Nebraska lifts ban on gay people being foster parents

Nebraska child welfare officials have quietly abandoned a controversial 20-year-old policy that bars gays and lesbians from becoming foster parents.

According to Gov. Pete Ricketts’ spokesman, the state’s current procedure no longer considers the sexual orientation of people seeking to foster or adopt state wards.

Nor does the procedure bar children from being placed with licensed foster parents simply because of the parents’ sexual orientation.

“The policy hasn’t changed but the Department (of Health and Human Services) has fallen out of compliance with it,” Ricketts spokesman Taylor Gage said Friday.

via Omaha.com