Dear South Dakota Friends,

We are pleased that one of Gov. Noem’s priorities this year is to encourage more families to provide a loving home to children as foster parents. There is an urgent need for foster families and the Governor is allocating funds for training and other helpful resources for prospective foster parents.

Once again you have the opportunity to make a difference by submitting comments in support of President Trump’s pro-religious freedom Keep Kids First rule. Have you submitted yours yet? Don’t delay; the deadline of Thursday, December 19 to comment is quickly approaching! It only takes a minute to submit your comment.  Make your voice heard today!

Hundreds of CWALAC members, like you, have submitted comments.

The Keep Kids First rule assures that the government does not discriminate against faith-based adoption and foster care providers who are providing services to families and children in line with their deeply-held religious beliefs regarding gender, sexuality and the sanctity of marriage as between one man and one woman.

The Keep Kids First rule changes an Obama-era rule that jeopardized the status of faith-based adoption and foster care providers who desired to work with adoptive and foster families who shared their beliefs. President Obama added categories to HHS nondiscrimination laws that require grant recipients to accept unorthodox, ideological views on gender, sexuality, and marriage. The result has become government discrimination against faith-based providers used as a weapon for lawsuits and disqualifying them from serving families and children.

With the Keep Kids First rule, President Trump seeks to restore religious freedom and enable all child welfare providers to be included on the playing field; this is especially important as the need for loving families is on the rise as the Governor stated.

We know the left will do everything possible to stop the good work of the Trump Administration, especially regarding religious freedom and pushing back against gender ideology, which is why your positive comment in support of the Keep Kids First rule is so crucial!

If you have already submitted your comment, thank you! Would you consider forwarding this email to your friends, small group, or family members who also stand in support of religious freedom to help get the word out before the comment deadline? You can also share our social media posts on Twitter and Facebook to help get the word out.

Thank you for your support of religious freedom,

Linda Schauer
State Director
CWA of South Dakota