Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is celebrating a federal move that the legal organization’s leader says defends religious foster parents sidelined by gender-identity mandates.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order, “Fostering the Future for American Children and Families,” on Nov. 13 to instruct the Department of Health and Human Services to identify state or local policies that may discourage religious families from fostering in order to determine what federal action may be needed in response.
This review could lead to new federal guidance, regulatory changes, or funding directives aimed at pressuring states to revise rules that the administration believes improperly limit participation by religious foster parents. The White House says the goal is to expand the pool of foster families at a time when many states face severe shortages.
States defending such rules argue they help protect youth who identify as LGBT, while opponents say they force religious families to choose between their faith and the opportunity to care for children in need.
Kristen Waggoner, ADF’s CEO , said in a press release Nov. 13 that too many religious families have been sidelined because they cannot agree to practices related to gender identity that conflict with their faith. “Our nation’s foster care system is in crisis,” Waggoner said.
Trump’s order, she added, protects “the constitutional rights of religious foster parents” and may help ensure that more children “have every opportunity to thrive and achieve success.”
ADF has represented families in Massachusetts, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington in legal challenges claiming they were denied the opportunity to foster after informing state officials they could not comply with gender-identity requirements, such as affirming a child’s transition or using certain pronouns.
Among them are Heath and Lydia Marvin of Massachusetts who, according to ADF, lost their foster license under that state’s policy. The Marvins attended the signing ceremony at the White House on Thursday.
In a Nov. 13 X post, Waggoner said the administration’s action responds to “policies that exclude religious families from the foster system, because they cannot embrace gender ideology.”
The order does not immediately alter state regulations, but it sets the stage for potential federal guidance that could affect how states apply gender-identity rules in foster placements. The HHS is expected to begin its review in the coming months.
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