The anti-trafficking ministry Gracehaven can once again continue its ministry in Ohio to young female survivors after Montgomery County settled a lawsuit brought by the group for excluding it from the county’s foster care system.
Gracehaven, an affiliate of Central Ohio Youth for Christ, provides sex trafficking prevention services and “empowers youth rescued from sex-trafficking to thrive with dignity in a renewed life.”
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In 2024, the ministry, represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, sued Montgomery County and its Department of Jobs and Family Services. It said it was excluded from public programs that it was otherwise qualified for because it committed to hire only employees that agreed with its religious beliefs.
“The government can’t deny public benefits to a Christian ministry that is caring for young survivors of sex trafficking solely because of its religious character and exercise,” ADF Legal Counsel Jake Reed said in a press release. “Gracehaven is a force for good, offering comprehensive care, support, and a safe place to call home to the most vulnerable girls in Ohio.”
The county agreed to pay over $120,000 in attorneys’ fees as part of the settlement agreement reached. Last April, the trial court granted a preliminary injunction in favor of Gracehaven, allowing it to participate in the foster care system.
ADF took the case as part of its strategy of seeing courts extend Free Exercise jurisprudence to protect the religious practice of hiring those who share the program’s Biblical views of gender and sexuality.
Since 2008, Gracehaven has been conducting its ministry to sex trafficking survivors, including through state-license therapeutic group homes.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Kim Roberts and originally published by MinistryWatch.
