Biden HHS Moves to Stifle Bias in Foster Care, Reverses Waivers

The Biden administration took back Trump-era waivers that allowed child welfare agencies in South Carolina, Texas, and Michigan to override nondiscrimination requirements based on religious grounds.

Faith-based groups in those states could previously choose a child’s foster home based on religious beliefs. The waivers were “inconsistent with the Department’s critical goal of combating discrimination based on religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity,” the agency said Thursday in a statement.

The announcement realigns the Department of Health and Human Services’ practice with the requirements before they were changed in 2017. Religious exemptions will need to be considered on a case-by-case ...