On August 5, 2015 Third District Judge John Colborn struck down 20-year-old policy that banned LGBT Nebraskans from providing foster care. This policy had been issued back in 1995 by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.
In 2012, the HHS began allowing some same-sex couples to become foster parents without officially rescinding the ban, and in early 2015 the policy was quietly removed from the website. Staff were told children could be placed with LGBT couples who made it through a five level approval process – whereas straight couples only had to go through two levels, and ex-felons had to go through four.
In 2013, the ACLU of Nebraska filed a lawsuit along with the ACLU LGBT Rights & HIV Project and the New York law firm Sullivan and Cromwell on behalf of three same-sex couples that wanted to become foster parents for children in Nebraska.
During arguments, the couples were told by a Nebraska Assistant Attorney General that the policy ban was no longer in effect, but she failed to mention the extra steps LGBT couples had to take.
District Judge Colborn wrote in his 2015 ruling that the arguments were not logical and ordered that evaluations of prospective foster parents must be the same regardless of sexual orientation.
“The couples in our case, like thousands of other gay and lesbian Nebraskans, have demonstrated their ability to provide loving homes for children,” said ACLU of Nebraska Executive Director Danielle Conrad. “We are grateful for the court’s unequivocal, broad, and positive opinion in favor of LGBT Nebraskans’ constitutional rights to be full participants in our welfare system.”
Check out this blog written by two of our clients, Todd Vesley and Joel Bush. In late 2015, Todd and Joel were approved to be foster parents and in early 2016, they were able to give three children a new and loving home.
Thankfully this ruling was a remarkable victory for our state. Nebraska children now have so many more opportunities to find loving and stable homes!
2016 is the 50th anniversary of the ACLU of Nebraska. We will feature several memories from our five decades of defending freedom in the Cornhusker state here. Do you have a favorite memory?
