A married Vermont couple has reached a settlement with the state after their foster care license was effectively revoked amid a dispute over their views on transgender-related policies for children.
Melinda Antonucci, 45, and Casey Mathieu, 43, challenged the Vermont Department for Children and Families (DCF) after the agency raised concerns about their responses during the foster licensing process. The couple, who are Christian and have three biological children, said they were required to complete LGBTQ+ training that included discussion of medical treatments for transgender-identifying minors.
Their legal team, led by attorney Josh Dixon of the Center for American Liberty, argued that the state had turned the licensing process into what he described as an “ideological screening” mechanism. The lawsuit alleged that DCF violated the couple’s constitutional rights to free speech and religious liberty by conditioning licensure on affirming specific viewpoints.
Under the settlement, Vermont will reinstate the couple’s foster care license and adopt guidance stating that licensure will not be conditioned on an applicant’s religious beliefs, personal viewpoints, or compelled ideological speech. However, the state will not place a transgender-identifying child in a home where foster parents decline to support a child’s social transition according to state policy. The couple will remain eligible to foster other children.
The dispute traces back to early 2024, when Antonucci shared a petition on Facebook advocating for parental notification policies in a local school district regarding students’ gender identity. According to court filings, a DCF employee later contacted her, expressing concern that foster families are required to “affirm” transgender-identifying children.
During the licensing review, the couple indicated they would be willing to foster an LGBTQ+ child but were not comfortable facilitating medical transition procedures. Antonucci also stated she would not require her son to use a foster child’s preferred name or pronouns. After that exchange, DCF informed the couple it did not see a clear path forward given uncertainty about any future foster child’s identity journey. The department reportedly offered them the option to voluntarily close their license or face formal denial.
The couple declined to withdraw voluntarily, prompting the legal challenge.
In a statement following the settlement, Antonucci said the resolution allows her family to continue fostering and protects other families from being penalized for their beliefs. “We became foster parents because we love children and wanted to help kids in need,” she said.
For now, Vermont’s agreement restores Antonucci and Mathieu’s ability to foster while maintaining the state’s policy regarding placements involving transgender-identifying youth. The outcome underscores the ongoing legal and cultural debate over the intersection of faith, free expression, and child welfare policy.
