Miracle Hill Ministries – a taxpayer-funded foster-care agency in South Carolina – claims its policy of turning away prospective parents and volunteers who aren't evangelical Christians is good for kids. In reality, the agency is dramatically reducing the pool of people who can help a child who needs a home.

Americans United filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Aimee Maddonna, a Catholic mother of three, to stop the federal government and South Carolina from authorizing and encouraging taxpayer-funded foster-care agencies to use religion as the basis for discrimination against prospective parents and volunteers like Aimee.

Legislators in Arkansas and Tennessee want to allow taxpayer-funded foster-care agencies to refuse to work with people they deem to be the "wrong" religion – the same discrimination faced by our client Aimee Maddonna, a South Carolina woman who was turned away from helping children in foster care only because she's Catholic.