4.6 • 688 Ratings
🗓️ 9 November 2021
⏱️ 55 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
In 2018, Philadelphia tried to defend its policies to prevent discriminatory treatment of LGBTQ parents in its foster care system – and got sued by a religious right organization over it. This episode unravels the ongoing legal battle over the future of queer parents in Philly’s foster system and includes interviews with some of the kids and parents who have been directly affected.
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0:00.0 | Remember the first time we saw a bear? There was like a humongous bear. Like how many pounds are you talking? |
0:06.7 | It was probably 800 pounds. It was like a big mama bear. It was like the size of a small like shed, I think. |
0:12.5 | It was so big. That's nine and a half year old Gabriella and her five year old brother, Mason. |
0:20.0 | Their dad, Lou, is talking about a bear they spotted together near their home in the Pocono Mountains. |
0:26.6 | A few days later, the children's other dad, Mike, spots another one. |
0:31.6 | There is a bear right outside our door. |
0:35.6 | Yeah, it's the baby bear. That means the mommy bear is probably nearby. Uh-oh. Yeah, it's that the baby bear. |
0:37.7 | That means the mommy bear's probably nearby. |
0:40.1 | Uh-oh. |
0:40.6 | Hi, buddy. |
0:41.7 | Oh, my God. |
0:44.4 | Since day one of fostering, Lou and Mike Romiller's lives have been a constant adventure. |
0:51.4 | Daddy saw a fox, right? |
0:53.5 | Oh, yeah, we had a fishing cat. What is that? It's like a |
0:56.4 | weasel. It's like a black cat until you zoom in close. We have a black cat, so it's a little |
1:00.2 | confusing. This is what one LGBTQ foster family looks like. Two loving dads and two curious |
1:10.0 | kids. Catholic Social Services is one of 26 organizations |
1:14.8 | placing foster children in homes throughout Philadelphia. They don't want to work with parents |
1:20.7 | like this. They say it's for religious reasons. And they have the support of religious right |
1:26.9 | organizations like PA Family Council. |
1:30.1 | If they can find a family who's married, a man and a woman, and they're going to do that, |
1:34.3 | because that's how we find ourselves when we're born. We have a mom and a dad. And if they can |
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