Foster couple fight license revocation by Vermont for their refusal to gender transition kids while in their care
A Christian couple is fighting back after Vermont moved to revoke their foster care license due to their views on transgender ideology.
The Center for American Liberty has issued a demand letter…
A Christian couple is fighting back after Vermont moved to revoke their foster care license due to their views on transgender ideology.
The Center for American Liberty has issued a demand letter to the Vermont Department for Children and Families on the couple’s behalf.
“Melinda [Antonucci] and Casey [Mathieu] are compassionate parents who want to provide a loving home to children in need,” CEO and Founder of the Center for American Liberty Harmeet Dhillon said.
“The government has no right to punish them for their beliefs or compel them to express a specific ideology. This case is about more than just one family; it’s about protecting Vermont’s kids and safeguarding the fundamental freedoms of all Americans.”
The couple obtained their foster care license from DCF in January and fostered one child on an emergency basis for two weeks in February. But soon after, their relationship with DCF began to sour.
On Feb. 19, Antonucci posted a link on her personal Facebook page to a petition promoting parental rights in the Essex Westford School District. In response, Paula Catherine, a DCF worker, emailed Antonucci requesting to speak with her about her “public support for the petition.”
When questioned about the couple’s stance on gender issues, Antonucci said she was willing to foster a transgender-identifying child, but she wouldn’t facilitate a child’s medical transition or require her children to use the child’s preferred names and pronouns.
Catherine then informed the couple their views were “disqualifying” and that their license could be revoked because of them.
On April 4, Catherine emailed Antonucci to inform the couple their license would be pulled.
“Hi Melinda, I tried to call you,” the email, obtained by Fox News, reads. “I just spoke with my supervisor. Since you will not foster a transgender child and discuss they/them pronouns with your child, then I don’t know how we can move forward with fostering given the inability to predict any foster child’s journey with their own identity.”
“At this point you can chose [sic] to close your foster care license or I will need to formally deny your license. Please let me know what you would like to do. Thank you. Paula.”
The couple refused to voluntarily close their license, and have not received any communication from the department regarding their license status. The couple have not received an email notifying them of foster placements since May 10.
“Melinda and Casey have engaged in no conduct that warrants revocation of their license,” the demand letter states. “If the Department has already informally revoked the license – or if the Department moves forward with formal revocation – it will do so in violation of its own regulations and the procedural guarantees set forth in the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and the Vermont Constitution.”
The Center for American Liberty demands the DCF:
- Cease any plans to revoke Melinda and Casey’s foster care license based on their views.
- Stop any discriminatory actions against them.
- Provide written confirmation that their license will not be revoked due to their protected speech and religious beliefs.
- Clarify that foster parents are not required to adhere to the Department’s preferred treatment plans for transgender-identifying children.
The state’s failure to comply could result in a lawsuit to protect Antonucci’s and Mathieu’s constitutional rights.
