Foster care agency allowed to continue Protestants-only policy
The U.S. government recently granted faith-based foster care agencies in South Carolina an exemption to a regulation barring religious discrimination in federally funded foster care programs.
Soon after Sue Barrise, a 63-year-old former schoolteacher, moved to South Carolina, she found herself with a new home and the time and energy to foster a child.
She heard on TV and on the radio ads about a foster care agency named Miracle Hill. The 82-year-old organization popped right up on her screen when she did an Internet search for foster care agencies. That seemed like the natural place to start.
When she called Miracle Hill Ministries to find out more about the application process, she did not get past the first question: What church do you attend?
