The Massachusetts Liberty Legal Center is overjoyed to announce what can only be described as a Christmas gift come early — a significant initial victory in our federal lawsuit, Jones v. Mahaniah, brought against officials at the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families.
In partnership with Alliance Defending Freedom and First & Fourteenth PLLC, we filed this case on behalf of devoted Christian foster families who have opened their homes and their hearts to many vulnerable children over the years. Despite their proven record of compassionate, loving care, DCF officials sought to bar them from continuing to foster simply because of their deeply held religious beliefs about gender and sexuality.
This week, justice broke through.
In a remarkable reversal, DCF has made emergency revisions to its policies, removing the language that clearly required foster parents to “affirm” a child’s claimed gender identity or sexual orientation. The State has also represented that this issue will no longer prevent our clients from being licensed. For clients Nick and Audrey Jones, if the State follows through on its representations, this should mean that their foster daughter will not be torn from their arms simply because they would not lie to her about her God-given sex. And for Greg and Marianelly Schrock, it means that they should once again be able to provide loving care to children who need it.
You can read the Washington Post’s coverage of this story HERE.
For these families, and for countless others across Massachusetts, this is a moment of profound hope and gratitude.
Yet while we rejoice in this important victory, our work is not finished.
We will continue this lawsuit until DCF makes a clear, binding commitment that this injustice will never occur again. While the new regulations remove the most concerning language, they also don’t clearly require the Department to make future accommodations for religious families. But no foster family should ever be forced to choose between remaining faithful to their convictions and answering the call to care for children in need. And no child should lose a safe, loving home because the state targets religious belief.
The implications of this case extend far beyond a single family. At stake are the fundamental rights of foster parents, the best interests of children who depend on stable homes, and the constitutional protections for religious liberty that safeguard all citizens.
This progress was made possible because supporters stood with these families when it mattered most. To secure permanent protections and ensure that no foster family in Massachusetts faces this threat again, we must continue this fight. We invite you to partner with us by making a generous, tax-deductible gift today. Your support directly enables the legal advocacy necessary to defend religious liberty, protect vulnerable children, and uphold the rule of law.