A couple in Massachusetts has lost their license to foster after refusing to sign a policy agreeing not to discriminate against LGBTQ+ youth nor attempt to change their gender identity or sexual orientation.

The state’s Department of Children and Families (DCF) revoked the license of Lydia and Heath Marvin in April after they refused to sign the nondiscrimination policy that would protect youth in their care. The couple, who has three biological children in their teens, had fostered eight children under the age of four since 2020.

“We will absolutely love and support and care for any child in our home but we simply can’t agree to go against our Christian faith in this area,” Lydia recently told CBS Boston. 

Over 30 percent of youth in foster care identify as LGBTQ+ and five percent as transgender, according to a 2019 study from Children’s Rights, compared to 11.2 percent and 1.17 percent of youth not in foster care.

The DCF policy requires that “employees, foster parents, interns, volunteers, and others who interact with children and families must be respectful of how individuals ask to be identified and use the terms an individual uses to describe themselves.” This includes allowing foster youth to use restrooms or changing facilities that align with their gender identity, allowing them to dress in clothing or style their hair in ways that align with their gender identity, and allowing them to use their names and pronouns.

The policy also explicitly mandates that “foster parents and contracted service providers do not make attempts to convince LGBTQIA+ children/youth to reject or modify their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.” This includes not contracting with “faith leaders who attempt to change a child/youth’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.”

The department also supports youth seeking legal name and gender changes, as well as “medical care and mental health services for children/youth provided in a manner that is culturally responsive and affirming,” though none are required for their gender identity to be respected. 

The American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, the World Medical Association, and the World Health Organization all agree that gender-affirming care is evidence-based and medically necessary not just for adults, but also minors. Several studies demonstrate that depression and anxiety is alleviated in youth when they socially transition and receive treatment for gender dysphoria.

The Marvins said that they are exploring their legal options, as a lawsuit from other prospective foster parents who refused to sign the nondiscrimination policy moves forward. The parents are represented by the so-called Alliance Defending Freedom, a group dubbed a “Christian legal army” by its founder, which has a long history of opposing civil rights protections for LGBTQ+ people and has been dubbed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The group, which believes the “homosexual agenda” will destroy society, has played a pivotal role in several cases involving abortion access and LGBTQ+ rights, including the Supreme Court case Dobbs v. Jackson’s Women’s Health Organization, which overturned the right to an abortion nationally, as well as Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado and 303 Creative, Inc. v. Elenis, which validated discrimination against LGBTQ+ customers on the basis of religious views. 

“The state has an obligation to children to make sure that they’re safe and well protected,” Polly Crozier, Director of Family Advocacy at GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders, told the CBS. “And foster parents, they’re not parents. Foster parents are temporary. They’re a stop gap to make sure children can safely go back to their families of origin.”