Section 1.09 - Special Provisions Relating to Nondiscrimination(1) No applicant for or recipient of Department services shall, on the ground of race, creed, color, religion, age, ancestry, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, language, disability, veteran status, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or otherwise be subjected to discrimination in connection with, any service, program, or activity administered or provided by the Department.(2)110 CMR 1.00 does not prohibit the Department from recruiting foster parents or adoptive parents from groups of persons of specific race, creed, color, religion, age, ancestry, marital status, sex, language, or national origin to permit the pool of available foster and pre-adoptive families to reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of the children needing placement in substitute care.(3) The Department shall not deny to any person the opportunity to become an adoptive or foster parent, on the basis of the race, creed, color, religion, age, ancestry, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, language, disability, veteran status or national origin of the person, or of the child, involved; or delay or deny the placement of a child for adoption or into foster care, on the basis of the race, color or national origin of the adoptive or foster parent, or the child, involved.