II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 3438 

To prohibit entities receiving Federal assistance that are involved in adoption 

or foster care placements from delaying or denying placements under 

certain conditions. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 7, 2023 

Mr. COTTON introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To prohibit entities receiving Federal assistance that are 

involved in adoption or foster care placements from delaying or denying placements under certain conditions. 

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 ‘‘Sensible Adoption For 

5 Every Home Act’’ or the ‘‘SAFE Home Act’’. 

2 

•S 3438 IS

1 SEC. 2. STATE PLAN REQUIREMENT UNDER THE FEDERAL 

2 FOSTER CARE AND ADOPTION ASSISTANCE 

3 PROGRAM. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 471(a) of the Social Secu5 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)) is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

7 (36); 

8 (2) by striking the period at the end of para9 graph (37) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

10 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(38)(A) prohibits any entity that receives Fed12 eral assistance and is involved in adoption or foster 

13 care placements from delaying or denying the place14 ment of a minor child for adoption or into foster 

15 care, or otherwise discriminating in making a place16 ment decision with a prospective or actual adoptive 

17 or foster parent, for any of the following reasons— 

18 ‘‘(i) the parent raises, cares for, and ad19 dresses a child in a manner consistent with the 

20 child’s sex; 

21 ‘‘(ii) the parent declines to consent to a 

22 child receiving any medical, surgical, pharma23 cological, or psychological treatment or other 

24 medical or mental health service for the purpose 

25 of attempting to alter the appearance of, or to 

26 validate a child’s perception of, the child’s sex, 

3 

•S 3438 IS

1 if the appearance or perception is inconsistent 

2 with the child’s sex; or 

3 ‘‘(iii) the parent declines to consent to an 

4 amendment or alteration to a child’s birth cer5 tificate, passport, driver’s license, school 

6 records, or other government-issued identifica7 tion document, if the amendment or alteration 

8 is inconsistent with the child’s sex; and 

9 ‘‘(B) for purposes of this paragraph, defines— 

10 ‘‘(i) the term ‘sex’ as biological sex, either 

11 male or female; 

12 ‘‘(ii) the term ‘female’ as an individual who 

13 has, had, will have, or but for a developmental 

14 or genetic anomaly or historical accident would 

15 have, a reproductive system that at some point 

16 produces, transports, and utilizes eggs for fer17 tilization; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) the term ‘male’ as an individual who 

19 has, had, will have, or but for a developmental 

20 or genetic anomaly or historical accident would 

21 have, a reproductive system that at some point 

22 produces, transports, and utilizes sperm for fer23 tilization.’’. 

24 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

4 

•S 3438 IS

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendment made by 

2 this Act shall take effect on the 1st day of the 1st 

3 fiscal quarter beginning on or after the date of the 

4 enactment of this Act, and shall apply to payments 

5 under part E of title IV of the Social Security Act 

6 for calendar quarters beginning on or after such 

7 date. 

8 (2) DELAY PERMITTED IF STATE LEGISLATION

9 REQUIRED.—If the Secretary of Health and Human 

10 Services determines that State legislation (other 

11 than legislation appropriating funds) is required in 

12 order for a State plan developed pursuant to part E 

13 of title IV of the Social Security Act to meet the ad14 ditional requirements imposed by the amendments 

15 made by this Act, the plan shall not be regarded as 

16 failing to meet any of the additional requirements 

17 before the 1st day of the 1st calendar quarter begin18 ning after the first regular session of the State legis19 lature that begins after the date of the enactment of 

20 this Act. For purposes of the preceding sentence, if 

21 the State has a 2-year legislative session, each year 

22 of the session is deemed to be a separate regular 

23 session of the State legislature. 

Æ