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new motion filed in catholic charities, css case

Story by LIZ QUIRIN
Messenger editor

(UPDATED) Illinois Catholic Charities agencies, including Catholic Social Services of Southern Illinois, lost their motions for reconsideration and a stay before Judge John Schmidt of the Sangamon County Circuit Court in Springfield, Ill., according to a representative of the Thomas More Society.

Catholic Charities asked Judge Schmidt to reconsider his Aug. 18 ruling, which denied the Charities’ request to prevent the Department of Children and Family Services from barring Catholic Charities from foster care and adoption contracts because of the Catholic Church’s religious beliefs against same-sex and co-habiting couples.

The Charities also asked for a stay to allow them to continue foster care and adoption services pending an appeal of the Aug. 18 ruling.

Executive director Peter Breen of the Thomas More Society, which represents the Catholic Charities, said the Society plans to seek a stay from the Illinois Appellate Court immediately to allow them to continue operations during any appeal.

Breen said he did not know how long it would take to be heard at the Appellate Court, but “we’re going to move as quickly as we can to see if we can get a stay.”

Gary Huelsmann, CSS executive director, said he was “incredibly disappointed” and hopes the agencies “can get satisfaction from the Appellate Court.”

If CSS is forced to close down its foster care program and move it to other agencies as the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services has requested, more than 100 people will lose their jobs, Huelsmann said.

DCFS has already contacted CSS to start a transition process, Huelsmann said, but CSS and Thomas More Society want to wait until a ruling comes from the Appellate Court.

“DCFS said they want to transition the child, the caseworker, the case supervisor and the mental health provider” to another agency, Breen said.

Huelsmann said the most important entity in the whole process is the children.
Breen added: “There’s a potential for great harm in rushing this process.”

Judge Schmidt issued a preliminary injunction July 12 until the Aug. 17 set as a hearing date. Three attorneys from the Thomas More Society represented the Catholic Charities and CSS.

(At right, Thomas More Society attorney Tom Breijcha responds to questions
after the hearing Aug. 17 in Springfield.)

The diocesan contracts were not renewed July 1, 2011, with the new fiscal year because the state had passed a civil unions law, and the Catholic agencies said they could not accept cohabiting couples as part of their foster care or adoption programs.

In oral arguments, Aug. 17 Thomas Brejcha, a Thomas More Society attorney, argued that the Catholic Charities agencies and CSS had a right to expect the state would continue its association with them because the state had signed annual contracts for services from the agencies every year for the past 40 years.

"We believe there is a well established and a clearly ascertainable right to have relief from the court" because of "an ongoing 40-year contractual relationship with the state of Illinois from DCFS," Brejcha said.

The judge disagreed. "Plaintiffs do not have a legally recognized protected property interest in the renewal of its contracts for foster care and adoption services," the decision stated. "Plaintiffs are not required by the State to perform these useful and beneficial services. ... The fact that the Plaintiffs have contracted with the State to provide foster care and adoption services for over forty years does not vest the Plaintiffs with a protected property interest."

Discontinuing the foster care and program supervised by the Illinois Catholic Charities agencies will affect 1,997 children in foster care, including some in the process of being adopted, said Kendall Marlowe, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

He said approximately 15,000 children are presently in foster care in Illinois.

“We cannot enter into a contract with anyone who has publicly, affirmatively stated that they will not follow the law in performing services under the contract,” Marlowe told Catholic News Service before the preliminary injunction was granted. “These agencies have made their choice, and we must now plan to transition these cases with the least disruption possible for the kids.”

A copy of the ruling is available here http://www.scribd.com/doc/62597962/Illinois-Circuit-Court-Summary-Judgment-Order-in-Catholic-Charities-Foster-Care-Adoption-Services-Case.