The Trump administration said Wednesday it was granting a Christian ministry in South Carolina permission to participate in the federally funded foster-care program, even though the group will work only with Christian families.
The long-standing policy of Miracle Hill Ministries of Greenville violates a regulation, put into place in the closing days of the Obama administration, that bars discrimination on the basis of religion by groups receiving money from the Department of Health and Human Services.
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In a letter to the governor sent Friday, Steven Wagner, an HHS official who oversees the foster-care program, wrote that requiring Miracle Hill to accept non-Christians would be a substantial burden on its exercise of religion, in violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
In a statement, another HHS official, Lynn Johnson, said the agency cannot exclude faith-based providers unless there is a compelling government interest.
