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Family values



 
 
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Old July 21st 04, 12:00 AM
wexwimpy
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Default Family values

Family values
A Times Editorial
Published July 19, 2004

The mandate of Florida's Department of Children and Families is to
serve the best interests of children, not to take sides in the culture
war. Yet DCF appears to be trying to remove two little girls from
their first stable home because they are being parented by a gay
couple. Cruel is not too strong a word to describe the department's
actions.

Curtis Watson, 40, is a licensed foster parent with a significant
track record. The state has such confidence in his abilities as a
nurturer that it has placed numerous children in his care, six at
present. He is also in a long-term committed relationship with a man
who works for a health facility. The house they share has been
repeatedly evaluated by state workers as a positive environment.

Unfortunately, because of a bigoted and shortsighted state law, the
couple is legally barred from formally adopting children. But there is
nothing in law that says they can't qualify for "long-term,
nonrelative custody." This is not quite a formal adoption but nearly
so, in that, through a judge's order, it confers indefinite custody.

This status was granted Watson and his partner in March, making them
the parents of two sisters, one 5 and the other 6 years old, who had
been in their care for many months. Caseworkers had been unable to
find an adoptive home for the girls and a third sister. After a year
it was determined that the best alternative was for the pair to be
raised in the Watson home. Three sets of state workers concluded that
this would be in their best interests.

Indications are that these girls are now flourishing. The younger one
was recently observed by St. Petersburg Times staff writer Curtis
Krueger smiling at her two dads and calling out "Daddy, I love you. I
love you." What is also clear is that the men desperately love the
girls and want to be their parents permanently. "They mean just
complete joy to me," Watson said.

But the state is trying to unravel this family. On Friday DCF was in
court to try to set aside the long-term custody order which would
allow the girls to be moved into an adoptive placement. Although DCF
does not say that the couple's homosexuality is behind the effort, it
seems likely to be a factor.

It would be truly unthinkable to remove these girls after they were
told by a court that they now have real parents. The girls are in a
permanent, stable household - the first of their lives - and the state
has no more business here unless there is evidence of abuse or
neglect. Openly gay and lesbian parents have been proving for decades
that they can raise happy, healthy, well-adjusted children. Florida's
baseless discrimination only breeds tragedies like this.
http://www.sptimes.com/2004/07/19/Op...y_values.shtml

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