Every Child Deserves a Family Act - Prohibits an entity that receives federal assistance and is involved in adoption or foster care placements from discriminating against prospective adoptive or foster parents solely on the basis of their sexual orientation, gender identification, or marital status or on the basis of the sexual orientation or gender identity of the child involved.
Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), in order to ensure compliance with, and ensure understanding of the legal, practice, and culture changes required by this Act in making foster care and adoption placement decisions, to provide specified technical assistance to all entities covered by this Act.
Requires a Government Accountability Office study whether states have substantially complied with this Act in eliminating policies, practices, or statutes that deny adoption rights on the basis of these criteria.
[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4806 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4806
To prohibit discrimination in adoption or foster care placements based
on the sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status of any
prospective adoptive or foster parent, or the sexual orientation or
gender identity of the child involved.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 10, 2010
Mr. Stark (for himself, Mr. Grijalva, Ms. Linda T. Sanchez of
California, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Ms. Berkley, Mr. Rothman of New
Jersey, Ms. Baldwin, Ms. Chu, and Mr. Hastings of Florida) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and
Means
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit discrimination in adoption or foster care placements based
on the sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status of any
prospective adoptive or foster parent, or the sexual orientation or
gender identity of the child involved.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Every Child Deserves a Family
Act''.
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
(1) There is a shortage of qualified individuals willing to
adopt or foster a child in the child welfare system. As a
result, thousands of foster children lack a permanent and safe
home.
(2) In order to open more homes to foster children, child
welfare agencies should work to eliminate sexual orientation,
gender identity, and marital status discrimination and bias in
adoption and foster care recruitment, selection, and placement
procedures.
(3) Of the estimated 500,000 children in the United States
foster care system, over 129,000 cannot return to their
original families and are legally free for adoption.
(A) 51,000 children were adopted in 2007, while
25,000 youth ``aged out'' of the foster care system.
(B) Research shows that youth who ``age out'' of
the foster care system are at a high risk for poverty,
homelessness, incarceration, and early parenthood.
(C) Increasing adoption rates, in addition to
establishing permanency and decreasing risk factors for
foster youth, can yield annual national cost savings
between $3,300,000,000 and $6,300,000,000.
(4) Experts agree that in many States, lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender youth experience discrimination,
harassment, and violence in the foster care system because of
their sexual orientation or gender identity.
(5) Approximately 60 percent of homeless lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender youth were previously in foster care.
According to the Urban Justice Center, many of these young
people reported that living on the streets felt ``safer'' than
living in their group or foster home.
(6) According to data taken from the 2000 Census, an
estimated 27 percent of same-sex couples have at least 1 child
under 18 years of age living in the home.
(7) There are approximately 1,000,000 lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender couples throughout the United States
who are raising approximately 2,000,000 children.
(8) As of 2007, gay, lesbian, and bisexual parents were
raising 4 percent of all adopted children and fostering for 3
percent of all foster children. A report from the Evan B.
Donaldson Institute found that an additional 2,000,000 gay,
lesbian, and bisexual individuals are interested in adoption.
(9) According to the Urban Institute, same-sex couples
raising adopted children tend to be older than, just as
educated as, and have access to the same economic resources as
other adoptive parents. Studies confirm that children with
same-sex parents have the same advantages and same expectations
for health, social and psychological adjustment, and
development as children whose parents are heterosexual.
(10) An Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute study found
that one-third of child welfare agencies in the United States
currently reject gay, lesbian, and bisexual applicants.
(A) The practice of prohibiting applicants from
becoming foster parents or adopting children solely on
the basis of sexual orientation or marital status has
resulted in reducing the number of qualified adoptive
and foster parents overall and denying gay, lesbian,
bisexual, and unmarried relatives the opportunity to
become foster parents for their own kin, including
grandchildren, or to adopt their own kin, including
grandchildren, from foster care.
(B) Over 14,000 children are currently in
placements with gay, lesbian, and bisexual adoptive and
foster parents. If other States followed the minority
of States and discriminated against qualified
individuals because of their sexual orientation or
marital status, foster care expenditures would increase
between $87,000,000 and $130,000,000 per year in order
to pay for additional institutional and group care, as
well as to recruit and train new foster and adoptive
parents.
(11) Some States allow 1 member of a same-sex couple to
adopt, but do not recognize both members of the couple as the
child's legal parents. Recognition of joint adoption provides
children with the same rights and security that children of
heterosexual parents enjoy. These protections include access to
both parents' health benefits; survivor's, Social Security, and
child support entitlements; legal grounds for either parent to
provide consent for medical care, education, and other
important decisions; as well as the establishment of permanency
for both parents and child.
(12) Professional organizations in the fields of medicine,
psychology, law, and child welfare have taken official
positions in support of the ability of qualified gay, lesbian,
bisexual, and unmarried couples to foster and adopt, as
supported by scientific research showing sexual orientation as
a nondeterminative factor in parental success.
(13) Discrimination against potential foster or adoptive
parents based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or
marital status is not in the best interests of children in the
foster care system.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are to decrease the length
of time that children wait for permanency with a loving family and to
promote the best interests of children in the child welfare system by
preventing discrimination in adoption and foster care placements based
on sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status.
SEC. 3. EVERY CHILD DESERVES A FAMILY.
(a) Activities.--
(1) Prohibition.--An entity that receives Federal
assistance or contracts with an entity that receives Federal
assistance, and is involved in adoption or foster care
placements may not--
(A) deny to any person the opportunity to become an
adoptive or a foster parent on the basis of the sexual
orientation, gender identity, or marital status of the
person, or the sexual orientation or gender identity of
the child involved;
(B) delay or deny the placement of a child for
adoption or into foster care on the basis of the sexual
orientation, gender identity, or marital status of any
prospective adoptive or foster parent, or the sexual
orientation or gender identity of the child; or
(C) require different or additional screenings,
processes, or procedures for adoptive or foster
placement decisions on the basis of the sexual
orientation, gender identity, or marital status of the
prospective adoptive or foster parent, or the sexual
orientation or gender identity of the child involved.
(2) Definition.--In this subsection, the term ``placement
decision'' means the decision to place, or to delay or deny the
placement of, a child in a foster care or an adoptive home, and
includes the decision of the agency or entity involved to seek
the termination of birth parent rights or otherwise make a
child legally available for adoptive placement.
(b) Equitable Relief.--Any individual who is aggrieved by an action
in violation of subsection (a) may bring an action seeking relief in a
United States district court of appropriate jurisdiction.
(c) Federal Guidance.--Not later than 6 months after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services
shall publish guidance to concerned entities with respect to compliance
with this section.
(d) Technical Assistance.--In order to ensure compliance with, and
ensure understanding of the legal, practice, and culture changes
required by, this Act in making foster care and adoption placement
decisions, the Secretary shall provide technical assistance to all
entities covered by this Act, including--
(1) identifying laws and regulations inconsistent with this
Act and providing guidance and training to ensure the laws and
regulations are brought into compliance within the prescribed
period of time;
(2) identifying casework practices and procedures
inconsistent with this Act and providing guidance and training
to ensure the practices and procedures are brought into
compliance within the prescribed period of time;
(3) providing guidance in expansion of recruitment efforts
to ensure consideration of all interested and qualified
prospective adoptive and foster parents regardless of the
sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status of the
prospective parent;
(4) comprehensive cultural competency training for covered
entities and prospective adoptive and foster parents; and
(5) training judges and attorneys involved in foster care
and adoption cases on the findings and purposes of this Act.
(e) Deadline for Compliance.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), an
entity that receives Federal assistance and is involved with
adoption or foster care placements shall comply with this
section not later than 6 months after publication of the
guidance referred to in subsection (c), or 1 year after the
date of the enactment of this Act, whichever occurs first.
(2) Authority to extend deadline.--If a State demonstrates
to the satisfaction of the Secretary of Health and Human
Services that it is necessary to amend State statutory law in
order to change a particular practice that is inconsistent with
this section, the Secretary may extend the compliance date for
the State a reasonable number of days after the close of the
1st State legislative session beginning after the date the
guidance referred to in subsection (c) is published.
(3) Authority to withhold funds.--If a State fails to
comply with this section, the Secretary may withhold payment to
the State of amounts otherwise payable to the State under part
B or E of title IV of the Social Security Act, to the extent
the Secretary deems the withholding necessary to induce the
State into compliance with this section.
(f) GAO Study.--
(1) In general.--Within 5 years after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United
States shall conduct a study to determine whether the States
have substantially complied with this Act, including
specifically whether the States have--
(A) eliminated policies, practices, or statutes
that deny to any otherwise qualified person the
opportunity to become an adoptive or foster parent on
the basis of the sexual orientation, gender identity,
or marital status of the person, or the sexual
orientation or gender identity of the child involved;
(B) removed all program, policy, or statutory
barriers that delay or deny the placement of a child
for adoption or into foster care on the basis of the
sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status
of any qualified, prospective adoptive or foster
parent, or the sexual orientation or gender identity of
the child; and
(C) eliminated all different or additional
screenings, processes, or procedures for adoptive or
foster placement decisions based on the sexual
orientation, gender identity, or marital status of the
prospective adoptive or foster parent, or the sexual
orientation or gender identity of the child involved.
(2) Report to the congress.--Within 1 year after completing
the study required by paragraph (1), the Comptroller General
shall submit to the Congress a written report that contains the
results of the study.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support.
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