Written by Don Byrd
Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin is asking a federal judge to dissolve an agreement entered into by his predecessor in 2014 which bars faith-based foster care programs from proselytizing, coercing, or restricting the religious exercise of the children under their care if the programs receive government funds.
Governor Bevin argues that the settlement, which resulted from a lawsuit targeting Sunrise Children’s Services (formerly the Kentucky Baptist Children’s Homes), requires too much oversight by outside organizations into the activities of religious foster care programs. Sunrise has long objected to the agreement, which was entered into between the state and the ACLU and Americans United for the Separation of Church and State.
The Louisville Courier-Journal reports on the dispute:
Alex Luchenitser, a lawyer for Americans United, said the state cannot change course on the settlement forged last November by the administration of Gov. Steve Beshear, between the time Bevin was elected and sworn in.
“It’s a binding agreement and there is no basis for the state to get out of the agreement,” Luchenitser said in an interview.
The administration, in a statement late Wednesday, said it does not believe the agreement is binding.
As the Lexington Herald Leader Editorial Board argues, service providers that accept government funds should not be allowed to promote their religion using those funds.
If religiously-affiliated agencies can’t agree to provide that same level of protection to children in their care, they have an obvious recourse: Stop accepting taxpayer funding and become self-supporting.
It’s a shame that resources that could have gone into improving services for Kentucky children will instead go into prolonging this legal battle.
State funds represent persons of all faiths across the Commonwealth and appropriately come with restrictions protecting the religious liberty of Kentucky residents, who should not have to choose between receiving state-funded services and remaining true to their religious beliefs.
To the extent that the settlement is necessary to enforce that principle, it should not be abandoned, no matter who is Governor.
