{"id":33221,"date":"2026-10-27T15:43:18","date_gmt":"2026-10-27T19:43:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=33221"},"modified":"2026-10-27T15:44:34","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T19:44:34","slug":"33221","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2026\/10\/33221","title":{"rendered":"Washington Foster Parents Will Not Be Forced to Use Children\u2019s Preferred Pronouns"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Left: Shutterstock | Right: Alliance Defending Freedom<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Washington couple who serve as foster parents will not be forced to use the preferred pronouns of children in their care. Shane and Jennifer DeGross had served as foster parents since 2013 and were renewing their foster care license in 2022 when they learned the state had changed its requirements regarding gender identity. The state now required foster parents to agree to use names and pronouns for children that were contrary to their biological sex, taking children to events like pride parades, and actively promoting the state\u2019s views on gender identity to children in their care. As Christians, such requirements were in complete violation of the couple\u2019s religious beliefs.<\/p>\n

The DeGrosses sought help from the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which filed a suit on the couple\u2019s behalf in 2024. The couple requested a waiver from the requirements while the case was pending but were granted a restricted license that only permitted them to take in children aged 2 to 5. This meant that if a child turned 5 while still in their care, they would have to be removed from the DeGross\u2019s home, disrupting their permanency.<\/p>\n

By April 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington denied the state\u2019s motion to dismiss the case. The court later found that Washington\u2019s policy restricted what foster parents can say on the subject of gender identity and also compelled certain speech. Washington officials then agreed to a permanent injunction allowing religious families to serve as foster parents without being forced to support contrary gender ideology. ADF Senior Counsel Johannes Widmalm-Delphonse celebrated the outcome. \u201cThe DeGrosses merely asked to be treated the same as any other family\u2014without being asked to compromise their core beliefs,\u201d said Widmalm-Delphonse<\/a>. \u201cThis is a win-win because it will ensure more families can serve as foster parents to help meet the needs of every precious child in Washington\u2019s foster-care system. We are thrilled to see common sense and religious liberty prevail.\u201d The state is now proposing a religious exemption.<\/p>\n

“It’s a great victory in the sense that more Christians can be available to love and care for foster kids without fear of being excluded because of their religious beliefs,\u201d said Shane. \u201cIt’s a huge victory for kids that need a loving home.\u201d Washington state has not admitted to targeting Christians with its past rules. \u201cWe are proud of the diversity of our foster parent and kinship caregiver community who have different cultures, religious beliefs, and lived experience,” officials said in a news release. \u201cWe are grateful that they all open their doors and provide a loving home to children and youth in foster care.\u201d Meanwhile, LGBTQ+ supporters are treating the new changes as removing protections<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Washington couple who serve as foster parents will not be forced to use the preferred pronouns of children in their care. Shane and Jennifer DeGross had served as foster parents since 2013 and were renewing their foster care license in 2022 when they learned the state had changed its requirements regarding gender identity. The…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":33224,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nWashington Foster Parents Will Not Be Forced to Use Children\u2019s Preferred Pronouns<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Washington Christian foster parents win legal protection from gender identity rules in a case over religious beliefs and preferred pronouns.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2026\/10\/33221\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta 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pronouns.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2026\/10\/33221","og_site_name":"Beliefnet News","article_published_time":"2026-10-27T19:43:18+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-10-27T19:44:34+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":900,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/140\/2026\/10\/Parents-Pronouns_credit-Left-Shutterstock-Right-Alliance-Defending-Freedom.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Cecilia Buchanan","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2026\/10\/33221","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2026\/10\/33221","name":"Washington Foster Parents Will Not Be Forced to Use Children\u2019s Preferred 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