Vermont has revised its policies banning anti-LGBTQ+ people from fostering kids as part of settlements in two lawsuits challenging those policies.

Prior to the settlements, the Vermont Department of Children and Families (DCF) required potential foster parents to affirm young people’s LGBTQ+ identities – including gender identity and expression – in order to receive a foster license in the state. Those rules were formalized in 2023.

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But court documents filed last month indicate that on February 18, the department issued new guidance for licensing foster parents under which applicants’ “sincerely held personal, cultural, religious, moral, or philosophical beliefs shall not be considered in the licensing process.” The new guidance further states that the department does not require “endorsement or affirmation of specific identities” or “use of particular vocabulary, prescribed language, or preferred pronouns related to gender identity, sexual orientation, or identity expression.”

The change came as part of settlements in two lawsuits brought by Christian couples who had their foster licenses revoked or their applications for renewal denied due to DCF’s concerns that they would not support LGBTQ+ foster children’s identities.

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In 2024, the Southern Poverty Law Center-designated anti-LGBTQ+ hate group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) brought a lawsuit on behalf of two couples, Brian and Kaitlyn Wuoti and Michael and Rebecca Gantt, arguing that the department’s decision not to renew their foster licenses infringed upon their rights to freedom of speech and free exercise of religion. The couples claimed that their Christian faith prohibits them from affirming trans children and from participating in Pride events.

The second case, brought by the Center for American Liberty in February 2025, involved one married couple, Melinda Antonucci and Casey Mathieu. They claimed that DCF threatened to revoke their foster license over Antonucci’s assertion that she would not support a child’s medical transition or require her other children to use a child’s preferred name and pronouns, according to Fox News.

As part of the settlements, all three couples will be allowed to keep their foster licenses and have agreed to drop their pending appeals.

DCF said it had consulted with organizations that support LGBTQ+ youth before settling the cases, according to VT Digger.

Per DCF’s new guidance, LGBTQ+ foster children will not be placed in homes where their identities are not supported. However, anti-LGBTQ+ foster parents will retain their licenses and will be able to foster other children.

“Settling these cases is in the best long-term interest of the children and youth we serve and will allow DCF to focus our attention on supporting children and youth by thoughtfully matching them with the caregivers best able to meet their individual needs,” a statement from the department read, according to VT Digger.

As the outlet notes, children in the foster care system are particularly vulnerable to mental and physical health issues. Dana Kaplan, executive director of LGBTQ+ youth resource group Outright Vermont, explained that LGBTQ+ youth are already disproportionately likely to be homeless and in the foster system due to rejection by their families of origin.

“We’re talking about young people that have already faced trauma, who have already come from rejection. It is paramount that when we’re looking at foster care, that there’s a duty of care that involves making sure that these young people are not further harmed,” Kaplan said. “The bottom baseline there is that we’re going to respect you for who you are, and we are going to acknowledge and validate your identity.” 

“This is about physical, social, psychological safety,” Kaplan said. “We all deserve that.”

ADF’s case represents the second such victory for the anti-LGBTQ+ organization in recent months. Late last year, Massachusetts eliminated a similar policy requiring foster parents to support and affirm LGBTQ+ kids in response to a lawsuit brought by ADF on behalf of two religious families.

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