LGBT Parenting Policy in the United States (page 2)

LGBT Parenting

Recent datasets show that many lesbians and gay men are parenting and many more have a desire to parent at some point in their lives. An estimated 27% of same-sex couples identified in Census 2000, over 600,000 couples, have a child under 18 living in the home with them. Black, Hispanic and Latina female same-sex couples are parenting at nearly twothirds the rate of white female same-sex couples, while Black, Hispanic and Latino male same-sex couples are parenting at twice the rate of white male same-sex couples. Among individuals, more than 35% of lesbians aged 18-44 have given birth, while16% of gay men have had a biological or adopted child.

Social Science Research

Over 25 years of scientific research has shown that children of gay parents are just as healthy and well-adjusted as other children. Studies have focused on a variety of topics, including psychological, emotional, social, and cognitive development, as well as quality of parenting and gender and sexual development of the children. All reputable studies have found that the sexual orientation of parents does not affect children's development, gender identity, or sexual orientation in any way, except for that in some cases children raised by lesbian parents may feel less constrained by gender stereotypes than children raised by heterosexual parents. The factors critical to a child's development-quality of parenting, quality of relationship between the parents (if there is more than one), and availability of adequate economic resources-are not impacted by a parent's sexual orientation.

Mainstream Experts' Support for Gay Parenting

Scientific evidence has prompted numerous mainstream health and child welfare organizations to adopt policies opposing restrictions on lesbian and gay parenting, including the following:

• American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (1999)
• American Academy of Family Physicians (2002)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (2002)
• American Bar Association (1995, 1999, 2003)
• American Psychiatric Association (1997, 2002)
• American Psychoanalytic Association (2002)
• American Psychological Association (1976, 2004)
• American Medical Association (2004)
• Child Welfare League of America (1988)
• National Association of Social Workers (2002)
• North American Council on Adoptable Children (1998; amend.2002; amend.2005)

Foster Parenting

Census 2000 estimates indicate that 6% of children in non-kin care, with caretakers other than extended family members, are being raised by gay, lesbian, and bisexual foster parents, a total of 14,134 of the nearly 500,000 children living in foster care on any given day. Gay and lesbian foster parents are more likely to raise children with disabilities-32% of all foster children with disabilities reside with gay and lesbian parents.

Like adoption, foster parenting determinations generally are made at the local level, and few states have laws or policies specifically regulating foster parenting by gay people. Nebraska is the only state that expressly prohibits foster parenting

by gay individuals through a 1995 directive of the then director of the Department of Social Services. The directive also restricts foster parenting by individuals who are cohabitating in an unmarried relationship, which may have the effect of preventing same-sex partners from fostering children. Utah law similarly prohibits foster parenting by unmarried, cohabitating individuals, in addition to giving preference to married couples over single adults in foster care placement decisions. In North Dakota, law allows child-placing agencies to discriminate against prospective foster parents based on religious or moral objection. Although the laws in Utah and North Dakota do not restrict gay foster parenting expressly, they may have that impact.

On the other hand, California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Oregon all have laws or policies that prohibit discrimination against gay individuals in the foster parenting process.

For more information on laws and policies regulating foster parenting, visit our publications at http://www.familyequality.org/resources/publications.html.

Mainstream Experts' Support for Gay Foster Parenting

• American Psychiatric Association (1997, 2002)
• American Psychological Association (1976, 2004)
• National Association of Social Workers (2002)
• North American Council on Adoptable Children (1998; amend.2002; amend.2005)

Resources and Publications

Gates, G. et al. (2007). Adoption and Foster Care by Gay and Lesbian Parents in the United States. Los Angeles: TheToo High a Price: The Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law and The Urban Institute. Available at http://www.law.ucla.edu/WilliamsInstitute/publications/Policy-Adoption-index.html.

Cooper, L., & Cates, P. (2006). Too High a Price: The Case Against Restricting Gay Parenting. New York: American Civil Liberties Union. Available at http://www.aclu.org/lgbt/parenting/27496pub20061113.html.

Cianciotto, J. (2005). Hispanic and Latino Same-Sex Households in the United States: A Report from the 200 Census. New York: National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute and the National Latino/a Coalition for Justics. Available at http://www.thetaskforce.org/reports_and_research/HispanicLatino_households.

Dang, A., & Frazer, S. (2004). Black Same-Sex Households in the United States: A Report From the 2000 Census. New York: National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute and the National Black Justics Coalition. Available at http://www.thetaskforce.org/reports_and_research/blackcouples_census.

National Center for Lesbian Rights (2004). Adoption by Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Parents: An Overview of Current Law. Available at http://www.nclrights.org/site/DocServer/adptn0204.pdf?docID=1221.