SW News: New Hope Family, a Christian adoption agency in the United States, and the New York State Office of Children and Family Services have resolved discrimination lawsuits involving New Hope's preference for placing children with heterosexual parents.

Alliance Defending Freedom, which provided legal representation to the adoption agency in the lawsuit, said in a statement that the settlement means the New York Office of Children and Family Services cannot penalize the agency based on its religious beliefs.

New Hope and the Office of Children and Family Services have been at variance since 2018 when the state agency threatened to shut down the organization's pregnancy and adoption programs due to the organization's Christian-based preference for adoption.

The state had previously warned New Hope that its unwillingness to put children with same-sex couples or unmarried heterosexual couples violated state law, and now the two parties have settled, with the state agreeing to pay New Hope $250,000 to cover the charity's legal fees.

"New Hope Family Services strives to be the extended hands of Christ in order to offer support and hope to persons with pregnancy, parenting, and post-abortion needs in the Syracuse area and to those with adoption needs throughout the state of New York," New Hope said.

Adoption procedures and rights among religious groups have been the subject of litigation in a number of jurisdictions, including Michigan, Pennsylvania, and the United States Supreme Court.

New Hope Family Services is an adoption agency that also offers assistance to pregnant mothers. The first adoption agency in New York was founded in 1965, and it has since extended its services to better serve the state and its inhabitants. New Hope opened its doors in 1986 to give couples contemplating motherhood counseling and information. In addition to the fees paid by adoptive parents, the adoption agency depends on contributions from churches, private organizations, and individual individuals to fund its operations.