Religious Liberty and LGBTQ Policy

The Massachusetts Department of Children and Families has emergency‑amended its foster‑care licensing agreement to remove language requiring applicants to "support and affirm" a child’s sexual orientation and gender identity, replacing it with a duty to support the child’s "individual identity and needs." The change follows a September warning letter from the federal Administration for Children and Families that the rule violated constitutional rights, and a federal First Amendment lawsuit by Alliance Defending Freedom on behalf of Christian foster families whose licenses were revoked or applications blocked for refusing to sign the prior "gender‑affirming" policy.