Massachusetts officials removed controversial language that required foster parents to “affirm” the LGBTQIA+ identity of children in their care.
The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a conservative legal group, filed a federal lawsuit challenging the gender identity mandate on First Amendment grounds, Fox News Digital reported.
In September, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) sent a letter to Massachusetts’ Department of Children and Families (DCF), stating that the policy violated constitutional protections and announced that an investigation would follow.
A newly released ADF press release states the Massachusetts agency has since amended its policy to remove the controversial provision from its licensing agreement.
“The Department of Children and Families’ top priority is providing a safe and supportive home for all children in foster care,” DCF Commissioner Staverne Miller told Fox News Digital. “We are also committed to ensuring that no one is prevented from applying or reapplying to be a foster parent because of their religious beliefs.”
The updated policy changes the requirements of foster parents from supporting children’s “sexual orientation and gender identity” to supporting the “individual identity and needs” of each child, and goes into effect immediately.
“DCF is promulgating this amendment on an emergency basis in order to preempt any potential escalation by ACF,” a legal document from DCF reads. “These amendments address ACF’s concerns, while continuing to meet DCF’s needs for foster homes that support the identity and needs of the children in its custody.”
The lawsuit was brought about by ADF attorneys who challenged the policy on behalf of two foster families who refused to sign the original contract. One of the families, Gregg and Marianelly Schrock, had their foster license revoked in June over their noncompliance.
“Massachusetts has told us that this new regulation will no longer exclude Christian and other religious families from foster care because of their commonly held beliefs that boys are boys and girls are girls,” Alliance Defending Freedom senior counsel Johannes Widmalm-Delphonse said on Wednesday.
“Our clients—loving, caring foster families who have welcomed vulnerable children into their homes—as well as many other families affected by this policy, are eager to reapply for their licenses,” he added. “This amendment is a step in the right direction, and we commend Massachusetts officials for changing course. But this case will not end until we are positive that Massachusetts is committed to respecting religious persons and ideological diversity among foster parents.”
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