II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1791 

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 11, 2019 

Mrs. GILLIBRAND (for herself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MURPHY, Ms. HARRIS, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. SANDERS, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Ms. 

ROSEN, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. 

MERKLEY, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, and Mr. DURBIN) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

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. 

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 01:34 Jun 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1791.IS S1791

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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 or 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 2 most common reasons for LGBTQ youth 

23 are high rates of physical abuse and conflict 

24 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 4 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 be subjected to dis7 crimination in the administration or provision of child wel8 fare programs and services by a covered entity. 

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

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

11 action seeking relief in an appropriate United States dis12 trict court. The court shall award a plaintiff prevailing in 

13 such an action all appropriate relief, including injunctive, 

14 declaratory, and other equitable relief necessary to carry 

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

16 court determines appropriate. 

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

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

19 shall publish and disseminate guidance with respect to 

20 compliance with this Act. 

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

22 compliance with and understanding of the legal, practice, 

23 and cultural changes required by this Act, the Secretary 

24 shall provide technical assistance to all covered entities, 

25 including— 


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1 (1) identifying State laws and regulations in2 consistent with this Act, and providing guidance and 

3 training to ensure the State laws and regulations are 

4 brought into compliance with this Act by the appli5 cable compliance deadline in effect under subsection 

6 (h); 

7 (2) identifying casework practices and proce8 dures inconsistent with this Act and providing guid9 ance and training to ensure the practices and proce10 dures are brought into compliance with this Act by 

11 the applicable compliance deadline; 

12 (3) providing guidance in expansion of recruit13 ment efforts to ensure consideration of all prospec14 tive adoptive and foster parents regardless of the re15 ligion, sex (including sexual orientation and gender 

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

17 (4) creating comprehensive cultural competency 

18 training for covered entities and prospective adoptive 

19 and foster parents; and 

20 (5) training judges and attorneys involved in 

21 foster care, guardianship, and adoption cases on the 

22 findings and purposes of this Act. 

23 (e) SERVICE DELIVERY AND TRAINING.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—A covered entity shall pro25 vide service delivery to children and youth involved 


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

2 staff training, that— 

3 (A) comprehensively addresses the indi4 vidual strengths and needs of children and 

5 youth involved with child welfare services; and 

6 (B) is language appropriate, gender appro7 priate, and culturally sensitive and respectful of 

8 the complex social identities of the children and 

9 youth, families, and adults currently or prospec10 tively participating in or receiving child welfare 

11 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 (referred to in this Act as the 

14 ‘‘National Resource Center’’) that will promote well15 being, safety, permanency, stability, and family 

16 placement for LGBTQ children and youth involved 

17 with child welfare services, through training, tech18 nical assistance, actions, and guidance that— 

19 (A) increase LGBTQ cultural competency 

20 among the staff of covered entities, and foster, 

21 adoptive, and relative parents, guardians, and 

22 caregivers; 

23 (B) promote the provision of child welfare 

24 services that address the specific needs of 


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1 LGBTQ children and youth involved with child 

2 welfare services and their families; 

3 (C) promote effective and responsible col4 lection and management of data on the sexual 

5 orientation and gender identity of children and 

6 youth in the child welfare system, with appro7 priate safeguards to protect the data; 

8 (D) identify and promote promising prac9 tices and evidence-based models of engagement 

10 and appropriate collective and individual serv11 ices and interventions that can be linked to im12 proved outcomes for LGBTQ children and 

13 youth in the child welfare system; 

14 (E) endorse best practices for human re15 source activities of covered entities, including in 

16 hiring, staff development, and implementing a 

17 system of accountability to carry out those best 

18 practices; and 

19 (F) initiate other actions that improve 

20 safety, well-being, placement stability, and per21 manency outcomes for LGBTQ children and 

22 youth involved with child welfare services at the 

23 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 (iv) the sexual orientation, gender 

16 identity, and marital status of foster and 

17 adoptive parents, as well as the placement 

18 rates and wait periods for those foster and 

19 adoptive parents; and 

20 (D) ensured that covered entities— 

21 (i) are in compliance with this Act; 

22 and 

23 (ii) have implemented procedures for 

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1 ticipating in, or seeking to participate in, 

2 child welfare services, to report violations 

3 of this Act. 

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

5 than 6 months after completing the study required 

6 by paragraph (1), the Comptroller General shall sub7 mit to the Committee on Ways and Means of the 

8 House of Representatives and the Committee on Fi9 nance of the Senate a written report that contains 

10 the results of the study. 

11 (j) RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.— 

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

13 Act shall be construed to invalidate or limit rights, 

14 remedies, or legal standards under title VI of the 

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

16 (2) CERTAIN CLAIMS.—The Religious Freedom 

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

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

19 a claim under, this Act, or provide a basis for chal20 lenging the application or enforcement of this Act. 

21 (k) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 (1) CHILD OR YOUTH INVOLVED WITH CHILD

23 WELFARE SERVICES.—The term ‘‘child or youth in24 volved with child welfare services’’ means an indi25 vidual, aged 23 or younger, who participates in child 


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1 welfare programs or services that receive Federal fi2 nancial assistance under part A, B, or E of title IV; 

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

4 (2) CONVERSION THERAPY.— 

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

6 therapy’’ means a form of discrimination that 

7 includes any practice or treatment which seeks 

8 to change the sexual orientation or gender iden9 tity of an individual, including efforts to change 

10 behaviors or gender expressions or to eliminate 

11 or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feel12 ings toward individuals of the same gender. 

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

14 therapy’’ does not include counseling that pro15 vides assistance to an individual undergoing 

16 gender transition, or counseling that provides 

17 acceptance, support, and understanding of an 

18 individual or facilitates an individual with cop19 ing, social support, and identity exploration and 

20 development, including sexual orientation-neu21 tral interventions to prevent or address unlaw22 ful conduct or unsafe sexual practices. 

23 (3) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered en24 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 of the Social 

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

4 621 et seq.; 42 U.S.C. 670 et seq.), title XIX 

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

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

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

8 (B) is involved in the administration or 

9 provision of child welfare programs or services. 

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

11 identity’’ means the gender-related identity, appear12 ance, mannerisms, or other gender-related character13 istics of an individual, regardless of the designated 

14 sex of the individual at birth. 

15 (5) RELIGION; SEX (INCLUDING SEXUAL ORI16 ENTATION AND GENDER IDENTITY), OR MARITAL

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

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

19 used with respect to an individual, includes— 

20 (A) the religion, sex (including sexual ori21 entation and gender identity), or marital status, 

22 respectively, of another person with whom the 

23 individual is or has been associated; and 

24 (B) a perception or belief, even if inac25 curate, concerning the religion, sex (including 


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1 sexual orientation and gender identity), or mar2 ital status, respectively, of the individual. 

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

4 the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

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

6 (A) a sex stereotype; 

7 (B) pregnancy, childbirth, or a related 

8 medical condition; 

9 (C) sexual orientation or gender identity; 

10 and 

11 (D) sex characteristics, including intersex 

12 traits. 

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

14 orientation’’ means homosexuality, heterosexuality, 

15 or bisexuality. 

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

17 the 50 States of the United States, the District of 

18 Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 

19 United States Virgin Islands, Guam, the Common20 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Amer21 ican Samoa. 

Æ 


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