Massachusetts Excludes Religious Parents as Fosters While Children Live in Hotels

The Becket Foundation is seeking to restore the ability of Mike and Kitty Burke to foster children in Massachusetts. As PT1st observed last year, the state blocked the Burkes from participating in the state foster program because they hold traditional Catholic views on gender and sexuality. The problem with the Burkes, the social worker wrote in her report, is that “their faith is not supportive, and neither are they.”
 
But is that fair?
 
The state enforces this policy despite the more than 1,500 unplaced minors in the system, some living in hotels. Blocking traditional religious couples from participating in a program that sorely needs more foster parents is just asking for children to grow up in a system, not a family. It sets a worrying precedent that millions of religious Americans can be blocked from state programs simply for holding traditional religious views. Watch this compelling video from Becket: