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 Matt Coles Criticizes Mr. Bush's 'Faith-based Initiative' Shifts Federal Social Service Funds to Religious Groups |
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Compiled By GayToday
"In response to criticism that these new plans blur the line between church and state, the administration is now using more moderate and inclusive rhetoric. But it's the plans, not the pitch, that matters here -- and the plans are dangerous. "Religious groups that want to provide social services are completely eligible for federal funds already. But there is a condition; they cannot use the money to preach to their clients, and they have to separate religious teaching operations from their social service operations. The president's proposals would do away with that limitation." Last Spring, the ACLU Lesbian and Gay Rights Project filed a federal lawsuit in Kentucky which illustrates vividly what is wrong with the administration's ideas about "faith-based" initiatives. A Baptist agency which gets $13 million of its annual $19 million budget from the state fired a top-notch children's therapist because she was a lesbian. The agency fired her, it said, because as a lesbian, she was incapable of inculcating fundamentalist Christian ideas in the children she is supposed to help, and was a poor role model. The ACLU said:
Pedreira et al. v. Commonwealth of Kentucky and Kentucky Baptist Homes for Children Case Background Kentucky Baptist Homes for Children is the largest "private" provider of social services to children in Kentucky. Its many facilities statewide provide a range of services for youth who have been abused or neglected, or whose families are in crisis. Founded in 1869, KBHC describes itself as "the oldest Southern Baptist child care ministry" in America. KBHC began receiving state funds in the 1970s, and now receives well more than half of its $19 million annual budget from public funds. Alicia Pedreira, a KBHC therapist supervisor, was fired in 1998 because she is a lesbian. Her termination statement explained that, "Alicia Pedreira is being terminated on October 28, 1998, from Kentucky Baptist Homes for Children because her admitted homosexual lifestyle is contrary to Kentucky Baptist Homes for Children core values." KBHC immediately passed a written policy that lesbians and gay men are prohibited from employment. Legal Claims
Broad National Implications The case against Kentucky and KBHC touches on a growing national trend of funneling public funds into religious organizations that provide social services. Such proposals enjoy mostly bipartisan support, and both major parties' Presidential candidates support their expansion. This lawsuit is the first of its kind in the nation to challenge whether intrinsically religious organizations can receive public funds for social services, and still discriminate based on religion. Such discrimination could be against gay men and lesbians, as well as unwed mothers, pregnant women and people of varying faiths. Pedreira et al. v. Commonwealth of Kentucky and Kentucky Baptist Homes for Children Case Chronology March 1998 KBHC recruits Alicia Pedreira from her job as a therapist at a Louisville hospital, and asks her to come work as a therapist supervisor. August 1998 An amateur photograph of Pedreira and her partner is displayed without her knowledge at the Kentucky State Fair, where several KBHC employees see it. October 1998 After two months of wrangling, Pedreira is fired from KBHC because she is a lesbian, which her supervisors knew when she was hired. On the same day, KBHC's Board of Directors passes a written policy barring lesbians and gay men from employment. October 1998 Two of Kentucky's largest colleges stop placing social work students at KBHC, citing professional standards in conflict with KBHC's employment policies. April 2000 The American Civil Liberties Union sues the state and KBHC in federal court --the first legal challenge of its kind, asserting that public funding of intrinsically religious organizations for social service work violates the U.S. Constitution when those groups are allowed to discriminate based on religion. June 2000 Kentucky's highest-ranking government child-care official notes that KBHC's discriminatory policies violate social work standards and jeopardize the state's national child-care accreditation. As a result, the state indicates that KBHC's employment policy would endanger its financial contracts with the state, which are set to expire June 30, 2000. July 2000 Kentucky's governor--who is mulling whether to run for the U.S. Senate - changes course suddenly, professing his own Baptist faith and renewing the state's contracts with KBHC without requiring any policy changes. Fall 2000 The state files legal papers in federal court, using never-before-seen legal theories to justify its funding of KBHC. The state interprets federal law on religious-based discrimination more broadly than has ever been accepted, inaccurately invokes the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision on Boy Scouts barring gay people, and explains that "there is no present compelling state interest in prohibiting discrimination against homosexuals." |
