State removes LGBTQ non-discrimination language from disputed adoption contract
After months of dispute, Gov. Andy Beshear’s administration has removed language intended to prevent discrimination of LGBTQ people in its proposed contract with a Baptist-affiliated foster care agency, the governor said Thursday.
But Sunrise Children’s Services has not accepted the state’s proposed contract, even though it’s in keeping with language the organization initially sought, the governor said.
“The Cabinet has offered the contract in the form that Sunrise had previously requested it, with specifically a line in two separate sections eliminated,” Beshear said Thursday during his weekly news conference. “Sunrise has responded by saying that’s no longer their position. They now want significant additional terms written into the contract.”
As a result, “there is not [a] resolution. But they have the contract they asked for, right there, ready to sign if they’re willing,” he said, noting that even though negotiations are ongoing, the state is still placing kids in Sunrise’s care.
Since the spring, the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services has been roiled in a protracted contract dispute with the foster care and adoption agency over whether a provision barring discrimination based on sexual orientation should be part of their agreed-upon contract language. Sunrise, which is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, has argued that a clause of that nature would infringe on the organization’s deeply-held religious belief that homosexuality is a sin. The state has argued that such language was previously required by law and omitting it would allow discrimination against LGBTQ people.
Beshear on Thursday announced the Cabinet had acquiesced and provided Sunrise with the contract it wanted, one that does not include non-discrimination protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity. That decision was based on a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that said the city of Philadelphia could not block a Catholic agency from being awarded a contract over its refusal to work with same-sex couples. When that unanimous decision was handed down in June, Kentucky Republican leaders called on the Cabinet to renew its contract with Sunrise.
Though the Cabinet attempted to modify the contract to Sunrise’s liking, Beshear said the agency is unfairly asking for more provisions. Copies of either contract were not immediately available.
“We were told . . . that if we eliminated this language that we were worried violates federal law and now we know it doesn’t, that they’d sign the contract and accept services for kids,” Beshear said. “That language no longer appears in the contract they’ve been offered. This isn’t a chance to negotiate for more. You’ve gotten what you asked for.”
John Sheller, Sunrise’s attorney, volleyed back Thursday, saying the additional language being sought by the agency is “needed to comply fully” with the recent Supreme Court decision. “The state has also asked for changes or clarifications in the contract,” he said.
“Every clarification requested by Sunrise is either something required by Fulton, something it requested before, or something Kentucky has accepted in the past,” Sheller said. “We look forward to completing the process soon and we presume Kentucky feels the same.”
This story was originally published July 1, 2021 at 3:20 PM.
