SB 407 – Foster Care Requirements

SB 407 would force foster families with religious beliefs out of the selection pool in California, leaving many foster children without a family to foster them. By creating this requirement of support for gender identity, many potential foster families will be forced to choose between abandoning their religious convictions or losing the ability to foster at all.

Current Status

SB 407 was heard June 21st in the Assembly Appropriations Committee and was voted to pass 6 ayes, 2 noes. It has been re-referred to the Appropriations Committee with no hearing date set.

Nathan Pierce speaks about the hearing of SB 407 and what action can be taken!

Clip of Assembly Member Lackey’s Opposition to SB 407

Although the bill was passed through the Human Services Committee, there were two votes against the bill: Senator Lackey voiced opposition and he and Assembly Member Alanis voted no!

Please reach out to these Assembly Members to thank them for their no vote on SB 407!

Juan Alanis

Phone: (916) 319-2022

Tom Lackey

Phone: (916) 319-2034

Summary of Concern

SB 407 would force foster families with religious beliefs out of the selection pool in California, leaving many foster children without a family to foster them. By creating this requirement of support for gender identity, many potential foster families will be forced to choose between abandoning their religious convictions or losing the ability to foster at all.

Call the Senator who represents your district today.

Tell them: “Please vote no on SB 407. This bill violates the religious liberty of foster parents.“

Please use this link to find out which Assembly Member is representing your district: www.findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov.

3. You Will Be Informed On What Steps To Take Nexts!

Once SB 407 has a hearing date, we will be sending out another Action Alert to let our supporters know what to do next to make the most impact in opposition of SB 407.

If you haven’t signed up for our emails yet, sign up and get more updates to how you can be involved. We send our emails to individuals who are interested in our ministry and getting involved when we have Action Alerts. You can sign up for emails below.

Opposition Points on SB 407

A requirement for foster parents to support gender ideology sets a dangerous precedent, and if this logic is followed to its conclusion, it would eventually lead to requiring biological parents to support gender ideology in order to maintain custody of their own children. This outcome would not be outlandish or remote to expect if this requirement is already in existence for all foster families.

Cultural change and degradation does not often occur suddenly. It is a slow process, similar to the erosion of a rock by water, and is only noticeable after much time has passed and the change is already underway. Each step taken to replace the role of the family with the power of the state is part of this gradual erosion of the family. The common phrase that “politics is downstream of culture” is often true, but the inverse can clearly be demonstrated to be true. The culture of abortion acceptance was massively boosted by Roe v. Wade, as was the acceptance of homosexuality after the Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges. These political acts affected culture and convinced much of the public of the morality of previously immoral things.

SB 407 – Would require a family looking to foster a child to use the child’s preferred pronouns and be LGBTQ+ affirming. This political change, as explained above, would become one of many examples of legislation drastically altering cultural understanding of the role of parents in the lives of their children.

Additional Information

An article from PBS explains that “Transgender minors are protected from estranged parents under Washington law”. This proves the concern from a bill like SB 407 moving from foster parenting to parents and their biological children. Parents would be held accountable to the government for their authority over their children in compliance with gender affirming values. Under laws like this, parental authority is subject to the ideological approval of the state. Affirmation of the state’s preferred standards regarding gender and sex that extend all the way down to children, would be required of parents to maintain custody of their own biological children.