In the United States, more than 7 million children are reported to child-protection agencies every year because of some form of maltreatment. And a recent, scarcely reported change by the Biden administration, threatens to destroy our already struggling foster care and adoption systems that care for these millions of children.

This alarming figure leads to over 400,000 children being removed from their homes and placed into an already strained foster care system. The experiences has long-lasting effects, such as homelessness, teen pregnancy, and mental health issues.

Faith-based programs are key to providing comprehensive care to these vulnerable children, but the Biden administration is now requiring foster care providers to commit to affirming a child’s “LGBTQI+ status or identity,” be trained with the “appropriate knowledge” related to the child’s self-identified gender identity and sexual orientation, and facilitate the child’s access to resources that support their “gender expression.”

In turn, faith-based organizations with differing beliefs will essentially be barred from caring for children in need. This change will be a huge detriment to hurting foster children in need of hope, faith, and structure.