New York to Pay $250K after Trying for Years to Shut Down Christian Adoption Agency

In a victory for “vulnerable children awaiting adoption, as well as religious ministries, New York state officials have agreed to pay $250,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs after trying to shut down New Hope Family Services because of its religious beliefs.” according to a press release from the Alliance Defense Fund.

For over four years, New York’s Office of Children and Family Services has tried to shut down the adoption clinic on account that they only place children with heterosexual married couples, much to the rage and chagrin of the New York OCFS, which insisted that they also give up the kids to same-sex couples or unmarried cohabitating couples.

Then in September, Judge Mae A. D’Agostino permanently blocked OCFS’s attempts at enforcing non-discrimination rules against New Hope, saying that the adoption agency has First Amendment protections.

According to New Hope Family Services Executive Director Kathy Jerman, “Every child deserves a home with a loving mother and father who are committed to each other. New Hope walks with adoptive families and birth parents alike to place children with adoptive families. It’s regrettable that New York ever threatened to shut down our adoption services.”

The fight is a sharp contrast from Bethany Christian Services, the largest Christian adoption and foster agency in the United States, who announced two years ago they would be offering their adoption services to homosexual, lesbian, and transgendered couples, with President and Chief executive Chris Palusky telling 1500 staff members in an email message, “We will now offer services with the love and compassion of Jesus to the many types of families who exist in our world today…We’re taking an ‘all hands on deck’ approach where all are welcome.”