This bill would require all foster parents to meet the needs of LGBTQ youth, seek out and offer any and all resources available to these youth, and sign a document stating willingness to do so in order to become or continue as a foster parent. This would mean a loving, protective family who would welcome an LGBTQ child but would not take them to an LGBT resource center, or for gender transition would not be allowed to be a foster family. No one supports families that harass or discriminate against any youth placed in their homes, and every LGBTQ+ child deserves a loving, protective family. At the same time, loving families may question the appropriateness of certain services – whether from conscience, faith, or from concern with the medical soundness of gender affirming care. California needs a broader pool of potential foster families, and people of faith (or none), with different beliefs, different styles of parenting, who disagree about gender affirming care can still provide excellent and loving homes.
Sub Category: Parental Rights, Conscience Rights