I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3114 

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/questioning foster youth; and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 5, 2019 

Mr. LEWIS (for himself and Miss GONZA ́LEZ-COLO ́N of Puerto Rico) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways 

and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 

for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 

for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 

committee concerned 

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/questioning foster youth; and for other purposes. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Every Child Deserves 

3 a Family Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

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

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

7 their family of origin is entitled to a supportive and 

8 affirming foster care placement. Federal law re9 quires, and child welfare experts recommend, that 

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

11 most family-like setting available. 

12 (2) Thousands of children and youth lack a sta13 ble, safe, and loving temporary or permanent home 

14 and have been placed in a congregate care setting, 

15 which is associated with more placements, poorer 

16 educational outcomes, and greater risk of further 

17 trauma. More homes are needed to accommodate the 

18 growing number of children and youth involved with 

19 child welfare services. 

20 (3) In 2017, there were an estimated 443,000 

21 children and youth in the United States foster care 

22 system, and 123,000 were eligible and waiting to be 

23 adopted. Tragically, approximately 20,000 ‘‘aged 

24 out’’ of the child welfare system without a forever 

25 family, placing them at higher risk of negative outVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:11 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3114.IH H3114

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1 comes including poverty, homelessness, incarcer2 ation, and early parenthood. 

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

4 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.) protects people from discrimi5 nation based on race, color, or national origin in 

6 programs, activities, and services administered or 

7 performed by child welfare agencies. Eliminating dis8 crimination in child welfare based on religion, sex 

9 (including sexual orientation and gender identity), 

10 and marital status would increase the number and 

11 diversity of foster and adoptive homes able to meet 

12 the individual needs of children and youth removed 

13 from their homes. 

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

15 queer/questioning (referred to in this Act as 

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

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

18 least 22 to 30 percent of children and youth in fos19 ter care. 

20 (A) While some LGBTQ youth enter foster 

21 care for similar reasons as non-LGBTQ youth, 

22 the two most common reasons for LGBTQ 

23 youth are high rates of physical abuse and con24 flict with parents. 


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1 (B) LGBTQ foster youth report twice the 

2 rate of poor treatment while in care experienced 

3 by foster youth who do not identify as LGBTQ 

4 and are more likely to experience discrimina5 tion, harassment, and violence in the child wel6 fare system than their LGBTQ peers not in the 

7 child welfare system. 

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

9 foster youth have a higher average number of 

10 placements and higher likelihood of living in a 

11 group home than their non-LGBTQ peers, neg12 atively affecting mental health outcomes and 

13 long-term prospects. 

14 (D) Approximately 60 percent of homeless 

15 LGBTQ youth were previously in foster care, 

16 and many reported that living on the streets 

17 felt safer than living in a group or foster home. 

18 (6) ‘‘Conversion therapy’’ is a form of discrimi19 nation that harms LGBTQ people. It undermines an 

20 individual’s sense of self-worth, increases suicide ide21 ation and substance abuse, exacerbates family con22 flict, and contributes to second-class status. No sci23 entifically valid evidence supports this discredited 

24 practice, which is prohibited by many States and 

25 foreign nations. Approximately 350,000 LGBTQ 


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1 adults were subjected to so-called ‘‘conversion ther2 apy’’ as adolescents, and an estimated 20,000 

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

4 by a licensed health care professional before age 18. 

5 (7) Many youth, especially LGBTQ youth, in6 volved with child welfare services identify with a 

7 cross-section of marginalized communities. Youth of 

8 color are overrepresented in the foster care system, 

9 and the majority of LGBTQ foster youth are youth 

10 of color. Children and youth with multiple margina11 lized identities often experience more stress and 

12 trauma than other youth, compounding the negative 

13 effects of discrimination and increasing the likeli14 hood of negative outcomes. 

15 (8) Prospective parents who experience the 

16 heartbreak and dignitary harm of discrimination 

17 based on religion, sex (including sexual orientation 

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

19 able or willing to apply at another agency, resulting 

20 in fewer available homes, and knowing that discrimi21 nation exists may deter them from even attempting 

22 to foster or adopt. 

23 (9) Professional organizations that serve chil24 dren in the fields of medicine, psychology, law, and 


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1 child welfare oppose discrimination against prospec2 tive parents in adoption and foster care. 

3 (10) Religious organizations play a critical role 

4 in providing child welfare services. Most welcome all 

5 children, youth, and families and affirm a diversity 

6 of religions and faiths. State assessments, planning, 

7 and counseling should connect children and youth 

8 for whom spirituality and religion are important 

9 with affirming, faith-based resources consistent with 

10 the faith of the child or youth. 

11 (11) Child welfare agencies that refuse to serve 

12 same-sex couples and LGBTQ individuals reduce the 

13 pool of qualified and available homes for children 

14 and youth who need placement on a temporary or 

15 permanent basis. 

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

17 likely to foster and adopt than their different18 sex counterparts. 

19 (B) Same-sex couples raising adopted chil20 dren tend to be older than, just as educated as, 

21 and have access to the same economic resources 

22 as other adoptive parents. 

23 (C) Research shows that sexual orientation 

24 is a nondeterminative factor in parental success 

25 and that children with same-sex parents have 


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1 the same advantages and expectations for 

2 health, social, and psychological development as 

3 children whose parents are different-sex. 

4 (D) Discrimination against qualified pro5 spective foster and adoptive parents for non6 merit related reasons denies religious minority, 

7 LGBTQ, and unmarried relatives the oppor8 tunity to become foster and adoptive parents 

9 for their own kin in care, including grand10 children. 

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

12 discrimination in child welfare referrals, investiga13 tions, removals, reunification, kinship placements, 

14 and other case management services. A study of low15 income African-American mothers showed that those 

16 who identified as lesbian or bisexual were four times 

17 more likely than their non-LGBTQ counterparts to 

18 lose custody of their children in child welfare pro19 ceedings. LGBTQ-positive services are necessary to 

20 shield families and protect parents’ rights to reunifi21 cation. 

22 (13) Single people are more likely than couples 

23 to experience challenges in adopting due to biases 

24 that persist against single-parent adoption. In 2017, 

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1 pleted by unmarried single people, including adop2 tions from almost 2,000 single men and over 14,800 

3 single women. Studies show that the outcomes for 

4 children adopted and raised by single parents are 

5 just as good as, if not better than, outcomes for chil6 dren adopted by couples. 

7 (14) More nationwide data about the experi8 ences of LGBTQ children and youth involved with 

9 child welfare services is needed to understand fully 

10 the extent and impact of discrimination and ensure 

11 accountability. States must report and researchers 

12 must collect this sensitive data in an ethical, affirm13 ing, and non-intrusive manner, with appropriate 

14 safeguards to protect respondents. 

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

16 (1) to prohibit discrimination on the basis of re17 ligion, sex (including sexual orientation and gender 

18 identity), and marital status in the administration 

19 and provision of child welfare services that receive 

20 Federal funds; and 

21 (2) to improve safety, well-being, and perma22 nency for LGBTQ children and youth involved with 

23 child welfare services. 


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1 SEC. 3. EVERY CHILD DESERVES A FAMILY. 

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

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

4 grounds of religion, sex (including sexual orientation and 

5 gender identity), or marital status, be excluded from par6 ticipation in, denied the benefits of, or subjected to dis7 crimination in the administration or provision of child wel8 fare programs and services by a covered entity receiving 

9 Federal financial assistance under part A, B, or E of title 

10 IV; title XIX; or title XX of the Social Security Act. 

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

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

13 action seeking relief in an appropriate United States dis14 trict court. The court shall award a plaintiff prevailing in 

15 such an action all appropriate relief, including injunctive, 

16 declaratory, and other equitable relief necessary to carry 

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

18 court deems appropriate. 

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

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

21 shall publish and disseminate guidance with respect to 

22 compliance with this Act. 

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

24 compliance with and understanding of the legal, practice, 

25 and cultural changes required by this Act, the Secretary 


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1 shall provide technical assistance to all covered entities, 

2 including— 

3 (1) identifying State laws and regulations in4 consistent with this Act, and providing guidance and 

5 training to ensure the State laws and regulations are 

6 brought into compliance with this Act by the appli7 cable compliance deadline in effect under subsection 

8 (h); 

9 (2) identifying casework practices and proce10 dures inconsistent with this Act and providing guid11 ance and training to ensure the practices and proce12 dures are brought into compliance with this Act by 

13 the applicable compliance deadline; 

14 (3) providing guidance in expansion of recruit15 ment efforts to ensure consideration of all prospec16 tive adoptive and foster parents regardless of the re17 ligion, sex (including sexual orientation and gender 

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

19 (4) creating comprehensive cultural competency 

20 training for covered entities and prospective adoptive 

21 and foster parents; and 

22 (5) training judges and attorneys involved in 

23 foster care, guardianship, and adoption cases on the 

24 findings and purposes of this Act. 

25 (e) SERVICE DELIVERY AND TRAINING.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—A covered entity shall pro2 vide service delivery to children and youth involved 

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

4 staff training, that comprehensively addresses the 

5 individual strengths and needs of children and youth 

6 involved with child welfare services, as well as be 

7 language appropriate, gender appropriate, and cul8 turally sensitive and respectful of the complex social 

9 identities of the children and youth, families, and 

10 adults currently or prospectively participating in or 

11 receiving child welfare services. 

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

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

14 ethnicity, nationality, age, religion (including spiritu15 ality), sex (including gender identity and sexual ori16 entation), socioeconomic status, physical or cognitive 

17 ability, language, beliefs, values, behavior patterns, 

18 and customs. 

19 (f) DATA COLLECTION.—Using developmentally ap20 propriate best practices, the Secretary shall collect data 

21 through the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Re22 porting System on— 

23 (1) the sexual orientation and gender identity of 

24 children and youth involved with child welfare serv25 ices and foster and adoptive parents; and 


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1 (2) whether family conflict related to the sexual 

2 orientation or gender identity of a child or youth 

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

4 from the family. 

5 (g) NATIONAL RESOURCE CENTER ON SAFETY, 

6 WELL-BEING, PLACEMENT STABILITY, AND PERMA7 NENCY FOR LGBTQ CHILDREN AND YOUTH INVOLVED

8 WITH CHILD WELFARE SERVICES.— 

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

10 and maintain the National Resource Center on Safe11 ty, Well-Being, Placement Stability, and Perma12 nency for LGBTQ Children and Youth Involved with 

13 Child Welfare Services that will promote well-being, 

14 safety, permanency, stability, and family placement 

15 for LGBTQ children and youth involved with child 

16 welfare services, through training, technical assist17 ance, actions, and guidance that— 

18 (A) increases LGBTQ cultural competency 

19 among the staff of covered entities, and foster, 

20 adoptive, and relative parents, guardians, and 

21 caregivers; 

22 (B) promotes the provision of child welfare 

23 services that address the specific needs of 

24 LGBTQ children and youth involved with child 

25 welfare services and their families; 


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1 (C) promotes effective and responsible col2 lection and management of data on the sexual 

3 orientation and gender identity of children and 

4 youth in the child welfare system, with appro5 priate safeguards to protect the data; 

6 (D) identifies and promotes promising 

7 practices and evidence-based models of engage8 ment and appropriate collective and individual 

9 services and interventions that can be linked to 

10 improved outcomes for LGBTQ children and 

11 youth in the child welfare system; 

12 (E) endorses best practices for human re13 source activities of covered entities, including in 

14 hiring, staff development, and implementing a 

15 system of accountability to carry out those best 

16 practices; and 

17 (F) initiates other actions that improve 

18 safety, well-being, placement stability, and per19 manency outcomes for LGBTQ children and 

20 youth involved with child welfare services at the 

21 State and local level. 

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

23 the collection and analysis of data and the dissemi24 nation of research to carry out this subsection. 


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1 (3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec3 retary such sums as may be necessary to establish 

4 and maintain the National Resource Center on Safe5 ty, Well-Being, Placement Stability, and Perma6 nency for LGBTQ Children and Youth Involved with 

7 Child Welfare Services and carry out the activities 

8 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, to the extent determined by the 

7 Secretary. 

8 (i) GAO STUDY.— 

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

10 the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 

11 General of the United States shall conduct a study 

12 to determine whether the States have substantially 

13 complied with this Act, including specifically whether 

14 the States have— 

15 (A) eliminated all policies, practices, or 

16 laws that permit a covered entity to violate sub17 section (a); 

18 (B) provided necessary training and tech19 nical support to covered entities to ensure all 

20 services to children and youth involved with 

21 child welfare services are carried out in a non22 discriminatory, affirming, safe, and culturally 

23 competent manner; 

24 (C) collected data necessary to accom25 plishing the purposes of this Act, and ensured 


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1 that the data is appropriately safeguarded, in2 cluding data related to— 

3 (i) the sexual orientation and gender 

4 identity of children and youth involved 

5 with child welfare services; 

6 (ii) the permanency and placement 

7 outcomes and rates for those children and 

8 youth, as compared to their non-LGBTQ 

9 peers; 

10 (iii) the rates at which those children 

11 and youth are placed in family homes as 

12 compared to congregate or group homes; 

13 (iv) the sexual orientation, gender 

14 identity, and marital status of foster and 

15 adoptive parents, as well as the placement 

16 rates and wait periods for those foster and 

17 adoptive parents; and 

18 (D) ensured that covered entities— 

19 (i) are in compliance with this Act; 

20 and 

21 (ii) have implemented procedures for 

22 children and youth involved with child wel23 fare services, or individuals or families par24 ticipating in, or seeking to participate in, 


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1 child welfare services, to report violations 

2 of this Act. 

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

4 than 6 months after completing the study required 

5 by paragraph (1), the Comptroller General shall sub6 mit to the Committee on Ways and Means of the 

7 House of Representatives and the Committee on Fi8 nance of the Senate a written report that contains 

9 the results of the study. 

10 (j) RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.— 

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

12 Act shall be construed to invalidate or limit rights, 

13 remedies, or legal standards under title VI of the 

14 Civil Rights Act of 1964. 

15 (2) CERTAIN CLAIMS.—The Religious Freedom 

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

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

18 a claim under, this Act, or provide a basis for chal19 lenging the application or enforcement of this Act. 

20 (k) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

21 (1) CHILD OR YOUTH INVOLVED WITH CHILD

22 WELFARE SERVICES.—The term ‘‘child or youth in23 volved with child welfare services’’ means an indi24 vidual, aged 23 or younger, who participates in child 

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1 nancial assistance under part A, B, or E of title IV; 

2 title XIX; or title XX of the Social Security Act. 

3 (2) CONVERSION THERAPY.— 

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

5 therapy’’ means a form of discrimination that 

6 includes any practice or treatment which seeks 

7 to change the sexual orientation or gender iden8 tity of an individual, including efforts to change 

9 behaviors or gender expressions or to eliminate 

10 or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feel11 ings toward individuals of the same gender. 

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

13 therapy’’ does not include counseling that pro14 vides assistance to an individual undergoing 

15 gender transition, or counseling that provides 

16 acceptance, support, and understanding of an 

17 individual or facilitates an individual with cop18 ing, social support, and identity exploration and 

19 development, including sexual orientation-neu20 tral interventions to prevent or address unlaw21 ful conduct or unsafe sexual practices. 

22 (3) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered en23 tity’’ means an entity that— 


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1 (A) receives Federal financial assistance 

2 under part A, B, or E of title IV; title XIX; or 

3 title XX of the Social Security Act; and 

4 (B) is involved in the administration or 

5 provision of child welfare programs or services. 

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

7 identity’’ means the gender-related identity, appear8 ance, mannerisms, or other gender-related character9 istics of an individual, regardless of the designated 

10 sex of the individual at birth. 

11 (5) RELIGION; SEX (INCLUDING SEXUAL ORI12 ENTATION AND GENDER IDENTITY), OR MARITAL

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

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

15 used with respect to an individual, includes— 

16 (A) the religion, sex (including sexual ori17 entation and gender identity), or marital status, 

18 respectively, of another person with whom the 

19 individual is or has been associated; and 

20 (B) a perception or belief, even if inac21 curate, concerning the religion, sex (including 

22 sexual orientation and gender identity), or mar23 ital status, respectively, of the individual. 

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

25 the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 


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

2 (A) a sex stereotype; 

3 (B) pregnancy, childbirth, or a related 

4 medical condition; 

5 (C) sexual orientation or gender identity; 

6 and 

7 (D) sex characteristics, including intersex 

8 traits. 

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

10 orientation’’ means homosexuality, heterosexuality, 

11 or bisexuality. 

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

13 the 50 States of the United States, the District of 

14 Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 

15 United States Virgin Islands, Guam, the Common16 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Amer17 ican Samoa. 

Æ 


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