Thanks to the marriage equality ruling of Obergefell vs. Hodges, gay marriage is legal in all 50 United States. This ruling changed much more than LGBTQ couples being able obtain marriage certificates. Before, states were able to prevent LGBTQ couples from adopting because of marital requirements. Now, LGBTQ couples cannot be denied the opportunity to adopt a child jointly from a public or non-faith-based agency. As an extension of this ruling, a law banning gay adoption in Mississippi was overturned in 2016, making joint LGBTQ adoption legal in all 50 states.
But, there are still barriers to overcome. Approximately two million LGBTQ people are interested in adopting a child but not all adoption agencies are willing to work with them. Less than one-fifth of adoption agencies are actively attempting to recruit LGBTQ adoptive parents per the Human Right’s Campaign.
This is a huge problem. Not only are these barriers marginalizing an entire community in a supposedly post-equal world, but children are also needlessly suffering. Many prospective parents are interested in helping children in need, and yet, many are denied access to adoption services.
With nearly half a million children in the United States foster care system, these prospective parents could provide incalculable value. Not only in their sheer number, but their unique perspective, understanding, love and acceptance of LGBTQ children.
Often, older LGBTQ children in the foster system are the hardest to place because of prospective parents' biases when it comes to gender identity and sexual orientation. LGBTQ adolescents make up as much as 40 percent of homeless youth, according to the Administration of Children and Families, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is critical to get LGBTQ families involved in child care.
As a Social Work major at The Ohio State University, I’m passionate about the health of all people, specifically members of the LGBTQ community. That’s why when it came time to gain internship experience, I knew I wanted to work for a progressive adoption agency who gives all people the chance to start a family. That agency for me is Choice Network.
Choice Network, an adoption agency based in Columbus, is transforming what the reproductive justice and adoption movement stand for. We are actively searching to have half of our waiting families be members of the LGBTQ community. Recently, we changed the language on our website to consist of gender neutral pronouns. Our goal is to promote equity between opposite-sex and same-sex couples while assisting children of all backgrounds be placed in forever homes.
And besides all the compelling data, Choice Network just wants LGBTQ communities to be viewed as people. To be viewed as loving, prospective parents that deserve to give children a forever home. As we head into National Adoption Month in November, it is time adoption agencies across the country take notice and follow in the footsteps of Choice Network.
About Taylor Scribner
Taylor is a senior at The Ohio State University, and is intensely invested in its social work program. Taylor has volunteered at community gardens, The Sophia Quintero Center, Planned Parenthood, The Farm Labor Organizing Committee, a local Toledo radio station, a justice coalition, and a variety of other important projects in California and Ohio. While pursuing her master’s degree, she is interning at Choice Network. The adoption agency is committed to true choice, autonomy, equity and justice, which is something she wholeheartedly stands behind.
