John Lewis Every Child Deserves a Family Act
Bill: S.1848 | Sponsor: Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. (D-NY)
Policy area: Families

Summary:
John Lewis Every Child Deserves a Family Act
This bill prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or religion in the provision of child welfare programs and services by entities receiving federal funding. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must provide technical assistance to help states follow this requirement, including (1) guidance for bringing state laws into compliance, (2) developing training to increase cultural competency related to social identity, and (3) training for judges and attorneys involved in child welfare cases, among other supports.
Additionally, HHS must establish the National Resource Center on Safety, Well-Being, Placement Stability, and Permanency for LGBTQ Children and Youth Involved with Child Welfare Services to provide training, technical assistance, and guidance to applicable state and local agencies and service providers.
Further, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act may not be the basis for challenging the application or enforcement of this bill. The Government Accountability Office must study and report on states' compliance with the requirements of the bill no later than three years after enactment.

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.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``John Lewis Every Child Deserves a 
Family Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Every child or youth unable to live with their family 
        of origin is entitled to a supportive and affirming foster care 
        placement. Federal law requires, and child welfare experts 
        recommend, that children and youth be placed with a family or 
        in the most family-like setting available.
            (2) Thousands of children and youth lack a stable, safe, 
        and loving temporary or permanent home and have been placed in 
        a congregate care setting, which is associated with more 
        placements, poorer educational outcomes, and greater risk of 
        further trauma. More homes are needed to accommodate the 
        growing number of children and youth involved with child 
        welfare services.
            (3) On the last day of fiscal year 2019, there were an 
        estimated 424,000 children and youth in the United States 
        foster care system, and 122,000 were waiting to be adopted. 
        Tragically, approximately 20,000 ``aged out'' of the child 
        welfare system without a forever family, placing them at higher 
        risk of negative outcomes including poverty, homelessness, 
        incarceration, and early parenthood.
            (4) Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 
        2000d et seq.) protects people from discrimination based on 
        race, color, or national origin in programs, activities, and 
        services administered or performed by child welfare agencies. 
        Eliminating discrimination in child welfare based on religion, 
        sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), and 
        marital status would increase the number and diversity of 
        foster and adoptive homes able to meet the individual needs of 
        children and youth removed from their homes.
            (5) Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or 
        questioning (referred to in this Act as ``LGBTQ'') youth are 
        overrepresented in the foster care system by at least a factor 
        of 2, comprising at least 30 percent of children and youth in 
        foster care. These numbers are higher for transgender and 
        nonbinary youth compared to their cisgender LGBQ counterparts.
                    (A) While some LGBTQ youth enter foster care for 
                similar reasons as non-LGBTQ youth, the 2 most common 
                reasons for LGBTQ youth are high rates of physical 
                abuse and conflict with parents.
                    (B) LGBTQ foster youth report twice the rate of 
                poor treatment while in care experienced by foster 
                youth who do not identify as LGBTQ and are more likely 
                to experience discrimination, harassment, and violence 
                in the child welfare system than their LGBTQ peers not 
                in the child welfare system.
                    (C) Because of high levels of bias, LGBTQ foster 
                youth have a higher average number of placements and 
                higher likelihood of living in a group home than their 
                non-LGBTQ peers, negatively affecting mental health 
                outcomes and long-term prospects.
                    (D) Approximately 28 percent of homeless youth with 
                histories of time in foster care identified as LGBTQ 
                and were significantly more likely to experience 7 of 8 
                adverse events, such as being physically harmed, or 
                being stigmatized or discriminated against, compared to 
                their peers with no foster care history.
                    (E) LGBTQ youth in foster care had nearly 3 times 
                greater odds of reporting a past-year suicide attempt 
                compared to LGBTQ youth who were never in foster care 
                (35 percent for those youth in foster care as compared 
                to 13 percent for those youth who were never in foster 
                care). These numbers were even higher for LGBTQ foster 
                youth of color (38 percent) and highest for transgender 
                and nonbinary foster youth (45 percent).
                    (F) LGBTQ youth who had been in foster care had 
                over 3 times greater odds of being kicked out, 
                abandoned, or running away due to treatment based on 
                their LGBTQ identity compared to those who were never 
                in foster care (27 percent for those youth who had been 
                in foster care as compared to 8 percent for those youth 
                who had never been in foster care). These numbers were 
                higher for LGBTQ foster youth of color (30 percent) and 
                transgender and non-binary foster youth (40 percent).
            (6) ``Conversion therapy'' is a form of discrimination that 
        harms LGBTQ people. It undermines an individual's sense of 
        self-worth, increases suicide ideation and substance abuse, 
        exacerbates family conflict, and contributes to second-class 
        status. No scientifically valid evidence supports this 
        discredited practice, which is prohibited by many States and 
        foreign nations. Approximately 350,000 LGBTQ adults were 
        subjected to so-called ``conversion therapy'' as adolescents, 
        and an estimated 16,000 LGBTQ youth ages 13 to 17 will be 
        subjected to it by a licensed health care professional before 
        age 18.
            (7) Many youth, especially LGBTQ youth, involved with child 
        welfare services identify with a cross-section of marginalized 
        communities. Youth of color are overrepresented in the foster 
        care system, and the majority of LGBTQ foster youth are youth 
        of color. Children and youth with multiple marginalized 
        identities often experience more stress and trauma than other 
        youth, compounding the negative effects of discrimination and 
        increasing the likelihood of negative outcomes.
            (8) Prospective parents who experience the heartbreak and 
        dignitary harm of discrimination based on religion, sex 
        (including sexual orientation and gender identity), or marital 
        status may not be able or willing to apply at another agency, 
        resulting in fewer available homes, and knowing that 
        discrimination exists may deter them from even attempting to 
        foster or adopt.
            (9) Professional organizations that serve children in the 
        fields of medicine, psychology, law, and child welfare oppose 
        discrimination against prospective parents in adoption and 
        foster care.
            (10) Religious organizations play a critical role in 
        providing child welfare services. Most welcome all children, 
        youth, and families and affirm a diversity of religions and 
        faiths. State assessments, planning, and counseling should 
        connect children and youth for whom spirituality and religion 
        are important with affirming, faith-based resources consistent 
        with the faith of the child or youth.
            (11) Child welfare agencies that refuse to serve same-sex 
        couples and LGBTQ individuals reduce the pool of qualified and 
        available homes for children and youth who need placement on a 
        temporary or permanent basis.
                    (A) Same-sex couples are 7 times more likely to 
                foster and adopt than their different-sex counterparts.
                    (B) Same-sex couples raising adopted children tend 
                to be older than, just as educated as, and have access 
                to the same economic resources as other adoptive 
                parents.
                    (C) Research shows that sexual orientation is a 
                nondeterminative factor in parental success and that 
                children with same-sex parents have the same advantages 
                and expectations for health, social, and psychological 
                development as children whose parents are different-
                sex.
                    (D) Discrimination against qualified prospective 
                foster and adoptive parents for non-merit related 
                reasons denies religious minority, LGBTQ, and unmarried 
                relatives the opportunity to become foster and adoptive 
                parents for their own kin in care, including 
                grandchildren.
            (12) LGBTQ families of origin are at risk for 
        discrimination in child welfare referrals, investigations, 
        removals, reunification, kinship placements, and other case 
        management services. A study of low-income African-American 
        mothers showed that those who identified as lesbian or bisexual 
        were 4 times more likely than their non-LGBTQ counterparts to 
        lose custody of their children in child welfare proceedings. 
        LGBTQ-positive services are necessary to shield families and 
        protect parents' rights to reunification.
            (13) Single people are more likely than couples to 
        experience challenges in adopting due to biases that persist 
        against single-parent adoption. During fiscal year 2019, 29 
        percent of adoptions from foster care were completed by 
        unmarried single people, including adoptions by some 2200 
        single men and more than 16,800 single women. Studies show that 
        the outcomes for children adopted and raised by single parents 
        are just as good as, if not better than, outcomes for children 
        adopted by couples.
            (14) More nationwide data about the experiences of LGBTQ 
        children and youth involved with child welfare services is 
        needed to understand fully the extent and impact of 
        discrimination and ensure accountability. States must report 
        and researchers must collect this sensitive data in an ethical, 
        affirming, and non-intrusive manner, with appropriate 
        safeguards to protect respondents.
    (b) Purpose.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) 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 that receive Federal funds; and
            (2) to improve safety, well-being, and permanency for LGBTQ 
        children and youth involved with child welfare services.

SEC. 3. EVERY CHILD DESERVES A FAMILY.

    (a) Prohibition.--No child or youth involved with child welfare 
services, family, or individual shall, on the grounds of religion, sex 
(including sexual orientation and gender identity), or marital status, 
be excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or be 
subjected to discrimination in the administration or provision of child 
welfare programs and services by a covered entity.
    (b) Private Right of Action.--Any individual who is aggrieved by a 
violation of this Act may bring a civil action seeking relief in an 
appropriate United States district court. The court shall award a 
plaintiff prevailing in such an action all appropriate relief, 
including injunctive, declaratory, and other equitable relief necessary 
to carry out this Act, attorneys' fees, and such other relief as the 
court determines appropriate.
    (c) Federal Guidance.--Not later than 6 months after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall publish and disseminate 
guidance with respect to compliance with this Act.
    (d) Technical Assistance.--In order to ensure compliance with and 
understanding of the legal, practice, and cultural changes required by 
this Act, the Secretary shall provide technical assistance to all 
covered entities, including--
            (1) identifying State laws and regulations inconsistent 
        with this Act, and providing guidance and training to ensure 
        the State laws and regulations are brought into compliance with 
        this Act by the applicable compliance deadline in effect under 
        subsection (h);
            (2) identifying casework practices and procedures 
        inconsistent with this Act and providing guidance and training 
        to ensure the practices and procedures are brought into 
        compliance with this Act by the applicable compliance deadline;
            (3) providing guidance in expansion of recruitment efforts 
        to ensure consideration of all prospective adoptive and foster 
        parents regardless of the religion, sex (including sexual 
        orientation and gender identity), or marital status of the 
        prospective parent;
            (4) creating comprehensive cultural competency training for 
        covered entities and prospective adoptive and foster parents; 
        and
            (5) training judges and attorneys involved in foster care, 
        guardianship, and adoption cases on the findings and purposes 
        of this Act.
    (e) Service Delivery and Training.--
            (1) In general.--A covered entity shall provide service 
        delivery to children and youth involved with child welfare 
        services, families, and adults, and staff training, that--
                    (A) comprehensively addresses the individual 
                strengths and needs of children and youth involved with 
                child welfare services; and
                    (B) is language appropriate, gender appropriate, 
                and culturally sensitive and respectful of the complex 
                social identities of the children and youth, families, 
                and adults currently or prospectively participating in 
                or receiving child welfare services.
            (2) Social identity.--In this subsection, the term ``social 
        identity'' includes an individual's race, ethnicity, 
        nationality, age, religion (including spirituality), sex 
        (including gender identity and sexual orientation), 
        socioeconomic status, physical or cognitive ability, language, 
        beliefs, values, behavior patterns, and customs.
    (f) Data Collection.--Using developmentally appropriate best 
practices, the Secretary shall collect data through the Adoption and 
Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System on--
            (1) the sexual orientation and gender identity of children 
        and youth involved with child welfare services and foster and 
        adoptive parents; and
            (2) whether family conflict related to the sexual 
        orientation or gender identity of a child or youth was a factor 
        in the removal of the child or youth from the family.
    (g) National Resource Center on Safety, Well-Being, Placement 
Stability, and Permanency for LGBTQ Children and Youth Involved With 
Child Welfare Services.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish and maintain 
        the National Resource Center on Safety, Well-Being, Placement 
        Stability, and Permanency for LGBTQ Children and Youth Involved 
        with Child Welfare Services (referred to in this Act as the 
        ``National Resource Center'') that will promote well-being, 
        safety, permanency, stability, and family placement for LGBTQ 
        children and youth involved with child welfare services, 
        through training, technical assistance, actions, and guidance 
        that--
                    (A) increase LGBTQ cultural competency among the 
                staff of covered entities, and foster, adoptive, and 
                relative parents, guardians, and caregivers;
                    (B) promote the provision of child welfare services 
                that address the specific needs of LGBTQ children and 
                youth involved with child welfare services and their 
                families;
                    (C) promote effective and responsible collection 
                and management of data on the sexual orientation and 
                gender identity of children and youth in the child 
                welfare system, with appropriate safeguards to protect 
                the data;
                    (D) identify and promote promising practices and 
                evidence-based models of engagement and appropriate 
                collective and individual services and interventions 
                that can be linked to improved outcomes for LGBTQ 
                children and youth in the child welfare system;
                    (E) endorse best practices for human resource 
                activities of covered entities, including in hiring, 
                staff development, and implementing a system of 
                accountability to carry out those best practices; and
                    (F) initiate other actions that improve safety, 
                well-being, placement stability, and permanency 
                outcomes for LGBTQ children and youth involved with 
                child welfare services at the State and local level.
            (2) Activities.--The Secretary shall carry out the 
        collection and analysis of data and the dissemination of 
        research to carry out this subsection.
            (3) Authorization of appropriations.--There are authorized 
        to be appropriated to the Secretary such sums as may be 
        necessary to establish and maintain the National Resource 
        Center and carry out the activities described in this 
        subsection.
    (h) Deadline for Compliance.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), a 
        covered entity shall comply with this section not later than 6 
        months after publication of the guidance referred to in 
        subsection (c), or 1 year after the date of the enactment of 
        this Act, whichever occurs first.
            (2) Authority to extend deadline.--If a State demonstrates 
        to the satisfaction of the Secretary that it is necessary to 
        amend State law in order to change a particular practice that 
        is inconsistent with this Act, the Secretary may extend the 
        compliance date for the State and any covered entities in the 
        State a reasonable number of days after the close of the first 
        State legislative session beginning after the date the guidance 
        referred to in subsection (c) is published.
            (3) Authority to withhold funds.--If the Secretary finds 
        that a covered entity has failed to comply with this Act, the 
        Secretary may withhold payment to the State of amounts 
        otherwise payable to the State under part B or E of title IV of 
        the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq.; 42 U.S.C. 670 
        et seq.), to the extent determined by the Secretary.
    (i) GAO Study.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 3 years after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 
        States shall conduct a study to determine whether the States 
        have substantially complied with this Act, including 
        specifically whether the States have--
                    (A) eliminated all policies, practices, or laws 
                that permit a covered entity to violate subsection (a);
                    (B) provided necessary training and technical 
                support to covered entities to ensure all services to 
                children and youth involved with child welfare services 
                are carried out in a non-discriminatory, affirming, 
                safe, and culturally competent manner;
                    (C) collected data necessary to accomplishing the 
                purposes of this Act, and ensured that the data is 
                appropriately safeguarded, including data related to--
                            (i) the sexual orientation and gender 
                        identity of children and youth involved with 
                        child welfare services;
                            (ii) the permanency and placement outcomes 
                        and rates for those children and youth, as 
                        compared to their non-LGBTQ peers;
                            (iii) the rates at which those children and 
                        youth are placed in family homes as compared to 
                        congregate or group homes;
                            (iv) the sexual orientation, gender 
                        identity, and marital status of foster and 
                        adoptive parents, as well as the placement 
                        rates and wait periods for those foster and 
                        adoptive parents; and
                    (D) ensured that covered entities--
                            (i) are in compliance with this Act; and
                            (ii) have implemented procedures for 
                        children and youth involved with child welfare 
                        services, or individuals or families 
                        participating in, or seeking to participate in, 
                        child welfare services, to report violations of 
                        this Act.
            (2) Report to the congress.--Not later than 6 months after 
        completing the study required by paragraph (1), the Comptroller 
        General shall submit to the Committee on Ways and Means of the 
        House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the 
        Senate a written report that contains the results of the study.
    (j) Relation to Other Laws.--
            (1) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this Act shall be 
        construed to invalidate or limit rights, remedies, or legal 
        standards under title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 
        U.S.C. 2000d et seq.).
            (2) Certain claims.--The Religious Freedom Restoration Act 
        of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 2000bb et seq.) shall not provide a claim 
        concerning, or a defense to a claim under, this Act, or provide 
        a basis for challenging the application or enforcement of this 
        Act.
    (k) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Child or youth involved with child welfare services.--
        The term ``child or youth involved with child welfare 
        services'' means an individual, aged 23 or younger, who 
        participates in child welfare programs or services that receive 
        Federal financial assistance under part A, B, or E of title IV 
        of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.; 42 U.S.C. 
        621 et seq.; 42 U.S.C. 670 et seq.), title XIX of the Social 
        Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.), or title XX of the 
        Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397 et seq.).
            (2) Conversion therapy.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``conversion therapy'' 
                means a form of discrimination that includes any 
                practice or treatment which seeks to change the sexual 
                orientation or gender identity of an individual, 
                including efforts to change behaviors or gender 
                expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or 
                romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of 
                the same gender.
                    (B) Exclusions.--The term ``conversion therapy'' 
                does not include counseling that provides assistance to 
                an individual undergoing gender transition, or 
                counseling that provides acceptance, support, and 
                understanding of an individual or facilitates an 
                individual with coping, social support, and identity 
                exploration and development, including sexual 
                orientation-neutral interventions to prevent or address 
                unlawful conduct or unsafe sexual practices.
            (3) Covered entity.--The term ``covered entity'' means an 
        entity that--
                    (A) receives Federal financial assistance under 
                part A, B, or E of title IV of the Social Security Act 
                (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.; 42 U.S.C. 621 et seq.; 42 
                U.S.C. 670 et seq.), title XIX of the Social Security 
                Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.), or title XX of the Social 
                Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397 et seq.); and
                    (B) is involved in the administration or provision 
                of child welfare programs or services.
            (4) Gender identity.--The term ``gender identity'' means 
        the gender-related identity, appearance, mannerisms, or other 
        gender-related characteristics of an individual, regardless of 
        the designated sex of the individual at birth.
            (5) Religion; sex (including sexual orientation and gender 
        identity), or marital status.--The term ``religion, sex 
        (including sexual orientation and gender identity), or marital 
        status'', used with respect to an individual, includes--
                    (A) the religion, sex (including sexual orientation 
                and gender identity), or marital status, respectively, 
                of another person with whom the individual is or has 
                been associated; and
                    (B) a perception or belief, even if inaccurate, 
                concerning the religion, sex (including sexual 
                orientation and gender identity), or marital status, 
                respectively, of the individual.
            (6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Health and Human Services.
            (7) Sex.--The term ``sex'' includes--
                    (A) a sex stereotype;
                    (B) pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical 
                condition;
                    (C) sexual orientation or gender identity; and
                    (D) sex characteristics, including intersex traits.
            (8) Sexual orientation.--The term ``sexual orientation'' 
        means homosexuality, heterosexuality, or bisexuality.
            (9) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the 50 States 
        of the United States, the District of Columbia, the 
        Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, 
        Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and 
        American Samoa.
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