BOISE — Attorney General Raúl Labrador joined a 22-state coalition led by Florida in filing an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, urging the court to strike down Vermont’s unconstitutional foster care policy that forces prospective parents to abandon their religious beliefs or forfeit their ability to serve vulnerable children.
“Foster parents shouldn’t be forced to choose between their faith and serving children in need,” said Attorney General Labrador. “Vermont’s policy forces prospective foster parents to either compromise on their beliefs or walk away from giving a child a loving family. Idaho has led the way in showing there’s a path that protects both children’s welfare and the constitutional rights of parents. We encourage more people of faith to foster rather than driving them away with leftwing ideological litmus tests that help neither child nor parents.”
The case, Wuoti v. Winters, challenges Vermont’s “Policy 76,” which requires all prospective foster parents to pledge they will affirm and promote any foster child’s chosen sexual orientation and gender identity, regardless of the parents’ deeply held religious beliefs. When loving couples like the Wuotis and Gantts refused to make this pledge due to their faith, Vermont denied them foster licenses entirely.
The coalition’s brief demonstrates that Vermont’s blanket ban fails strict constitutional scrutiny because far less restrictive alternatives exist. Idaho’s foster care system serves as a prime example, using targeted matching programs that place children with compatible families rather than imposing one-size-fits-all requirements on all prospective parents.
Under Idaho’s approach, the state first licenses safe, stable homes through standard safety evaluations, then carefully matches children with families sharing similar values and backgrounds. Idaho law prioritizes placing children with foster parents of the same religious faith or tradition and explicitly protects foster parents from discrimination based on their sincere religious beliefs.
This tailored system has produced remarkable results. Idaho increased its foster home-to-child ratio from 0.75 to 0.9, successfully ended a temporary housing program for youth in foster care, and achieved a placement stability rate where less than sixteen percent of foster children experienced multiple placements.
The amicus brief argues that Vermont’s approach is not only constitutionally deficient but counterproductive, preventing faith-motivated families from serving children while also denying religious foster children the opportunity to be placed in homes that share their values.
Idaho joined Florida, the Arizona Legislature, and attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia in the coalition brief.