Catholic Charities of Rockford ends foster care, adoption services - chicagotribune.com

Appears Bishop of Rockford is making a bigger deal of the law than anyone else.

In addition to Catholic Charities in five regions, Lutheran Child and Family Services and the Evangelical Child and Family Agency have policies that exclude prospective parents who are not married.

There is no word on whether Catholic Charities in Peoria, Joliet, Springfield or Belleville will make a decision similar to Rockford's. Ken Withrow, executive director of the Evangelical agency, said it was too early to make a decision. Gene Svebakken, president and chief executive officer of Lutheran Child and Family Services, said the agency may change parts of its policy if required to by the state.

Right now, lawyers for the agency believe state laws already exempt religious agencies and any amendment would be irrelevant, Svebakken said.

"It's our Christian vocation and calling to serve children," he said. "It's sad to see organizations give up."

Benjamin Wolf, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois who represents juvenile state wards as part of a court-monitored consent decree with DCFS, said the decision was troubling, especially in Rockford where there is a high turnover of child welfare workers and racial and economic tensions.

"Rockford would not be the place I would've chosen to start these transitions," Wolf said. "I am very sorry that they would give a greater priority to their commitment to continue discriminating than the health and welfare of Illinois children."

Wolf said that when Catholic Charities in Chicago ended its foster care services in 2007 because the agency's insurer dropped its coverage, many caseworkers and foster care homes agreed to transfer to other agencies without disrupting the children's placements. He hopes families in the 11 counties served by Rockford Catholic Charities will be similarly amenable.

Officials from Catholic Charities and DCFS will meet next week to begin the transition process.

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