WHO: Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys
WHAT: Available for media interviews following oral arguments in Gracehaven v. Montgomery County Department of Job and Family Services
WHEN: Immediately following hearing, which begins at 10 a.m. EST, Friday, Feb. 28
WHERE: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Walter H. Rice Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, Room 712, 200 W. Second St., Dayton. To schedule an interview, contact ADF Media Relations Manager Jacqueline Ribeiro at (202) 961-9396.
DAYTON, OHIO – Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing a Christian organization that provides a home and cares for young female sex trafficking survivors across the state of Ohio will be available for media interviews Friday following oral arguments in federal district court in Gracehaven v. Montgomery County Department of Job and Family Services.
Gracehaven is suing Montgomery County officials for excluding it from a public program and benefit that it is otherwise qualified for—the county-administered foster care system and public funding—solely because the ministry hires only employees who share and adhere to its religious beliefs.
“The government can’t deny public benefits to a Christian ministry that is caring for young survivors of sex trafficking solely because of its religious character and exercise,” said ADF Legal Counsel Jake Reed, who will be arguing before the court. “Gracehaven is a force for good, providing comprehensive care, support, and a safe place to call home for the most vulnerable girls in Ohio. The Constitution prohibits the county from punishing Gracehaven by excluding it from the foster care system and public funding simply because the ministry hires those who share its faith.”
“Gracehaven empowers young girls rescued from sex trafficking by helping them thrive with dignity in a renewed life,” said Gracehaven Director Scott Arnold. “Our team of Christian employees is paramount to this work. As we help these girls work through their pain and trauma, and move toward living healthy, fulfilling lives, our ability to hire like-minded people of faith to carry out our mission is essential.”
Founded in 2008, Gracehaven’s sex trafficking prevention and rehabilitation work is done through a variety of programs and services, including Gracehaven’s three state-licensed therapeutic group homes. The group homes provide a trauma-informed treatment model designed to meet the needs of the youth sex trafficking survivors who often struggle with serious emotional or behavioral disturbances. Girls are placed in Gracehaven’s group homes through the foster care system, which is administered at the county level.
For several years, Montgomery County contracted with Gracehaven for “substitute” care services where it would reimburse Gracehaven for its care with public funds. But the county suddenly decided to exclude Gracehaven last year when Gracehaven told county officials that it would sign the contract “as is,” but that it was not waiving or surrendering its constitutionally protected right to employ those who share its faith. The county decided it would no longer work with Gracehaven due to the ministry’s religious-based employment practices.
After the county’s exclusion, employees who handle placements have tried to refer multiple girls to Gracehaven, but the ministry is unable to accept those placements because county officials have excluded Gracehaven from the system. The county’s actions have impeded the ministry’s religious calling to care for youth female sex trafficking survivors and also caused it to lose out on potentially thousands of dollars in public funds.
As ADF attorneys explain in the lawsuit filed in December, county officials have penalized Gracehaven by excluding it from participating in the foster care system and denying it public funding because of the ministry’s religious practice of employing only those who share its faith. The Supreme Court has clearly established—three times in the past seven years—that the government “violates the Free Exercise Clause when it excludes religious observers from otherwise available public benefits.”
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.
# # #
