Bethany Christian Services will place children in LGBT families as part of Michigan settlement Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Bethany Christian Services, a global nonprofit adoption agency based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, which was sued for refusing to work with same-sex couples, announced that it will start placing children with LGBT families as part of a settlement with the state. The agency insists, however, that its beliefs have not changed. “Bethany will continue operations in Michigan, in compliance with our legal contract requirements. The mission and beliefs of Bethany Christian Services have not changed,” the agency said in a statement last Thursday cited by WGVU. “We are focused on demonstrating the love of Jesus Christ by serving children in need, and we intend to continue doing so in Michigan.” The announcement comes weeks after the state of Michigan settled a lawsuit with the American Civil Liberties Union and two gay couples who sued in 2017 because they were rejected for adoptions. “We filed a lawsuit challenging the state of Michigan’s practice of permitting state contracted tax payer funded foster and adoption agencies to refuse to work with same sex couples citing the agencies religious beliefs,” Jay Kaplan of the ACLU said. “Whereby the state of Michigan agreed to hold these contracting agencies to the contract language of non-discrimination, because children in foster care need every family that is willing and able to provide them with a loving home,” Kaplan added. Bethany expressed disappointment, however, with how the settlement agreement had been implemented by the state. In a statement on Twitter Saturday, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel praised the Christian adoption agency for welcoming LGBT families. “Having more adoption agencies which don’t discriminate =‘s more children adopted into loving, nurturing ‘forever’ homes. Thank you to Bethany Christian Services!” Nessel wrote. An employee of Bethany Christian Services who spoke with WGVU anonymously also claimed that just before the agency’s announcement on their new policy, employees had threatened to walk out of their jobs if the policy was not amended. As of February, according to The Detroit News, Bethany Christian Services was responsible for approximately 8 percent of the state’s foster care and adoption agencies. Prior to the settlement with the ACLU, which sued on behalf of the same-sex couples, the organization’s contract with the state was in jeopardy. St. Vincent Catholic Charities, a former foster child, and an adoptive mother recently filed suit against the Michigan Department of Human Services alleging the new rules violated the group’s First Amendment rights to free exercise of religion and free speech and its 14th Amendment rights to equal protection. St. Vincent’s and other faith-based foster care and adoption agencies will have to shutter if forced to comply with the new state rules, lawyer Nick Reaves said. Lori Windham, senior counsel for Becket, the religious liberty group representing St. Vincent's told The Detroit News that while the First Amendment certainly allows groups varying stances on the issue, it does not allow the state to "shut down people you disagree with.” "Religious freedom means different people can make different choices," Windham said in a statement. "That's what freedom looks like in America."<doc-sep>GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- West Michigan residents who own an Airbnb could offer it as temporary shelter for a refugee family through a new partnership between Bethany Christian Services and Airbnb Open Homes. The new program works just like a regular Airbnb host’s commitment, but hosts offer their houses free of charge, and Airbnb connects them with local families in need, according to Kristine Van Noord, manager for Bethany Christian Services’ Refugee Adult and Family Program. Bethany Christian Services is a Grand Rapids-based nonprofit organization that assists refugee families in addition to providing adoption, foster care and other services. Airbnb is an online service that allows hosts to list their properties available for short-term rentals, and travelers can then book lodging for vacations or business trips. “Refugees often flee their country with minimal supplies, sometimes with just the clothes on their back, and with no access to essential resources like food and shelter,” said Chris Palusky, president and CEO for Bethany. “Having seen firsthand the challenges facing refugee families, we’re grateful to Airbnb for initiating its Open Homes program and partnering with Bethany.” Bethany typically needs a home for one or two families per month for anywhere from five days to two weeks, VanNoord said. The families might be as small as two people or as large as 10. “In a year, that means we’d need about 24 homes that can fill needs for the various time commitments and family sizes,” VanNoord said. The stay will be booked online just like a normal Airbnb booking, but at no charge to the guest. The host has all of the same rights and can deny the booking if the timing is wrong, VanNoord said. Airbnb offers screening and background checks, insurance, reimbursements for property damage should it occur, guest requirements and 24/7 phone support. Homes that are centrally located are particularly helpful, she said, so refugee families already living in Grand Rapids don’t have to move, and Bethany’s caseworkers and church partners can continue to support them locally. Airbnb’s Open Homes initiative grew out of the 2017 travel ban limiting travel to the United States from several countries, according to a news release from Bethany Christian Services. Since then, the program has grown to other parts of the world, and Airbnb hosts have served over 11,000 people who needed temporary housing due to disasters, conflict or illness. Those interested in applying to the program can fill out a profile at www.airbnb.com/openhomes giving information about their space and why they want to host refugees.<doc-sep>GRAND RAPIDS, MI — Bethany Christian Services says it will comply with a legal settlement prohibiting adoption agencies with state contracts from turning away same-sex couples. “We are disappointed with how this settlement agreement has been implemented by the state government,” the Grand Rapids-based organization said in a statement. “Nonetheless, Bethany will continue operations in Michigan, in compliance with our legal contract requirements.” Bethany’s announcement follows a settlement, announced last month by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, for the case Dumont v. Gordon. In the case, same-sex couples represented by the American Civil Liberties Union sued the state, claiming Bethany Christian Services and St. Vincent Catholic Charities refused to let them adopt children the agencies accepted through referrals from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. The case was a challenge to a law signed in 2015 by former Gov. Rick Snyder stated adoption agencies that contract with the state can decline service to prospective parents on religious grounds. Bob Wheaton, a spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, confirmed that Bethany will abide by terms of the settlement. “The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is pleased that the department will be able to continue its long-standing partnership with Bethany in providing services to children and families,” he said in a statement. Bethany Christian Services, as of mid-February, had handled 1,159 cases for adoption and foster care services for the state of Michigan. That was equal to about 9 percent of the cases overseen by the state. The organization has contracted with the state for more than a decade.<doc-sep>
There's been a major development involving an international faith-based foster care and adoption agency. Michigan-based Bethany Christian Services announced this week it will place children in LGBT homes. Bethany changed course after a recent legal settlement. The international agency is responsible for around eight percent of Michigan's more than 13,000 foster care and adoption cases centered around kids from troubled homes. The nonprofit organization issued a statement, saying, "We are disappointed with how this settlement agreement has been implemented by the state government. Nonetheless, Bethany will continue operations in Michigan, in compliance with our legal contract requirements." Michigan's Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel announced the settlement last month after homosexual couples sued in 2017. The settlement bans faith-based agencies like Bethany from refusing to place kids in LGBT homes for religious reasons if the agencies have accepted the children for referral from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. The Associated Press reports that of the faith-based agencies in Michigan, who are known not to serve LGBT couples or individuals, Bethany does more work for the state than any other. Bethany handled more than 1,150 cases as of February. AP reports Catholic Charities had a caseload of more than 400, and St. Vincent Catholic Charities had 80 cases. Michigan State Human Services Department Spokesperson Bob Wheaton said the department was glad it will "be able to continue its long-standing partnership with Bethany in providing services to children and families." Attorney General Nessel tweeted last weekend, "Having more adoption agencies which don't discriminate equals more children adopted into loving, nurturing "forever" homes. Thank you to Bethany Christian Services!" Having more adoption agencies which don’t discriminate =‘s more children adopted into loving, nurturing “forever” homes. Thank you to Bethany Christian Services! https://t.co/H55Gs1ZktW — Dana Nessel (@dananessel) April 20, 2019 The AP reports that Nessel is a lesbian and as a private attorney battled to overturn Michigan's ban on same-sex marriage. Christianity Today reports that Bethany, which has been in existence for 75 years, made it clear its mission and Christian beliefs have not changed. The change will not have an impact on infant adoptions, international adoptions or foster placements in the 34 other states where Bethany serves. At least two agencies are still fighting the Michigan settlement in court. Catholic Charities West Michigan filed a lawsuit against Michigan's new rule. Also, St. Vincent Catholic Charities filed a lawsuit in federal court, claiming the settlement violates the US Constitution and federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act.