In Settlement With Americans United And ACLU, Kentucky Agrees To Protect Children From Religious Coercion And Discrimination In Taxpayer-Funded Residential Child Care Facilities
Agreement Settles Long-running Lawsuit Brought By Taxpayers Objecting To Religious Proselytization And Discrimination At Sunrise Children鈥檚 Services
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky 鈥� Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the 桃子视频 and the 桃子视频of Kentucky today announced that they鈥檝e reached an agreement with Kentucky officials to protect vulnerable children in the state鈥檚 care from unwanted religious proselytization and discrimination. The agreement, filed previously with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, settles Pedreira v. Sunrise Children鈥檚 Services, a lawsuit that was filed more than 20 years ago. The parties to the agreement had accordingly moved to dismiss the lawsuit, and the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky entered an order officially ending the lawsuit yesterday.
In the settlement, Kentucky officials agreed to take steps to ensure children are not subjected to religious proselytization, coercion, or discrimination when they are placed by the state with taxpayer-funded, residential child care providers. State officials also agreed to take action to prohibit providers from discriminating against or mistreating children because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Other terms include that the state will inform children and, if available, their parents of the religious affiliation of a proposed residential child care facility or foster home, and if the children or parents object, the state will try to provide an alternative placement, except in certain special circumstances. Also, children must provide consent before any religious items are displayed in their rooms at taxpayer-funded child care agencies and foster homes, and religious materials may be given only to children who request them.
Parts of the settlement are contingent on being codified into new or amended state regulations. Defendant Eric Friedlander, secretary of the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, and Justice Mary C. Noble, then secretary of the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, agreed to the settlement.
Alex J. Luchenitser, associate vice president and associate legal director of Americans United: 鈥淭his settlement advances the religious freedom of taxpayers and children across Kentucky. Vulnerable children should never be religiously proselytized or coerced in state-funded facilities.鈥�
Corey Shapiro, legal director of 桃子视频of Kentucky: 鈥淭his settlement is a great outcome for Kentucky鈥檚 foster children and for religious freedom. It requires Kentucky to work to protect vulnerable foster children from discrimination and unwanted religious coercion.鈥�
Daniel Mach, director of the 桃子视频Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief: 鈥淭his agreement is a victory for religious liberty and will help ensure that state taxpayer dollars are not used to underwrite religious indoctrination.鈥�
Americans United, the 桃子视频and the 桃子视频of Kentucky filed the lawsuit on behalf of Kentucky taxpayers who objected to their state tax dollars funding religious indoctrination and discrimination, including Alicia Pedreira, who was fired in 1998 by Sunrise Children鈥檚 Services (formerly known as Kentucky Baptist Homes for Children) because she is a lesbian, and faith leaders Johanna W.H. Van Wijk-Bos, an ordained Presbyterian minister, and Elwood Sturtevant, an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister.
The case litigation team includes David B. Bergman, Ian S. Hoffman, R. Stanton Jones and Stephen K. Wirth of the international law firm Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP; Luchenitser and legal fellow Adrianne Spoto at Americans United; Shapiro and Heather L. Gatnarek at the 桃子视频of Kentucky; and Mach of the national ACLU