President Donald Trump’s administration has warned Vermont that its policies meant to support LGBTQ foster youth may violate federal law, potentially threatening federal funding.
The Oct. 16 letter, written by Alex Adams, assistant secretary of the federal Administration for Children and Families, directed Vermont Secretary of Human Services Jenney Samuelson to provide a written response explaining how the state would address Adams’ concerns.
“It has been brought to my attention that certain policies and procedures in Vermont deny qualified foster and adoptive parents the opportunity to provide children a loving home solely because they cannot, in good conscience, commit to affirming a hypothetical child’s gender identity,” Adams wrote. “Such policies are contrary to the purpose of child welfare programs and inconsistent with our interpretation of federal diligent recruitment plans and constitutional protections, including the First Amendment.”
Other states, including Massachusetts, New York and California, have received similar letters. Vermont’s involvement was first reported by The Imprint, a nonprofit news publication focused on vulnerable children and families. About a third of foster youth identify as LGBTQ, according to multiple studies.
While Adams’ letter does not reference specific Vermont policies, in 2024, two Vermont couples sued the Department for Children and Families, arguing that policies requiring foster parents to affirm a foster child’s sexual orientation or gender identity are unconstitutional and discriminate against Christians. A second lawsuit related to foster parent policies was later brought by a separate family that year.
The prominent conservative legal firm Alliance Defending Freedom represented the couples in the first suit. Similar lawsuits have cropped up across the country, including in Oregon, where a federal appeals court eventually ruled the state’s policies intended to protect LGBTQ foster youth violated free speech. The Vermont lawsuits now sit with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals after the families appealed a lower court’s ruling against them.
Per Vermont’s Department for Children and Families policy, “discrimination and bias based on a child or youth’s real or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression” is prohibited.
A department spokesperson said no one was available Tuesday for an interview regarding the letter from the federal government and instead requested questions in writing.
In a statement, Aryka Radke, a Department for Children and Families deputy commissioner, wrote that the department “is committed to ensuring that young people in our custody are safe and supported. We are currently reviewing the letter with our legal team.”
Radke did not respond to questions about what funding could be at risk.
While Adams, in the letter, did not explicitly threaten to withhold federal funding from Vermont, he did allude to the possibility.
“Please provide a written response outlining how you will review and, where necessary, amend policies to bring them into alignment with these values and applicable law,” he wrote. “As you know, my responsibilities include monitoring the use of relevant federal funds and ensuring compliance with federal law.”
The Administration for Children and Families did not respond to a request for comment.
