Schmidt rules against Catholics on foster care

SPRINGFIELD -- Forty years of contracts with state government don't mean Catholic Charities has a legal right to continue those contracts, Sangamon County Circuit Judge John Schmidt ruled Thursday.

State officials did not renew the contracts this year, after Catholic Charities said its religious principles do not allow it to place foster and adoptive children in the homes of unmarried couples, including those in civil unions.

The Department of Children and Family Services contends Catholic Charities' policy violates the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act and in June ended its contracts with the charity in the Springfield, Peoria, Joliet and Belleville dioceses.

Attorneys for Catholic Charities said they are reviewing the ruling. Schmidt's decision could be appealed.

In its lawsuit to force the state to renew the contracts, Catholic Charities contended Illinois' new civil unions law allows religious organizations to not recognize civil unions if it conflicts with their religious beliefs.

Schmidt's ruling did not address the civil unions issue. He said the issue is whether Catholic Charities has a vested right to contract with the state.

No 'protected property interest'

"The fact that (Catholic Charities) have contracted with the state to provide foster care and adoption services for over forty years does not vest (them) with a protected property interest," Schmidt wrote in his three-page opinion. "No citizen has a recognized legal right to a contract with the government."

The state has never forced Catholic Charities to accept state contracts, Schmidt wrote.

At a hearing Wednesday, assistant attorney general Deborah Barnes argued the state has the right to set contract terms within the limits of the law.

A spokesman for Catholic Charities issued a brief written statement in response to Schmidt's decision.

"The ruling does not address Catholic Charities' contention that the state of Illinois cannot refuse to contract with someone based on that person's exercise of religion," the statement said. "Thomas More Society attorneys are reviewing the ruling and considering next actions with Charities."

The Thomas More Society represented Catholic Charities in its lawsuit.

Steven Roach, executive director for Catholic Charities of the Springfield Diocese, said the diocese has about 300 children in its care in 28 counties. He declined to comment on Schmidt's opinion.

2,000 children

Statewide, Catholic Charities oversees the care of about 2,000 children, said DCFS spokesman Kendall Marlowe. He said the agency already had begun the process of transferring those cases to other child welfare agencies and will continue to do so.

"We will not take precipitous action," he said. "We send in a team that reviews each and every case. We're going to do it in a deliberate and careful way."

The transition also does not necessarily mean children will be removed from one foster home to another, he said.

"We've had other child welfare agencies go out of business," he said. "In those transitions, we've seen, generally speaking, foster parents want to continue even if it is with another agency."

In many instances, he said, caseworkers from an agency dropping the services are hired by another agency assuming the cases. That happened earlier this year, when the Rockford diocese ended its contract with DCFS over the same issue, he said.

Fully transferring all of the cases to new agencies could take until fall, unless further legal action puts a halt to the transition, Marlowe said.

Doug Finke can be reached at (217) 788-1527.

What's next?

Attorneys for Catholic Charities will have to determine their next legal step. One option would be to appeal Sangamon County Circuit Judge John Schmidt's decision to allow state government's contract with Catholic Charities.

The Department of Children and Family Services will work on transferring the 2,000 cases now in the care of Catholic Charities to other child welfare agencies.