June 2021

June 17, 2021. U.S. Supreme Court Ruling a Limited Victory for Catholic Social Services Foster Care. The Supreme Court today issued a ruling in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia. The Court unanimously found for Catholic Social Services (CSS), holding that Philadelphia had violated the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment by failing to give Catholic Social Services (CSS) an exemption from the nondiscrimination provision in city contracts, although the city's contract permitted exemptions. However, this was a limited ruling. As Shannon Minter, the Legal Director of NCLR explained, "today's decision is a significant victory for LGBTQ people. The Court ruled in favor of Catholic Social Services, but on the narrowest possible ground, based on language in the City of Philadelphia's contract that authorized individualized exemptions for any provider. The Court did not change the current constitutional framework, which permits governments to enforce anti-discrimination laws that prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ people even when doing so may have a disparate burden on those who hold certain religious beliefs." More Information.

June 2, 2021. Naomi Schafer Riley Reflects Again on "The Danger of Limiting Transracial Adoption." The debate over transracial adoption has been particularly active. We post today a second article by Naomi Schafer Riley; we posted her earlier article in May. Riley maintains that changing the Mulit-Ethnic Placement Act (MEPA) would be detrimental to the health and long term care of Black children. To read the article, please click here.