State officials have been exploring whether religious agencies that get public money to license foster care parents are breaking anti-discrimination laws if they turn away openly gay parents.

In addition to Catholic Charities in five regions, Lutheran Child and Family Services and the Evangelical Child and Family Agency have policies that exclude prospective parents who are openly gay. The religious teachings that inform those agencies state that homosexuality violates Scripture and gay couples living in sin are not suitable caretakers for children.

But some argue that the Illinois Human Rights Act, the Civil Union Act and the Illinois Constitution prohibit any agencies -- religious or secular -- from considering sexual orientation a factor in foster care and adoption.