A federal court on Friday cleared the way for state officials in South Carolina to continue partnering with faith-based foster care agencies to place foster kids in new homes. In two separate lawsuits, the ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church and State argued that agencies that discriminate based on religion should not have access to public funds. On Friday, a federal district court rejected that claim, noting that prospective foster parents who can’t or don’t want to work with faith-based agencies can access the same services through other, nonreligious agencies that take part in South Carolina’s foster care system.