Scott

The appeal at bench tests the right of a private state-licensed adoption agency to impose religious restrictions upon prospective adoptive parents over and above the religious matching requirements of California Administrative Code, title 22, section 30643. It raises incidental insubstantial issues of the sufficiency of pleadings, standing, and a claim of prejudice of the trial judge.

We determine that by reason of the significance of private-licensed adoption agencies in the California statutory scheme and the extent to which the California law delegates to those agencies the governmental function of performing the steps leading to judicially

authorized adoption, the activity of the agencies is state action. Accordingly, we conclude that if section 30643 of title 22 of the Administrative Code is to be given a constitutional construction it must be interpreted as precluding the imposition of religious requirements upon prospective adoptive parents beyond the religious matching provisions of the section.

Facts

World Vision is an evangelical Christian relief organization operating in 30 countries. One of its principal functions is the operation of orphanages and child…