OxfordPress.com

HAMILTON — Carla Brittain placed a picture of a single mother of 19-month-old adopted triplet boys on the podium.

They stared at Butler County commissioners as Brittain railed Thursday, March 26, against a proposed Children Services policy that gives preference in foster care and adoption to traditional married couples over single parents or same-sex couples.

Brittain, of Liberty Twp., said she is not seeking to foster or adopt. "I'm here because the system is making it very difficult for some people to adopt and because these kids deserve good, safe, loving homes," she said.

She read a letter from the boys' unnamed mother, who wrote that she became a foster parent in Hamilton County in 2006 because, "I had no one other than myself to take care of and I was ready to give all of me to a child that was born into a not-so-great situation."

Brittain then handed commissioners a petition with 476 signatures demanding the policy be abolished, saying "the true value of a 'good home' for children is not based on marital status or sexual orientation."

Commissioners suspended the policy for legal review upon learning of it earlier this month. If it's deemed nondiscriminatory, two commissioners have said they support it.

Outgoing Children Services Director Michael Fox enacted the policy in December, saying it was based on social research that said children do better in traditional homes.

Support for Fox's decision has come from religious activists, including the Cincinnati-based Citizens of Community Values and an Oxford resident who handed commissioners an 88-signature petition supporting the policy last week.

The policy does not preclude single or gay people from fostering or adopting, but it gives preference to married couples, all other things being equal. County officials say this likely won't keep anyone who's licensed from taking children into their homes because there are far more needy children than willing homes.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2175

or jsweigart@coxohio.com.