Does DCF discriminate against same-sex couples?

So there will be no official audit of whether the Kansas Department for Children and Families discriminates against or bullies same-sex couples in foster care and adoption matters. And gay and lesbian Kansans have another measure of where their rights and concerns rank among GOP priorities at the Statehouse, which is nowhere.

The lawmakers who prevailed Tuesday in the party-line decision of the Legislative Post Audit Committee had their reasons, citing limited resources, higher priorities and DCF assurances. To its credit, the panel approved badly needed audits of the long waits to determine Medicaid eligibility and the effect of the loss of Medicare funding at Osawatomie State Hospital. A broader audit of DCF and foster care, with an emphasis on safety and privatization, was approved in January.

But the December request by Rep. Jim Ward, D-Wichita, for an audit specific to the same-sex issue was more than well-founded, including by a Johnson County judge’s 2013 finding that DCF “conducted a ‘witch hunt’” against a lesbian foster couple and by the signed statements of 17 attorneys and three social workers raising more questions. Ward also pointed to “the six or seven anecdotal cases that were presented through media of situations that didn’t make sense,” expressing worries that DCF decisions related to same-sex couples are putting children at risk.

Some legislators have been persuaded by DCF officials that because the agency has no policies or training materials related to same-sex couples serving as foster or adoptive parents, that proves there is no discrimination going on.

But when there’s so much smoke, lawmakers should bother to look for a fire. Maybe next year.

This story was originally published April 28, 2016 at 7:08 PM with the headline "Does DCF discriminate against same-sex couples?."