CIVIL RIGHTS — MARYLAND FOSTER AGENCY WON’T ALLOW MUSLIM MOTHER TO FOSTER A CHILD: Contemporary Family Services, a Maryland-based private foster agency that is “authorized by the state to place foster children with families,” has rejected the application of Tashima Crudup, a former foster child herself, to foster a child. A social worker who visited Crudup reported that she was “accepting of religious practices other than their own” and willing “to make arrangements to have a child attend the church of his or her own choice if so requested.” Nevertheless, after clearing an initial screening process and completing 50 hours of training, Crudup’s application was rejected. Why? The “main reason” was because Crudup does not keep pork in her house due to her Muslim faith. In a letter addressed to Crudup, the company said that, even though it respects her “personal/religious views and practices,” it also wants to “ensure that the religious, cultural and personal rights of each foster child” they place are upheld. In an editorial, the Baltimore Sun responded, “There are thousands of kids across the state who desperately need stable homes and loving caretakers; that’s what foster care and adoption officials should be focusing on, not on which meat dish gets put on the table every night.” The ACLU of Maryland, which has taken up Crudup’s case, is suing the agency, alleging anti-Muslim bias. “I have a hard time believing [the company] denies every vegetarian or Orthodox Jewish person a foster care license,” said Ajmel Quereshi, an attorney with the ACLU. The state’s Department of Human Resources, which gave the agency its contract to administer fostering services, has suggested that the company is violating the law. “The law does not permit the agency to make a determination solely on the type of food served in a home,” said spokeswoman Nancy Lineman.