Elizabeth and Gabe Rutan-Ram had fostered numerous children before they decided to adopt one, a child from Florida identified with a disability. If they were a monied couple, they could have gone through a private adoption agency spending $30,000 or more. Instead, and more in keeping with their means, they opted to take their state’s mandatory foster-parent training program and home-study certification through the Holston United Methodist Home for Children, a child-placement agency that receives taxpayer funding from the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services.

Just as they were about to begin their training, however, Liz had a nagging feeling that maybe, before they go too far down this road, they should let Holston know that she and Gabe are Jewish. Immediately they were told they were no longer eligible for Holston’s services, as they do not share the same religious beliefs. (So much for Judeo-Christian values!)

Hear their story on this episode of Unreasonable.

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