphia (2021), “the Supreme Court struck down a Philadelphia policy denying contracts to a foster care agency because it would not certify same-sex couples as foster parents – because it violated the First Amendment’s Free Exercise clause.“ Rickert believes the CDSS directive is similarly unconstitutional. “It is heartbreaking that the State of California elevates political ideology over the welfare of children in need,” she said.
CFC Vice President Greg Burt expressed disappointment at how religious freedoms were disregard during the legislative process. The CFC consistently lobbied against SB 407, warning lawmakers of its illegality and its potential to alienate prospective foster parents. “California is already struggling with a foster parent shortage, yet Senator Wiener and his allies are driving away faithful families who provide stable, loving homes,” said Burt. “This law doesn’t just hurt foster children—it actively discriminates against foster parents who are willing to love and care for any child but refuse to compromise their deeply held religious beliefs.”
California Family Council