Today, the Center for American Liberty filed a lawsuit against the Vermont Department for Children and Families (DCF) for its unlawful and retaliatory actions against Melinda Antonucci and her husband Casey Mathieu, dedicated foster parents from Vermont. The DCF moved to revoke Melinda and Casey’s foster care license after they refused to agree to facilitate “gender-affirming care” within the foster program.
See the lawsuit, DCF license revocation letter and other exhibits here.
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“Apparently the state of Vermont would rather place vulnerable children in a home with drag queens than in a home with a loving mom and dad who, like most Americans, do not believe it is a good idea to transition a minor child’s gender,” said Harmeet Dhillon, CEO and Founder of the Center for American Liberty. “The DCF is taking steps to revoke our client’s foster care license solely because they would not commit in advance to facilitate a hypothetical child’s gender transition. The state’s elevation of political science over actual science is not in the best interest of children and must stop. Melinda and Casey want to provide a loving home to children in need and we intend to restore their ability to do so.”
“We are heartbroken and frustrated that our foster care license is being threatened simply because we are not willing to facilitate controversial psychological and medical procedures for children. The choice to become foster parents was personal after seeing the massive need for children without homes in Vermont. Our primary concern has always been to provide a loving, stable home for children in need. We are committed to fighting this decision and hope to ensure that no other family is forced to endure what we are going through,” Melinda and Casey said.
Melinda and Casey, committed to fostering children as an expression of their Christian faith, were licensed by the DCF in January of this year. However, they faced undue scrutiny and license revocation procedures due to their hesitation about facilitating certain psychological and medical procedures, like social transitioning, cross-sex hormones and double mastectomies, for kids struggling with gender identity. Despite their willingness to foster LGBTQ+ children, DCF pressured them to adhere to a specific ideological stance.
The situation escalated when Melinda publicly supported a Petition advocating for parental rights in the Essex Westford School District. In response, DCF questioned Melinda’s and Casey’s capabilities as foster parents based solely on this protected speech, violating their First Amendment rights.
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