Children of the Immaculate Heart v. Kimberley Johnson and California Dept. of Social Services

Children of the Immaculate Heart (“CIH”) is a Catholic nonprofit dedicated to helping victims of sex-trafficking. Seeking to expand their services to serve sex-trafficked minors, CIH found their Catholic beliefs a bar to licensure through California’s foster-care system, and sued due to the discrimination. We argued for the right of Catholic nonprofits to have equal access to opportunities to assist foster children. Our lawsuit also pushed back against hostile pro-abortion and pro-gender ideology bureaucrats in state government.

Shortly after FCDF filed suit, the California Department of Social Services asked to go to mediation so that the parties could come to an amicable resolution. The case settled with CIH obtaining its license to care for sex-trafficked foster children. FCDF is currently monitoring CIH’s continued progress through the bureaucratic thicket.

Children of the Immaculate Heart (“CIH”) is a well-established Catholic nonprofit serving victims of sex-trafficking in San Diego County. Because of their success working with adult women, in 2015 CIH began the process of obtaining a license to operate a home for minor girls who were sex-trafficked, called “the Refuge.” But after four years of government stonewalling and nearly $600,000 in sunk costs, the Refuge sat empty due to state bureaucrats’ insistence of barring a religious organization from having care over minor girls.

The California Department of Social Services, which regulates California’s foster system, refused to license the Refuge because of Children of the Immaculate Heart’s sincere religious beliefs about human sexuality. The Department mandated that CIH allow “transgender” males to live at the home, dispense gender-transition chemicals, and drive girls to get abortions.

In November 2019, after learning about the four years of stonewalling, FCDF brought a civil rights complaint in San Diego Superior Court. Instead of proceeding to substantive briefing or a trial, in March 2020 the parties participated in mediation. Following a confidential settlement, CIH was granted a provisional license permitting it to operate the Refuge.