Vermont backs off ‘gender ideology’ mandate for Christian foster families

The Vermont Department for Children and Families (DCF) officially ended a policy that required foster parents to embrace the state’s views about gender identity and sexuality as a condition of fostering children.

Four Christian foster parents who lost their licenses for refusing to sign off on the requirement had sued the department, accusing it of violating their constitutional rights to free speech and freedom of religion and of putting “gender ideology over children’s best interests.”

On Feb. 18, after more than a year and a half of litigation, the DCF finally ended the policy and the two parties reached a settlement.

According to the now-defunct policy, any person who wanted a license to foster children had to agree to affirm a child’s decision to identify as a gender different from his or her biological sex and a child’s sexuality if he or she identified as homosexual.

The guidelines that were previously in place encouraged foster parents to “support children’s identities even if it feels uncomfortable” and “bring young people to LGBTQ organizations and events in the community.” The guidelines instructed foster parents to use “appropriate pronouns” — which would be inconsistent with the child’s biological sex if the child identified as transgender — and “support young people’s gender expression.”

Prospective and current foster parents were required to agree to that policy as a condition of fostering children, even if they were not caring for children who identified as either homosexual or transgender.

With that requirement gone, the new policy clearly states DCF will not consider an applicant’s “sincerely held personal, cultural, religious, moral, or philosophical beliefs” when determining whether the department will approve a license.

The new policy states that DCF will no longer require the “endorsement or affirmation of specific identities” or the “use of particular vocabulary, prescribed language, or preferred pronouns related to gender identity, sexual orientation, or identity expression.”

In a court settlement, DCF also agreed to reinstate the licenses of the four foster parents who filed the lawsuit: Brian Wuoti, a pastor, and his wife, Katy; and Bryan Gantt, who is also a pastor, and his wife, Rebecca. All four were represented by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).

“This is an incredible victory for children in Vermont’s foster-care system,” ADF Senior Counsel Johannes Widmalm-Delphonse said in a statement following the settlement and policy change.

“No parent should be forced to lie to a vulnerable child about who they are, much less promote irreversible and life-altering procedures that don’t have any proven health benefits,” he said. “And, unfortunately, other loving families have been unable to open their homes to children in need just because of their Christian worldview. We commend Vermont for respecting the religious diversity of foster parents and ending its exclusionary policy that deprived children of opportunities to find loving homes.”