Rep. Connie O'Brien, R-Tonganoxie, Sen. Forrest Knox, R-Altoona, and Sen. Laura Kelly, D-Topeka, members of the Legislature's Special Committee on Foster Care Adequacy, listen to testimony about whether same-sex couples should be allowed to be foster parents.

Topeka ? A special committee of the Kansas Legislature heard testimony Tuesday both for and against allowing same-sex couples to be foster parents.

Sen. Forrest Knox, R-Altoona, who chairs the Special Committee on Foster Care Adequacy, indicated it’s an issue that is likely to be debated by the full Legislature next year.

“It’s interesting to me that family structure, which I think we all know has a tremendous influence on outcomes to children, doesn’t seem to be an issue in qualifications for foster parents,” Knox said. “And it’s not even tracked. That’s why I wanted to introduce this topic.”

Among those addressing the panel via telephone was Rev. Donald Paul Sullins, a research professor of sociology at the Catholic University of America, the author of a highly controversial article that argues children living in households with same-sex parents are more likely to suffer from psychiatric problems and even sexual abuse.

Rep. Connie O'Brien, R-Tonganoxie, Sen. Forrest Knox, R-Altoona, and Sen. Laura Kelly, D-Topeka, members of the Legislature's Special Committee on Foster Care Adequacy, listen to testimony about whether same-sex couples should be allowed to be foster parents.

But Clinton Anderson, who directs the LGBT Concerns Office at the American Psychological Association, said Sullins’ study was flawed and that “there is no credible scientific evidence to support discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in parental rights.”

Both men also challenged the other’s research. Sullins called the conclusions by APA “bogus,” alleging the organization “sanitizes” the studies it examines to eliminate those that disagree with the APA’s position. Anderson, meanwhile, said research such as Sullins’ has been conducted only by organizations that philosophically oppose same-sex marriage to begin with.

Within the legislative panel, opinion appeared to be equally divided.

“It’s too bad these children have become the subject of political correctness,” said Sen. Mary Pilcher-Cook, R-Shawnee, who also chairs the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee, and who pointed out that there is sharp division, even within the APA, about what constitutes a mental illness.

And Sen. Laura Kelly, D-Topeka, openly challenged Sullins’ credibility as a researcher.

“He is a Catholic priest, a sociology professor at the Catholic University of America,” she said. “He’s also a fellow at the Marriage and Religious Research Institute, a project of the anti-LGBT Family Research Council, and a fourth-degree member of the Knights of Columbus which has funneled millions of dollars into fighting marriage equality over the past decade.”

Phyllis Gilmore, Secretary of the Kansas Department of Children and Families, testifies before the Legislature's Special Committee on Foster Care Adequacy.

Phyllis Gilmore, secretary of the Kansas Department of Children and Families, which oversees the state’s foster care system, said Kansas currently has no policy blocking same-sex couples from becoming foster parents.

She also denied persistent rumors that her agency is considering implementing such a policy as part of its overall review of the foster care system.

The seriousness of those rumors came to light in July when Douglas County District Judge Peggy Kittel wrote to a regional director of DCF seeking clarification of the agency’s intent.

“We are reviewing, from bottom to top, the entire licensure system,” Gilmore said Tuesday. “But I think that is a myth that is sort of just self-perpetuating.”