Washington state ordered to grant foster care licenses to religious families following LGBT objections
Caroline MolloyWashington state’s foster care department has agreed to revise its policies to grant religious couples foster licenses without requiring them to use children’s preferred pronouns or promote gender ideology.
The agreement between the Department of Children, Youth and Families and Shane and Jennifer DeGross encompasses a permanent injunction that bans the department from denying foster care licenses to families solely based on their religious beliefs, including their beliefs on marriage and gender, legal nonprofit Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) stated in a press release.
Represented by ADF, the DeGrosses sued the department in 2024 after the state enacted a policy requiring foster families to use children’s preferred pronouns, which blocked the couple from renewing their license. They had been foster parents for nine years.
In 2025, the couple received a waiver allowing them to renew their license if they agreed to several conditions, including completing “LGBTQIA+ Basics for Supporting Youth” training. The DeGrosses amended their complaint to challenge those restrictions as well, according to court documents.
The settlement follows a federal district court decision from April that ruled the state’s policy plausibly violated the First Amendment, according to ADF.
