AFA Action supports Trump admin’s efforts to make foster care safe for kids

TUPELO, Miss. — AFA Action, the governmental affairs affiliate of the American Family Association, strongly supports a proposed rule change by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) that would remove a final rule seeking to push children identifying as “LGBTQI+” into “specially designated placements” and to prohibit state foster care agencies from sharing necessary information about such children with their parents.

“The Biden administration’s final rule is a grievous invasion of religious liberty, and we support ACF’s recension of this rule,” said Trey Dellinger, senior legal fellow with AFA Action. “Simply stated, the Biden-era final rule effectively established an official orthodoxy: ‘Bow to the LGBTQ+ agenda, or else you cannot be a foster parent.’ Such an imposition violates the First Amendment.”

Dellinger joined Dr. Jameson Taylor, director of AFA Action’s Center for Government Renewal, in submitting an official comment regarding the proposed removal of the rule.

The Biden administration’s final rule “Designated Placement Requirements Under Titles IV-E and IV-B for LGBTQI+ Children” (89 FR 34818) was published on April 30, 2024. A year later, on June 13, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas vacated the final rule, making it unenforceable. The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is proposing to remove the requirements related to the rule from the Code of Federal Regulations.

“There is good reason to remove the final rule from the Code,” said Dr. Taylor. “Over the past few decades, we have seen federal agencies use ostensibly non-binding guidance to impose various agendas upon states. Such guidance is difficult to challenge in court, ironically, because it does not possess the force of law. Even though the final rule is not legally in effect or enforceable, it is conceivable that its continued existence in the Code of Federal Regulations could be cited by a future administration as justification for issuing ‘non-binding’ guidance aimed at achieving the same unconstitutional ends as those sought by the final rule.”

“The Trump administration is right to remove the requirements issued in this unconstitutional rule pushed by the Biden administration,” concluded Taylor. “The next step, however, is a new rule that would prohibit states from allowing children in foster care to undergo sex-reassignment surgery or use puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones. These interventions are harmful to children and are correlated with an increase in suicide rates.”

AFA Action is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization dedicated to advancing biblical family values in society and government by shaping public policy through education and advocacy. The mission of AFA Action is to inform and mobilize individuals to strengthen the biblical foundations of America by persuading individuals with the truth of the Gospel, challenging the lost to repent, promoting societal values that are consistent with Scripture, restraining evil and exposing the works of darkness, motivating people to take a stand on cultural and moral issues, and encouraging Christians to bear witness to the world the love of Jesus Christ. Find AFA Action Alerts here. 

For more information on the American Family Association, visit www.afa.net or follow AFA on Facebook or X.

For more information on AFA Action, visit www.afaaction.net or follow AFA Action on Facebook or X.

To interview an AFA or AFA Action spokesperson, contact Hamilton Strategies, [email protected], or Beth Bogucki, 610.584.1096, ext. 105, or Daniel Moyer, ext. 104.