Foster Families Foster God
Sunday, March 1, 2015 by Unknown
Forrest Knox, republican senator of Kansas, proposed a newbill that will change the setup of some foster families. Senate Bill 158 has standards that, if met, qualify foster families to be considered CARE families. The foster family must have heterosexual married guardians, nonsmokers and nondrinkers, and must attend some type of social gathering weekly. As well, if the couple decides to have other jobs, one parent must stay home while the other works. “The home will provide a comfortable, informal, stable and secure setting – a traditional home with a loving father and mother,” Knox said. Knox even admitted that he hopes to see those who go to church applying for this foster program. CARE families are different than regular foster families because CARE granted more control over their foster kid’s lives. They are granted permission to homeschool train them and be funded for this training by the government. According to the article, each homeschooled foster child would be granted roughly $3,838 that is intended to service their academic needs. However there are few regulations and limitations with this money. The money does not have to go towards a secular curriculum. The parents have the freedom to teach them however they please. This bill has other loop holes that are being challenged amongst senators, such as excluding biological parents from making decisions about the foster children.
The bill is undeniably controversial, especially with the standards set in place. Some may argue this is a violation of separation of church and state because it promotes certain moral values upheld by Senator Knox. It discriminates homosexual couples from participating in this public program, for no other reason than a ‘stable and secure setting’ for the children. The requirement to attend a weekly social group larger than a family does not have any clear unconstitutional flaws. However, it is arguable that this standard advantages candidates who go to religious groups to be eligible for the CARE program more than others. The nonsmoking and nonalcoholic environment most definitely has benefits in keeping the foster kids safe. However, the intent behind these rules are questionable. If this is a public program for those in Kansas, it should have secular standards and secular reasoning behind these standards.
The education factor is another controversial portion of the bill. In class we have discusses several cases where the state is compelled to fund the education of religious schools in order to better the child and allow them the same educational opportunity through academic materials, field trips, and even teaching. We have discovered that there is a narrow line between what is acceptable and unacceptable via standards like the Lemon Test in determining whether public funding for private schools is unconstitutional. With this bill, the choice of education for the child will not be the decided by the biological parent, but by foster guardians. With the requirement of “weekly social gathering attendance” the households of these families will very likely be religious. These values can become entangled in their homeschool curriculum. It would be impossible to regulate what and how the foster parents decide to teach their kids. Therefore funding these academics would be unconstitutional.
I think this bill shouldn’t be passed because of its several inconsistent standards. Public programs such as foster care, are supposed to provide a safe and positive environment for children who are parentless or come from abused backgrounds. The CARE families embody only one type of ‘betterment’ and I believe it is based from Knox’s moral views on a “healthy family”. Same sex marriage is illegal in Kansas but disqualifying their household from applying to this program, when they cannot be a ‘stable and married’ household by law makes no sense. They are considered unfit because they are not married, but they are prohibited by the law. Also, the money grant for homeschool education is debatable. I don’t think it is constitutional that the government needs to fund a public program to potentially sponsor religious education. These kids should be able to receive public education, being that it is a stable and monitored facility for their growth. I think this bill will and can lead to several slippery slopes. For example, I’m sure Knox did not intend for the families weekly meetings to be at nontraditional or radical religious groups. With 41% of Kansas being Christian or Catholic and 50% identifying as religious, it is quite clear who is advantaged in this bill. I think the foster care system should instead be improved to seek the betterment of the child, rather than implementing a new program that is biased to religious households.
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