Gay Adoption Policy Analysis
...undergone profound changes in recent decades. While public acceptance of homosexuality remains a deeply decisive issue, adoption by gays and lesbians has become increasingly acceptable, with 46% of the national population favoring gay adoption. (Pew Research Center, 2006) In New York State, statutes developed to permit gays to adopt are among the most permissive in the nation. New York Adoption Code 18 NYCRR 421.16 (h)(2) (2004) states that "applicants shall not be rejected solely on the basis of homosexuality", which expressly prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation when determining who may adopt.
According to The Children's Defense Fund, 14,840 children in New York were awaiting adoption from foster care in 2006. Across the United States, there were 126,000 children waiting to be adopted from foster care in 2006. (Children's Defense Fund) Laws that ban gay people from adopting, or those that specifically don't prohibit discrimination in adopting and fostering are of critical importance to the LGBT community because labeling a group of people as unfit to parent can be construed as an attack on their humanity.
Laws protecting homosexuals in the process of adoption affect not only members of the LGBT community, but also the many children awaiting adoption. Children who grow up without families are much less likely to grow into responsible adults.(Casey Family Services, 2004) Those who age out of foster care are at high risk for dropping out of school, being unemployed, experiencing homelessness, and getting involved with drugs and criminal activity.
In the late 1970's and 1980's, it was recognized that children were lingering in the foster care system, being placed in a series of homes, and never part of a long term plan, other than to remain in care. The idea of permanency planning is based on the belieft that the preferred plan for a...
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