In Gracehaven, Inc. v. Montgomery County Department of Job and Family Services, (SD OH, April 21, 2025), an Oho federal district court issued a preliminary injunction restoring contracting and funding by the county to a Christian ministry that provides foster care services to girls who are victims of sex trafficking and abuse. The county had refused to renew its contract with Gracehaven because of the ministry's policy of hiring only employees that shared its religious faith. The court said in part:
Gracehaven will likely succeed on the merits of its claim that Montgomery County’s actions violated the Free Exercise Clause because it excluded Gracehaven from an otherwise available public benefit based on Gracehaven’s choice to employ those who share the same faith....
“When otherwise eligible recipients are disqualified from a public benefit ‘solely because of their religious character,’” the Court must apply strict scrutiny to the reason the benefit was denied.
