Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV), representing over 2,500 traditional, Orthodox rabbis in American public policy, today welcomed twin decisions issued Friday by a U.S. District Court, affirming the right of faith-based organizations to work exclusively with co-religionists in provision of foster care. CJV led Amicus Curiae briefs in both cases, and the decisions by District Judge Joseph Dawson III for the District of South Carolina, Greenville Division rejected the notion that diverse agencies had a coercive effect upon any individual citizen.

CJV Southern Regional Vice President Rabbi Moshe Parnes made the following statement:

This decision is a win for religious liberty and moral decency. The case was never about religious coercion or discrimination, but banishing religion from the public square. At a time when more foster families are sorely needed, plaintiffs exhibited callous indifference to children in need of care as they sought to ban providers and families who worked together based upon common religious foundations.