I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3827 

To prohibit discrimination in adoption or foster care placements based on 

the sexual orientation, gender identification, or marital status of any 

prospective adoptive or foster parent. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 15, 2009 

Mr. STARK 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 identification, or marital status of any prospective adoptive or 

foster parent. 

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 ‘‘Every Child Deserves 

5 a Family Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

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


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 3827 IH

1 (1) There is a shortage of qualified individuals 

2 willing to adopt or foster a child in the child welfare 

3 system. As a result, thousands of foster children 

4 lack a permanent and safe home. 

5 (2) In order to open more homes to foster chil6 dren, child welfare agencies should work to eliminate 

7 sexual orientation, gender identification, and marital 

8 status discrimination and bias in adoption and foster 

9 care recruitment, selection, and placement proce10 dures. 

11 (3) Of the estimated 500,000 children in the 

12 United States foster care system, over 129,000 can13 not return to their original families and are legally 

14 free for adoption. 

15 (A) Fifty-one thousand children were 

16 adopted in 2007, while 25,000 youth ‘‘aged 

17 out’’ of the foster care system. 

18 (B) Research shows that youth who ‘‘age 

19 out’’ of the foster care system are at a high risk 

20 for poverty, homelessness, incarceration, and 

21 early parenthood. 

22 (C) Increasing adoption rates, in addition 

23 to establishing permanency and decreasing risk 

24 factors for foster youth, can yield annual naVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:45 Oct 17, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3827.IH H3827

jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 3827 IH

1 tional cost savings between $3,300,000,000 and 

2 $6,300,000,000. 

3 (4) As of 2007, gay, lesbian, and bisexual par4 ents were raising 4 percent of all adopted children 

5 and fostering for 3 percent of all foster children. A 

6 report from the Evan B. Donaldson Institute found 

7 that an additional 2,000,000 gay, lesbian, and bisex8 ual individuals are interested in adoption. 

9 (5) According to the Urban Institute, same-sex 

10 couples raising adopted children tend to be older, 

11 more educated, and have more economic resources 

12 than other adoptive parents. Studies confirm that 

13 children with same-sex parents have the same ad14 vantages and same expectations for health, social 

15 and psychological adjustment, and development as 

16 children whose parents are heterosexual. 

17 (6) An Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute 

18 study found that one-third of child welfare agencies 

19 in the United States currently reject gay, lesbian, 

20 and bisexual applicants, citing a conflict with the re21 ligious beliefs associated with the agency, State law 

22 prohibiting placement with gay, lesbian, or bisexual 

23 parents, or a policy of placing children with married24 heterosexual only couples. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 3827 IH

1 (A) The practice of prohibiting applicants 

2 from becoming foster parents or adopting chil3 dren solely on the basis of sexual orientation or 

4 marital status has resulted in reducing the 

5 number of qualified adoptive and foster parents 

6 overall and denying gay, lesbian, bisexual, and 

7 unmarried relatives the opportunity to become 

8 foster parents for their own kin, including 

9 grandchildren, or to adopt their own kin, in10 cluding grandchildren, from foster care. 

11 (B) Over 14,000 children are currently in 

12 placements with gay, lesbian, and bisexual 

13 adoptive and foster parents. If other States fol14 lowed the minority of States and discriminated 

15 against qualified individuals because of their 

16 sexual orientation or marital status, foster care 

17 expenditures would increase between 

18 $87,000,000 and $130,000,000 per year in 

19 order to pay for additional institutional and 

20 group care, as well as to recruit and train new 

21 foster and adoptive parents. 

22 (7) Some States allow 1 member of a same-sex 

23 couple to adopt, but do not recognize both members 

24 of the couple as the child’s legal parents. Recogni25 tion of joint and second-parent adoption provides 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 3827 IH

1 children with the same rights and security that chil2 dren of heterosexual parents enjoy. These protec3 tions include access to both parents’ health benefits; 

4 survivor’s, Social Security, and child support entitle5 ments; legal grounds for either parent to provide 

6 consent for medical care, education, and other im7 portant decisions; as well as the establishment of 

8 permanency for both parents and child. 

9 (8) Professional organizations in the fields of 

10 medicine, law, and child welfare have taken official 

11 positions in support of the ability of qualified gay, 

12 lesbian, bisexual, and unmarried couples to foster 

13 and adopt, as supported by scientific research show14 ing sexual orientation as a nondeterminative factor 

15 in parental success. 

16 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to de17 crease the length of time that children wait for perma18 nency with a loving family and to promote the best inter19 ests of children in the child welfare system by preventing 

20 discrimination in adoption and foster care placements 

21 based on sexual orientation, gender identification, or mar22 ital status. 

23 SEC. 3. EVERY CHILD DESERVES A FAMILY. 

24 (a) ACTIVITIES.— 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 3827 IH

1 (1) PROHIBITION.—An entity that receives Fed2 eral assistance and is involved in adoption or foster 

3 care placements may not— 

4 (A) categorically deny to any person the 

5 opportunity to become an adoptive or a foster 

6 parent solely on the basis of the sexual orienta7 tion, gender identification, or marital status of 

8 the person; 

9 (B) delay or deny the placement of a child 

10 for adoption or into foster care, or otherwise 

11 discriminate in making a placement decision, 

12 solely on the basis of the sexual orientation, 

13 gender identification, or marital status of any 

14 prospective adoptive or foster parent; or 

15 (C) deny or limit the parental rights of an 

16 adoptive parent based on the adoptive parent’s 

17 sexual orientation, gender identification, or 

18 marital status. 

19 (2) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

20 ‘‘placement decision’’ means the decision to place, or 

21 to delay or deny the placement of, a child in a foster 

22 care or an adoptive home, and includes the decision 

23 of the agency or entity involved to seek the termi24 nation of birth parent rights or otherwise make a 

25 child legally available for adoptive placement. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 3827 IH

1 (b) EQUITABLE RELIEF.—Any individual who is ag2 grieved by an action in violation of subsection (a) may 

3 bring an action seeking relief in a United States district 

4 court of appropriate jurisdiction. 

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

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

7 of Health and Human Services shall publish guidance to 

8 concerned entities with respect to compliance with this 

9 section. 

10 (d) DEADLINE FOR COMPLIANCE.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para12 graph (2), an entity that receives Federal assistance 

13 and is involved with adoption or foster care place14 ments shall comply with this section not later than 

15 6 months after publication of the guidance referred 

16 to in subsection (c), or 1 year after the date of the 

17 enactment of this Act, whichever occurs first. 

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

19 State demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Sec20 retary of Health and Human Services that it is nec21 essary to amend State statutory law in order to 

22 change a particular practice that is inconsistent with 

23 this section, the Secretary may extend the compli24 ance date for the State a reasonable number of days 

25 after the close of the first State legislative session 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 3827 IH

1 beginning after the date the guidance referred to in 

2 subsection (c) is published. 

3 (3) AUTHORITY TO WITHHOLD FUNDS.—If a 

4 State fails to comply with this section, the Secretary 

5 may withhold payment to the State of amounts oth6 erwise payable to the State under part B or E of 

7 title IV of the Social Security Act, to the extent the 

8 Secretary deems the withholding necessary to induce 

9 the State into compliance with this section. 

10 (e) GAO STUDY.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Within 5 years after the 

12 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 

13 General of the United States shall conduct a study 

14 to determine whether the States have substantially 

15 complied with this Act, including specifically whether 

16 the States have— 

17 (A) eliminated policies, practices, or stat18 utes that deny to any otherwise qualified person 

19 the opportunity to become an adoptive or foster 

20 parent solely on the basis of the sexual orienta21 tion, gender identification, or marital status of 

22 the person; 

23 (B) removed all program, policy, or statu24 tory barriers that delay or deny the placement 

25 of a child for adoption or into foster care, or 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 3827 IH

1 otherwise discriminate in making a placement 

2 decision, solely on the basis of the sexual ori3 entation, gender identification, or marital status 

4 of any qualified, prospective adoptive or foster 

5 parent; and 

6 (C) eliminated all policies, practices, or 

7 statutes that deny or limit the parental rights 

8 of an adoptive parent based on the adoptive 

9 parent’s sexual orientation, gender identifica10 tion, or marital status. 

11 (2) REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.—Within 1 year 

12 after completing the study required by paragraph 

13 (1), the Comptroller General shall submit to the 

14 Congress a written report that contains the results 

15 of the study. 

Æ 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS