In this 2019 photo provided by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Aimee Maddonna smiles while sitting with her children at her home ...
In this 2019 photo provided by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Aimee Maddonna smiles while sitting with her children at her home in Simpsonville, S.C. The South Carolina mother has sued both the state and federal government, saying she’s a victim of religious discrimination on the part of a federally funded foster-care agency that turned her down because of her Catholic faith. Maddonna says the agency in 2014 initially encouraged her to become a foster parent but cut off ties once realizing that she is Catholic and not a “born-again” Christian, as the agency’s internal rules require. (Courtesy of Aimee Maddonna/Americans United for Separation of Church and State via AP)
In this 2019 photo provided by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Aimee Maddonna poses in a yarn store in Simpsonville, S.C. The Sou...
In this 2019 photo provided by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Aimee Maddonna poses in a yarn store in Simpsonville, S.C. The South Carolina mother has sued both the state and federal government, saying she’s a victim of religious discrimination on the part of a federally funded foster-care agency that turned her down because of her Catholic faith. Maddonna says the agency in 2014 initially encouraged her to become a foster parent but cut off ties once realizing that she is Catholic and not a “born-again” Christian, as the agency’s internal rules require. (Courtesy of Aimee Maddonna/Americans United for Separation of Church and State via AP)
In this 2019 photo provided by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Aimee Maddonna poses at her home in Simpsonville, S.C. The South C...
In this 2019 photo provided by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Aimee Maddonna poses at her home in Simpsonville, S.C. The South Carolina mother has sued both the state and federal government, saying she’s a victim of religious discrimination on the part of a federally funded foster-care agency that turned her down because of her Catholic faith. Maddonna says the agency in 2014 initially encouraged her to become a foster parent but cut off ties once realizing that she is Catholic and not a “born-again” Christian, as the agency’s internal rules require. (Courtesy of Aimee Maddonna/Americans United for Separation of Church and State via AP)
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina mother is accusing a federally funded foster agency of not working with her because she's Catholic.
Simpsonville mother Aimee Maddonna says the agency in 2014 initially encouraged her to become a foster parent but cut off ties once realizing she's Catholic and not a "born-again" protestant Christian, as the agency's rules require.
The lawsuit filed Friday in federal court challenges a waiver granted earlier this year to Miracle Hill Ministries, a Greenville foster care agency that has come under fire for denying services to same-sex couples and non-Christian families, yet still gets federal funding.
