II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4629 

To prohibit discrimination on the basis of religion, sex (including sexual 

orientation and gender identity), and marital status in the administration 

and provision of child welfare services, to improve safety, well-being, 

and permanency for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or 

questioning foster youth, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 20, 2024 

Mrs. GILLIBRAND (for herself, Mr. WYDEN, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BENNET, Mr. 

BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. BROWN, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. CARDIN, 

Mr. CARPER, Mr. CASEY, Mr. COONS, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Ms. 

DUCKWORTH, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. FETTERMAN, Mr. HICKENLOOPER, Ms. 

HIRONO, Mr. KAINE, Mr. KELLY, Mr. KING, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. 

LUJA ́N, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. MURPHY, 

Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. OSSOFF, Mr. PADILLA, Mr. PETERS, Mr. REED, Ms. 

ROSEN, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. SCHATZ, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Ms. SINEMA, Ms. 

SMITH, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. WARREN, Mr. WELCH, 

and Mr. WHITEHOUSE) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To prohibit discrimination on the basis of religion, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), and marital status in the administration and provision of child 

welfare services, to improve safety, well-being, and permanency for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and 

queer or questioning foster youth, and for other purposes. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘John Lewis Every 

5 Child Deserves a Family Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Every child or youth unable to live with 

9 their family of origin is entitled to a supportive and 

10 affirming foster care placement. Federal law re11 quires, and child welfare experts recommend, that 

12 children and youth be placed with a family or in the 

13 most family-like setting available. 

14 (2) Thousands of children and youth lack a sta15 ble, safe, and loving temporary or permanent home 

16 and have been placed in a congregate care setting, 

17 which is associated with more placements, poorer 

18 educational outcomes, and greater risk of further 

19 trauma. More homes are needed to accommodate the 

20 growing number of children and youth involved with 

21 child welfare services. 

22 (3) On the last day of fiscal year 2022, there 

23 were an estimated 368,000 children and youth in the 

24 United States foster care system, and 108,000 were 

25 waiting to be adopted. Tragically, approximately 


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1 18,000 ‘‘aged out’’ of the child welfare system with2 out a forever family, placing them at higher risk of 

3 negative outcomes including poverty, homelessness, 

4 incarceration, and early parenthood. 

5 (4) Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

6 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.) protects people from discrimi7 nation based on race, color, or national origin in 

8 programs, activities, and services administered or 

9 performed by child welfare agencies. Eliminating dis10 crimination in child welfare based on religion, sex 

11 (including sexual orientation and gender identity), 

12 and marital status would increase the number and 

13 diversity of foster and adoptive homes able to meet 

14 the individual needs of children and youth removed 

15 from their homes. 

16 (5) Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and 

17 queer or questioning (referred to in this Act as 

18 ‘‘LGBTQ’’) youth are overrepresented in the foster 

19 care system by at least a factor of 2, comprising at 

20 least 30 percent of children and youth in foster care. 

21 These numbers are higher for transgender and non22 binary youth compared to their cisgender LGBQ 

23 counterparts. 

24 (A) While some LGBTQ youth enter foster 

25 care for similar reasons as non-LGBTQ youth, 


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1 the 2 most common reasons for LGBTQ youth 

2 are high rates of physical abuse and conflict 

3 with parents. 

4 (B) LGBTQ foster youth report twice the 

5 rate of poor treatment while in care experienced 

6 by foster youth who do not identify as LGBTQ 

7 and are more likely to experience discrimina8 tion, harassment, and violence in the child wel9 fare system than their LGBTQ peers not in the 

10 child welfare system. 

11 (C) Because of high levels of bias, LGBTQ 

12 foster youth have a higher average number of 

13 placements and higher likelihood of living in a 

14 group home than their non-LGBTQ peers, neg15 atively affecting mental health outcomes and 

16 long-term prospects. 

17 (D) Approximately 28 percent of homeless 

18 youth with histories of time in foster care iden19 tified as LGBTQ and were significantly more 

20 likely to experience 7 of 8 adverse events, such 

21 as being physically harmed, or being stig22 matized or discriminated against, compared to 

23 their peers with no foster care history. 

24 (E) LGBTQ youth in foster care had near25 ly 3 times greater odds of reporting a past-year 


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1 suicide attempt compared to LGBTQ youth 

2 who were never in foster care (35 percent for 

3 those youth in foster care as compared to 13 

4 percent for those youth who were never in fos5 ter care). These numbers were even higher for 

6 LGBTQ foster youth of color (38 percent) and 

7 highest for transgender and nonbinary foster 

8 youth (45 percent). 

9 (F) LGBTQ youth who had been in foster 

10 care had over 3 times greater odds of being 

11 kicked out, abandoned, or running away due to 

12 treatment based on their LGBTQ identity com13 pared to those who were never in foster care 

14 (27 percent for those youth who had been in 

15 foster care as compared to 8 percent for those 

16 youth who had never been in foster care). These 

17 numbers were higher for LGBTQ foster youth 

18 of color (30 percent) and transgender and non19 binary foster youth (40 percent). 

20 (6) ‘‘Conversion therapy’’ is a form of discrimi21 nation that harms LGBTQ people. It undermines an 

22 individual’s sense of self-worth, increases suicide ide23 ation and substance abuse, exacerbates family con24 flict, and contributes to second-class status. No sci25 entifically valid evidence supports this discredited 


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1 practice, which is prohibited by many States and 

2 foreign nations. Approximately 350,000 LGBTQ 

3 adults were subjected to so-called ‘‘conversion ther4 apy’’ as adolescents, and an estimated 16,000 

5 LGBTQ youth ages 13 to 17 will be subjected to it 

6 by a licensed health care professional before age 18. 

7 (7) Many youth, especially LGBTQ youth, in8 volved with child welfare services identify with a 

9 cross-section of marginalized communities. Youth of 

10 color are overrepresented in the foster care system, 

11 and the majority of LGBTQ foster youth are youth 

12 of color. Children and youth with multiple margina13 lized identities often experience more stress and 

14 trauma than other youth, compounding the negative 

15 effects of discrimination and increasing the likeli16 hood of negative outcomes. 

17 (8) Prospective parents who experience the 

18 heartbreak and dignitary harm of discrimination 

19 based on religion, sex (including sexual orientation 

20 and gender identity), or marital status may not be 

21 able or willing to apply at another agency, resulting 

22 in fewer available homes, and knowing that discrimi23 nation exists may deter them from even attempting 

24 to foster or adopt. 


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1 (9) Professional organizations that serve chil2 dren in the fields of medicine, psychology, law, and 

3 child welfare oppose discrimination against prospec4 tive parents in adoption and foster care. 

5 (10) Religious organizations play a critical role 

6 in providing child welfare services. Most welcome all 

7 children, youth, and families and affirm a diversity 

8 of religions and faiths. State assessments, planning, 

9 and counseling should connect children and youth 

10 for whom spirituality and religion are important 

11 with affirming, faith-based resources consistent with 

12 the faith of the child or youth. 

13 (11) Child welfare agencies that refuse to serve 

14 same-sex couples and LGBTQ individuals reduce the 

15 pool of qualified and available homes for children 

16 and youth who need placement on a temporary or 

17 permanent basis. 

18 (A) Same-sex couples are 7 times more 

19 likely to foster and adopt than their different20 sex counterparts. 

21 (B) Same-sex couples raising adopted chil22 dren tend to be older than, just as educated as, 

23 and have access to the same economic resources 

24 as other adoptive parents. 


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1 (C) Research shows that sexual orientation 

2 is a nondeterminative factor in parental success 

3 and that children with same-sex parents have 

4 the same advantages and expectations for 

5 health, social, and psychological development as 

6 children whose parents are different-sex. 

7 (D) Discrimination against qualified pro8 spective foster and adoptive parents for non9 merit related reasons denies religious minority, 

10 LGBTQ, and unmarried relatives the oppor11 tunity to become foster and adoptive parents 

12 for their own kin in care, including grand13 children. 

14 (12) LGBTQ families of origin are at risk for 

15 discrimination in child welfare referrals, investiga16 tions, removals, reunification, kinship placements, 

17 and other case management services. A study of low18 income African-American mothers showed that those 

19 who identified as lesbian or bisexual were 4 times 

20 more likely than their non-LGBTQ counterparts to 

21 lose custody of their children in child welfare pro22 ceedings. LGBTQ-positive services are necessary to 

23 shield families and protect parents’ rights to reunifi24 cation. 


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1 (13) Single people are more likely than couples 

2 to experience challenges in adopting due to biases 

3 that persist against single-parent adoption. During 

4 fiscal year 2022, 29 percent of adoptions from foster 

5 care were completed by unmarried single people, in6 cluding adoptions by some 2000 single men and 

7 more than 13,000 single women. Studies show that 

8 the outcomes for children adopted and raised by sin9 gle parents are just as good as, if not better than, 

10 outcomes for children adopted by couples. 

11 (14) More nationwide data about the experi12 ences of LGBTQ children and youth involved with 

13 child welfare services is needed to understand fully 

14 the extent and impact of discrimination and ensure 

15 accountability. States must report and researchers 

16 must collect this sensitive data in an ethical, affirm17 ing, and non-intrusive manner, with appropriate 

18 safeguards to protect respondents. 

19 (b) PURPOSE.—The purposes of this Act are— 

20 (1) to prohibit discrimination on the basis of re21 ligion, sex (including sexual orientation and gender 

22 identity), and marital status in the administration 

23 and provision of child welfare services that receive 

24 Federal funds; and 


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1 (2) to improve safety, well-being, and perma2 nency for LGBTQ children and youth involved with 

3 child welfare services. 

4 SEC. 3. EVERY CHILD DESERVES A FAMILY. 

5 (a) PROHIBITION.—No child or youth involved with 

6 child welfare services, family, or individual shall, on the 

7 grounds of religion, sex (including sexual orientation and 

8 gender identity), or marital status, be excluded from par9 ticipation in, denied the benefits of, or be subjected to dis10 crimination in the administration or provision of child wel11 fare programs and services by a covered entity. 

12 (b) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—Any individual who 

13 is aggrieved by a violation of this Act may bring a civil 

14 action seeking relief in an appropriate United States dis15 trict court. The court shall award a plaintiff prevailing in 

16 such an action all appropriate relief, including injunctive, 

17 declaratory, and other equitable relief necessary to carry 

18 out this Act, attorneys’ fees, and such other relief as the 

19 court determines appropriate. 

20 (c) FEDERAL GUIDANCE.—Not later than 6 months 

21 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

22 shall publish and disseminate guidance with respect to 

23 compliance with this Act. 

24 (d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—In order to ensure 

25 compliance with and understanding of the legal, practice, 


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1 and cultural changes required by this Act, the Secretary 

2 shall provide technical assistance to all covered entities, 

3 including— 

4 (1) identifying State laws and regulations in5 consistent with this Act, and providing guidance and 

6 training to ensure the State laws and regulations are 

7 brought into compliance with this Act by the appli8 cable compliance deadline in effect under subsection 

9 (h); 

10 (2) identifying casework practices and proce11 dures inconsistent with this Act and providing guid12 ance and training to ensure the practices and proce13 dures are brought into compliance with this Act by 

14 the applicable compliance deadline; 

15 (3) providing guidance in expansion of recruit16 ment efforts to ensure consideration of all prospec17 tive adoptive and foster parents regardless of the re18 ligion, sex (including sexual orientation and gender 

19 identity), or marital status of the prospective parent; 

20 (4) creating comprehensive cultural competency 

21 training for covered entities and prospective adoptive 

22 and foster parents; and 

23 (5) training judges and attorneys involved in 

24 foster care, guardianship, and adoption cases on the 

25 findings and purposes of this Act. 


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1 (e) SERVICE DELIVERY AND TRAINING.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—A covered entity shall pro3 vide service delivery to children and youth involved 

4 with child welfare services, families, and adults, and 

5 staff training, that— 

6 (A) comprehensively addresses the indi7 vidual strengths and needs of children and 

8 youth involved with child welfare services; and 

9 (B) is language appropriate, gender appro10 priate, and culturally sensitive and respectful of 

11 the complex social identities of the children and 

12 youth, families, and adults currently or prospec13 tively participating in or receiving child welfare 

14 services. 

15 (2) SOCIAL IDENTITY.—In this subsection, the 

16 term ‘‘social identity’’ includes an individual’s race, 

17 ethnicity, nationality, age, religion (including spiritu18 ality), sex (including gender identity and sexual ori19 entation), socioeconomic status, physical or cognitive 

20 ability, language, beliefs, values, behavior patterns, 

21 and customs. 

22 (f) DATA COLLECTION.—Using developmentally ap23 propriate best practices, the Secretary shall collect data 

24 through the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Re25 porting System on— 


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1 (1) the sexual orientation and gender identity of 

2 children and youth involved with child welfare serv3 ices and foster and adoptive parents; and 

4 (2) whether family conflict related to the sexual 

5 orientation or gender identity of a child or youth 

6 was a factor in the removal of the child or youth 

7 from the family. 

8 (g) NATIONAL RESOURCE CENTER ON SAFETY, 

9 WELL-BEING, PLACEMENT STABILITY, AND PERMA10 NENCY FOR LGBTQ CHILDREN AND YOUTH INVOLVED

11 WITH CHILD WELFARE SERVICES.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

13 and maintain the National Resource Center on Safe14 ty, Well-Being, Placement Stability, and Perma15 nency for LGBTQ Children and Youth Involved with 

16 Child Welfare Services (referred to in this Act as the 

17 ‘‘National Resource Center’’) that will promote well18 being, safety, permanency, stability, and family 

19 placement for LGBTQ children and youth involved 

20 with child welfare services, through training, tech21 nical assistance, actions, and guidance that— 

22 (A) increase LGBTQ cultural competency 

23 among the staff of covered entities, and foster, 

24 adoptive, and relative parents, guardians, and 

25 caregivers; 


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1 (B) promote the provision of child welfare 

2 services that address the specific needs of 

3 LGBTQ children and youth involved with child 

4 welfare services and their families; 

5 (C) promote effective and responsible col6 lection and management of data on the sexual 

7 orientation and gender identity of children and 

8 youth in the child welfare system, with appro9 priate safeguards to protect the data; 

10 (D) identify and promote promising prac11 tices and evidence-based models of engagement 

12 and appropriate collective and individual serv13 ices and interventions that can be linked to im14 proved outcomes for LGBTQ children and 

15 youth in the child welfare system; 

16 (E) endorse best practices for human re17 source activities of covered entities, including in 

18 hiring, staff development, and implementing a 

19 system of accountability to carry out those best 

20 practices; and 

21 (F) initiate other actions that improve 

22 safety, well-being, placement stability, and per23 manency outcomes for LGBTQ children and 

24 youth involved with child welfare services at the 

25 State and local level. 


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1 (2) ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary shall carry out 

2 the collection and analysis of data and the dissemi3 nation of research to carry out this subsection. 

4 (3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

5 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec6 retary such sums as may be necessary to establish 

7 and maintain the National Resource Center and 

8 carry out the activities described in this subsection. 

9 (h) DEADLINE FOR COMPLIANCE.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para11 graph (2), a covered entity shall comply with this 

12 section not later than 6 months after publication of 

13 the guidance referred to in subsection (c), or 1 year 

14 after the date of the enactment of this Act, which15 ever occurs first. 

16 (2) AUTHORITY TO EXTEND DEADLINE.—If a 

17 State demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Sec18 retary that it is necessary to amend State law in 

19 order to change a particular practice that is incon20 sistent with this Act, the Secretary may extend the 

21 compliance date for the State and any covered enti22 ties in the State a reasonable number of days after 

23 the close of the first State legislative session begin24 ning after the date the guidance referred to in sub25 section (c) is published. 


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1 (3) AUTHORITY TO WITHHOLD FUNDS.—If the 

2 Secretary finds that a covered entity has failed to 

3 comply with this Act, the Secretary may withhold 

4 payment to the State of amounts otherwise payable 

5 to the State under part B or E of title IV of the 

6 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq.; 42 

7 U.S.C. 670 et seq.), to the extent determined by the 

8 Secretary. 

9 (i) GAO STUDY.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 

11 the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 

12 General of the United States shall conduct a study 

13 to determine whether the States have substantially 

14 complied with this Act, including specifically whether 

15 the States have— 

16 (A) eliminated all policies, practices, or 

17 laws that permit a covered entity to violate sub18 section (a); 

19 (B) provided necessary training and tech20 nical support to covered entities to ensure all 

21 services to children and youth involved with 

22 child welfare services are carried out in a non23 discriminatory, affirming, safe, and culturally 

24 competent manner; 


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1 (C) collected data necessary to accom2 plishing the purposes of this Act, and ensured 

3 that the data is appropriately safeguarded, in4 cluding data related to— 

5 (i) the sexual orientation and gender 

6 identity of children and youth involved 

7 with child welfare services; 

8 (ii) the permanency and placement 

9 outcomes and rates for those children and 

10 youth, as compared to their non-LGBTQ 

11 peers; 

12 (iii) the rates at which those children 

13 and youth are placed in family homes as 

14 compared to congregate or group homes; 

15 and 

16 (iv) the sexual orientation, gender 

17 identity, and marital status of foster and 

18 adoptive parents, as well as the placement 

19 rates and wait periods for those foster and 

20 adoptive parents; and 

21 (D) ensured that covered entities— 

22 (i) are in compliance with this Act; 

23 and 

24 (ii) have implemented procedures for 

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1 fare services, or individuals or families par2 ticipating in, or seeking to participate in, 

3 child welfare services, to report violations 

4 of this Act. 

5 (2) REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.—Not later 

6 than 6 months after completing the study required 

7 by paragraph (1), the Comptroller General shall sub8 mit to the Committee on Ways and Means of the 

9 House of Representatives and the Committee on Fi10 nance of the Senate a written report that contains 

11 the results of the study. 

12 (j) RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.— 

13 (1) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

14 Act shall be construed to invalidate or limit rights, 

15 remedies, or legal standards under title VI of the 

16 Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.). 

17 (2) CERTAIN CLAIMS.—The Religious Freedom 

18 Restoration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 2000bb et seq.) 

19 shall not provide a claim concerning, or a defense to 

20 a claim under, this Act, or provide a basis for chal21 lenging the application or enforcement of this Act. 

22 (k) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

23 (1) CHILD OR YOUTH INVOLVED WITH CHILD

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1 vidual, aged 23 or younger, who participates in child 

2 welfare programs or services that receive Federal fi3 nancial assistance under part A, B, or E of title IV 

4 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.; 

5 42 U.S.C. 621 et seq.; 42 U.S.C. 670 et seq.), title 

6 XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et 

7 seq.), or title XX of the Social Security Act (42 

8 U.S.C. 1397 et seq.). 

9 (2) CONVERSION THERAPY.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘conversion 

11 therapy’’ means a form of discrimination that 

12 includes any practice or treatment which seeks 

13 to change the sexual orientation or gender iden14 tity of an individual, including efforts to change 

15 behaviors or gender expressions or to eliminate 

16 or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feel17 ings toward individuals of the same gender. 

18 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘conversion 

19 therapy’’ does not include counseling that pro20 vides assistance to an individual undergoing 

21 gender transition, or counseling that provides 

22 acceptance, support, and understanding of an 

23 individual or facilitates an individual with cop24 ing, social support, and identity exploration and 

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1 tral interventions to prevent or address unlaw2 ful conduct or unsafe sexual practices. 

3 (3) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered en4 tity’’ means an entity that— 

5 (A) receives Federal financial assistance 

6 under part A, B, or E of title IV of the Social 

7 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.; 42 U.S.C. 

8 621 et seq.; 42 U.S.C. 670 et seq.), title XIX 

9 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et 

10 seq.), or title XX of the Social Security Act (42 

11 U.S.C. 1397 et seq.); and 

12 (B) is involved in the administration or 

13 provision of child welfare programs or services. 

14 (4) GENDER IDENTITY.—The term ‘‘gender 

15 identity’’ means the gender-related identity, appear16 ance, mannerisms, or other gender-related character17 istics of an individual, regardless of the designated 

18 sex of the individual at birth. 

19 (5) RELIGION; SEX (INCLUDING SEXUAL ORI20 ENTATION AND GENDER IDENTITY), OR MARITAL

21 STATUS.—The term ‘‘religion, sex (including sexual 

22 orientation and gender identity), or marital status’’, 

23 used with respect to an individual, includes— 

24 (A) the religion, sex (including sexual ori25 entation and gender identity), or marital status, 


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1 respectively, of another person with whom the 

2 individual is or has been associated; and 

3 (B) a perception or belief, even if inac4 curate, concerning the religion, sex (including 

5 sexual orientation and gender identity), or mar6 ital status, respectively, of the individual. 

7 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

8 the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

9 (7) SEX.—The term ‘‘sex’’ includes— 

10 (A) a sex stereotype; 

11 (B) pregnancy, childbirth, or a related 

12 medical condition; 

13 (C) sexual orientation or gender identity; 

14 and 

15 (D) sex characteristics, including intersex 

16 traits. 

17 (8) SEXUAL ORIENTATION.—The term ‘‘sexual 

18 orientation’’ means homosexuality, heterosexuality, 

19 or bisexuality. 

20 (9) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

21 the 50 States of the United States, the District of 

22 Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 

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1 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Amer2 ican Samoa. 

Æ 


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