Lasche v. New Jersey Department of Children and Families

Religious couple opens their home to children in need

Mike and Jen Lasche are a Christian couple in New Jersey who have long provided love and support to foster children. Jen’s deep interest in fostering children began in her own childhood; she was adopted and grew up in a family that fostered over 22 children. Mike and Jen are also strongly motivated by their Christian faith to foster children, driven by the biblical command to care for “orphans and widows.”  

The Lasches first became foster parents in 2007. They spent about six to eight weeks in initial classes and around thirty hours on classes, paperwork, and interviews. Over the years, Mike and Jen have repeatedly received recognition from the state for their service as foster parents. From the start, Mike and Jen have been transparent with New Jersey about their entire lives—including their love of God, their Christian faith, and their desire to help children in need, all from a Christian perspective.

New Jersey removes foster child from loving home 

In 2017, the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency asked the Lasches if they would be willing to foster two girls who had recently been removed from another foster home. Mike and Jen happily welcomed the girls into their home, taking them on hikes, visits to the museum, and frequent trips to the beach. They also attended Church as a family, participated in family devotions each morning, and studied the Bible together. In fact, the placement was such a great fit that the state told Mike and Jen they would have the first choice to adopt the girls when the time came.

However, the state later informed the Lasches that they had identified a same-sex couple in Illinois interested in adopting the girls—but hid from Mike, Jen, and the girls that this was a same-sex couple. From that moment on, the state became increasingly hostile toward the Lasches and one of their foster children over their Christian beliefs about marriage and sexuality. They began to treat Mike and Jen’s faith as a disqualifying factor for being both adoptive and foster parents, subjecting them to repeated interrogations and questioning their ability to provide a loving home. In fact, one caseworker remarked that the foster child in Mike and Jen’s home would require counseling to deal with the “harm” of hearing Christian teachings.  

A state-provided therapist also used intimidation to pressure one of their foster children to abandon her own religious beliefs out of fear that they had been influenced by Mike and Jen. And the state foster employees later interrogated that same child in a Dunkin’ Donuts parking lot, trying to convince her that she didn’t really want to live with Mike and Jen. When none of this worked, the state then took the child from the Lasche’s home—equating their religious beliefs with emotional trauma—and then suspended Mike and Jen’s ability to foster other children. As one caseworker said, the Lasches religious beliefs about marriage are “not something we can support,” so foster children could not be in their home. After a decade serving children, the Lasches were heartbroken—and so was the child who was ripped from their home.  

The law protects religious families and the children they serve 

On November 19, 2018, the Lasches filed a lawsuit against New Jersey to restore their ability to serve as foster parents consistent with their faith. They argued that that the state retaliated against them for their religious beliefs. 

After a court initially dismissed their case, the Lasches appealed, and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in their favor, allowing Mike and Jen’s lawsuit to continue in the lower court. On July 26, 2024, the Lasches, with Becket’s help, asked for permission to file an amended complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. They argue that New Jersey violated their rights because the law protects the ability of religious people and organizations to foster children in need without having to forfeit their beliefs. Additionally, recent Becket cases, including Burke v. Walsh and the unanimous Supreme Court victory in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, make clear that state child welfare agencies cannot exclude, suspend, or target religious families because of their faith. These new claims will ensure that New Jersey cannot engage in this kind of religious discrimination again, and hold the discriminators personally responsible. New Jersey should support loving foster families, not banish them from public life. 

Importance to Religious Liberty: 

• Individual freedom: The government discriminates against religious groups if it prevents them from providing services simply based on their religious beliefs.