LGBT groups are praising the release of a policy statement and technical report by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) supporting marriage equality and adoption and foster care rights by same-sex couples titled, "Promoting the Well-Being of Children Whose Parents Are Gay or Lesbian."
According to the AAP, the report builds on a policy statement published in 2002 and reaffirmed in 2010, supporting second-parent adoption by partners of the same sex as a way to protect children's right to maintain relationships with both parents, eligibility for health benefits and financial security.
The abstract of the report, prepared by the AAP Committee of Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health, states: "To promote optimal health and well-being of all children, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) supports access for all children to (1) civil marriage rights for their parents and (2) willing and capable foster and adoptive parents, regardless of the parents' sexual orientation. The AAP has always been an advocate for, and has developed policies to support, the optimal physical, mental, and social health and well-being of all infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In so doing, the AAP has supported families in all their diversity, because the family has always been the basic social unit in which children develop the supporting and nurturing relationships with adults that they need to thrive. Children may be born to, adopted by, or cared for temporarily by married couples, nonmarried couples, single parents, grandparents, or legal guardians, and any of these may be heterosexual, gay or lesbian, or of another orientation. Children need secure and enduring relationships with committed and nurturing adults to enhance their life experiences for optimal social-emotional and cognitive development. Scientific evidence affirms that children have similar developmental and emotional needs and receive similar parenting whether they are raised by parents of the same or different genders. If a child has 2 living and capable parents who choose to create a permanent bond by way of civil marriage, it is in the best interests of their child(ren) that legal and social institutions allow and support them to do so, irrespective of their sexual orientation. If 2 parents are not available to the child, adoption or foster parenting remain acceptable options to provide a loving home for a child and should be available without regard to the sexual orientation of the parent(s)."
"This new policy statement and report supporting marriage equality and adoption rights for LGBT prospective parents shows that discrimination harms children and families," said Ellen Kahn, director of the HRC Family Project and a professional social worker. "Child welfare experts agree that adoptive parents should be judged by their character and their ability to raise a child, not on their sexual orientation or gender identity and that marriage equality strengthens families."
"On behalf of the three million parents in our country who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and their six million children, the Family Equality Council welcomes the statement by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) that marriage strengthens our families," said spokesperson Steve Majors. "The statement by the AAP also reaffirms more than 30 years of social science research that concludes that children grow up with the same positive developmental outcomes whether their parents are of the same gender or different genders. More importantly, it matches the lived experiences of many of our parents who have raised a generation of children into young adulthood who are successful by every measure."
The nation's leading child welfare organizations support adoption by gay and lesbian parents. In addition to the American Academy of Pediatrics' support of legislation that allows both partners in a same-sex couple to jointly adopt children, the American Psychological Association supports initiatives which allow same-sex couples to adopt and co-parent children and supports all the associated legal rights, benefits, and responsibilities which arise from such initiatives."
The HRC All Children—All Families (ACAF) initiative, launched in 2007, promotes policies and practices that welcome LGBT foster and adoptive parents. With the goal of increasing the pool of loving forever families for children, the program seeks to enhance LGBT cultural competence among child welfare professionals and educate LGBT people about opportunities to become foster or adoptive parents to waiting children. To date, ACAF has over 60 participating agencies across the country, and has awarded 33 seals of recognition.
The policy statement is available at pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/doi/10.1542/peds.2013-0376 and the technical report athttp://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/doi/10.1542/peds.2013-0377 .
