Category: Pennsylvania

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Judge Denies Catholic Social Services Restraining Order Motion

Philadelphia suspended its foster care contract with Catholic Social Services after they refused to work with a gay couple. 

Catholic Social Services sued for a temporary restraining order to continue its foster care work with Philadelphia arguing religious liberties.

On Friday, Federal Judge Petrese B. Tucker opined that the city had a right to force the agency to adhere to the city’s nondescrimination policies and the motion for temporary restraining order was denied.

 

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PA Tax Credits Proposed

Pennsylvania’s 116th legislative district Representative Toohil (R-Luzerne County) has stated she is considering proposing Pennsylvania state tax credits of $500 and $1000 for Pennsylvania families who foster or adopt a child. 

Read more about it here.

Note:  This is just a legislative proposal.  It has not been enacted into law as of the date of this posting, July 3, 2018.

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Proposed Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act — Bishops Support Agency Gay Adoption Discrimination

According to this article, three chairman of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ committees signed a letter to Pennsylvania Representative Mike Kelly on April 10, 2017 voicing their support for the Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act which would allow U.S. adoption agencies to legally exclude same-sex couples from consideration for adoption based on their “sincerely held religious beliefs and moral convictions.”  The Bishops support carving out a religious exception to state anti-discrimination laws that would allow religious adoption agencies to continue to receive state dollars.

The three chairs are:  (1) The chairman of the US Bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty; (2) the chair of the bishops’ Subcommittee for Defense and Promotion of Marriage; and (3) the Chairman of the Bishops Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development.

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Pennsylvania -> Lawmakers Focus on Streamlining Voluntary Termination of Parental Rights Procedures

According to this report, lawmakers are considering ways to streamline and expedite state adoption procedures for the voluntary termination of parental rights.  The stated goal is to provide the child with a stable and loving home, and diminish uncertainty.  

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Pennsylvania Adult Adoption Annulled to Allow Same-Sex Couple to Marry

Prior to the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage, couples sought creative ways to legally protect their relationships; one such way was adult adoption.  Now that same-sex marriage is legal, the adult adoptions pose a problem because you cannot legally marry a relative.  This was the issue posed by Nino Esposito (now age 80) who adopted his partner, Roland Bossee, Jr. (now age 70), in 2012 in Pennsylvania in an adult adoption which established Mr. Bossee as the adult son of Mr. Esposito.  Now that they can legally marry since 2014 (PA) and 2015 (nationally), the couple applied to the orphan’s court to annul their adult adoption in order to marry.  That petition was denied initially in the Orphan’s Court, and then reversed yesterday by the Superior Court in this opinion.

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