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Homosexual men lose custody of two boysBOSTON (AP) — Two homosexual men, recommended by clergymen to become foster parents, lost custody of two brothers, ages 2 and 3, because of public outcry that followed the placement two weeks ago, state officials said.The boys were taken away from the men’s home Wednesday and placed with a second set of foster parents, said Margaret Cruise, spokeswoman for the Department of Social Services.The boys were originally placed with the gay men based on the clinical decision of our professional staff,” Cruise said.“Now a public controversy has arisen regarding the services provided.” she said. “Any public controversy serves to increase rather than decrease the pressures being placed on a family already under pressure.”The boys will be returned to their natural mother as soon as she is able to care for them again, Cruise said.The men got foster custody of the boys two weeks ago.Such placements are rare, but state regulations do not prohibit homosexuals from becoming foster parents, according to an official of the Department of Social Services, which monitors 6,300 foster parents.“We can't discriminate based on anything,” said Social Services Commissioner Marie A. Matava.The department makes foster care decisions based on “parenting ability to nurture and provide basic needs of a child, Matava said.The Rev. Thomas Payne, Unitarian pastor of the First Church in Roxbury, said that he wrote a recommendation for one of the homosexual men, who is a member of his parish, and that a Catholic priest at St. Joseph’s Church in Roxbury recommended the other.“What we’re dealing with is a very stable family in the community who is interested, concerned and willing to provide a foster home for children. I don’t think there’s really anything to fear,” Payne said.But some neighbors complained that the placement was morally wrong.‘T’m completely opposed to it, said Ben Haith, an activist in the neighborhood. “I see it ultimately as a breakdown of the society and its values and morals.”You got to be kidding me,” said Fletcher H. Wiley, a lawryer who also lives in the area. “I would say this situation falls below what is normal and healthy.”
Newspaper Details
Walla Walla Union Bulletin
Walla Walla, Washington, US
Thu, May 09, 1985
Page 19
Full Page
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WI, USA 30 May 2022
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