Texas' next religious liberty fight could be over foster care

[Heddi]

https://www.texastribune.org/2017/03/21/religious-liberty-docket-child-welfare-legislation/


Texas' next religious liberty fight could be over foster care

Texas legislators are considering sharpening religious protections for faith-based groups the state hires to place children in foster homes. Critics say that could give religious groups license to discriminate.

You can’t talk about religious liberty in Texas without mentioning Lester Roloff.

In the 1970s, Roloff, a Baptist preacher, was known for his homes for teenagers in Corpus Christi. A 1973 legislative report on child care in the state said members heard testimony from children previously in Roloff's Rebekah Home for Girls about irregular meals and whippings. Roloff told lawmakers his homes should be exempted from state interference due to his religious roots.

“We spanked them because God loves them, and we love them,” Roloff told the committee.

Those hearings led to the Legislature passing Senate Bill 965 in 1975, which established child care licensing laws in the state.
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Rep. James Frank, R-Wichita Falls, vice chairman of the House Human Services Committee, has authored House Bill 3859, which would protect faith-based providers from retaliation if they assert their “sincerely held religious beliefs” while caring for abused and neglected children.

The bill would include allowing faith-based groups to deny a placement if it’s against their religious beliefs; place a child in a religion-based school; deny referrals for abortion-related contraceptives, drugs or devices; and refuse to contract with other organizations that go against their religious beliefs.

Frank said the his bill is meant to give “reasonable accommodations” for faith-based groups and not meant to be exclusionary. He said the ultimate goal is to help find the right home for kids.

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But Jennifer Allmon, executive director for the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops, said that Catholic charities based in Texas are wary of continuing as child welfare providers without the protection that HB 3859 could offer. Allmon said some of the 13 such groups in Texas have faced lawsuits for not taking a young woman to get an abortion or not putting children in gay and lesbian households. For now, she said, the legislation's fate would be a "critical factor" in how Catholic Charities decides to move forward with the state.

“It’s about recognizing the role of the faith-based provider and not extending beyond our role,” Allmon said. “We’re asked to come forward and serve in this system because of our faith and our values and our mission.”

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Not to mention “the devil is in the details” with HB 3859, said Joshua Houston, director of government affairs for Texas Impact. He pointed out allowing groups protection if they have “sincerely held religious beliefs” can apply to views on physical discipline, diets, medical care, blood transfusions, vaccinations and how boys and girls are treated. He said that kind of ambiguity is what made Roloff untouchable for decades.

“When you say ‘sincerely held religious beliefs,’ you’re opening the door wide,” Houston said. “There’s all kind of weird religious beliefs that are out there.”