Organization reminds DHHS to respect religious wishes of parents due to recent complaints
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 12, 2014
CONTACT: Tyler Richard, (402) 476-8091 x104, trichard@aclunebraska.org
LINCOLN - In response to a series of recent complaints, the ACLU of Nebraska has issued a reminder to the Department of Health and Human Services that foster parents have failed to honor the religious faith of children in state care. In a letter sent to DHHS Director Thomas Pristow, the ACLU stated that "Religion, or the lack thereof, can play an important role in the lives of children" and that both the Nebraska Supreme Court and the US Supreme Court have recognized the importance of parents in the religious education and training of children.
"The case history and departmental regulations are very clear here - a child in state custody should be raised in a manner consistent with the faith of the parents," said ACLU of Nebraska Legal Director Amy Miller. "Decades of social science literature show that continued connection with culture and community helps make out of home care less traumatic for children. While we are hopeful that our recent complaints are isolated incidents, we would encourage any parents with children in foster care to contact us if they have concerns about the religious experiences of their children."
According to Joel Donahue, Staff Attorney for the ACLU, the complaints come from families with parents who are either Atheist, Jewish or Christian. Once the children were removed from foster care and returned to their parents, they began to ask their parents if they were going to hell because of the information that was provided to the children by their temporary foster parents.
"Clearly, the children in foster care were being taught religious values which do not fit with their parent's religion," said Donahue. "The state, through foster parents, should not be inserting itself into religious teachings that are up to the parents."
Currently, the ACLU does not have plans for legal action but said it would consider action if it received additional complaints.
"The department has a good policy but we have concerns it isn't being enforced or appropriately communicated to foster parents," said Miller. "If we hear from additional parents while their children are in foster care and learn that this is an ongoing problem, we will have to demand enforcement through legal action."
