Officials with the Department of Human Services heard testimony from advocates urging the state to drop its policy. The restriction is being reviewed as a campaign is under way for a ballot measure that would bar unmarried couples from being not only foster parents but adoptive parents as well.

“We need more foster homes, not less,” said Dr. Jill Fussell, a pediatrician and representative of the Arkansas chapter of the Academy of Pediatrics.

The policy effectively bars same-sex couples from being foster parents. An attorney with the state’s chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union noted that the restriction was enacted shortly after a judge struck down a direct state ban on gay foster parents.

“Under this directive, gay applicants are routinely denied as potential foster parents. Some have been told they were the perfect placement for special needs children but they were not permitted to serve as foster parents because of this restriction,” said Holly Dickson, legal director for the Arkansas chapter of the ACLU.

A representative of the Arkansas Family Council, which is campaigning for the measure that would ban unmarried couples from fostering or adopting children, defended the state’s current practice and said it is aimed at placing children in the best environment.

“Of course there are exceptions, but generally speaking there is no better place for a child to be” than with a married couple, said John Thomas, who also identified himself as executive director of the Arkansas Physicians Resource Council.

Officials with Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families and other groups are tying Thursday’s hearing to a campaign against the item on the Nov. 4 ballot.

Officials with Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families and other groups plan to testify Thursday against the policy, which bans “cohabitating adults” from fostering children. They argue that the restriction reduces the potential number of good homes available to needy children.

The policy was never promulgated, meaning the people of Arkansas were never told about it or allowed to comment before it was enacted. The groups requested Thursday’s hearing at the state Department of Human Services.

“We’re opposed to any measure such as this that artificially restricts the pool of good foster parents who are out there,” said Rich Huddleston, executive director of Arkansas Advocates. “We think it should be up to DHS to decide on a case-by-case basis an appropriate foster care placement for the child.”

The hearing over the rule comes as the Arkansas Family Council is campaigning for a measure on the Nov. 4 ballot that would ban unmarried couples living together from fostering or adopting children. It would also remove the state’s ability to issue waivers on a case-by-case basis.

The ballot measure would take the place of the state policy.

Jerry Cox, president of the Family Council, accused the child advocacy groups of trying to “derail” the process to formalize the policy.

“This is an unnecessary distraction because Department of Human Services is trying to protect children, these groups have stepped in, they have an agenda and now they’re complicating the process,” Cox said.

The existing state policy on foster-child placement has been one of the selling points of the Family Council, which says its proposed initiative merely puts into law what is already the practice. The state does not currently ban unmarried couples living together from adopting children.

Gov. Mike Beebe has said he opposes the Family Council’s measure because he believes the adoption restrictions go too far. Beebe spokesman Matt DeCample said the governor encouraged DHS to hold a public hearing on the rule after Arkansas Advocates requested it.

“There’s people with strong feelings on both sides of the issue and they need to have the opportunity to have their input heard,” DeCample said.