Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1750 To ensure that organizations with religious or moral convictions are allowed to continue to provide services for children. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 10, 2021 Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania (for himself, Mr. TIMMONS, Mr. CLOUD, Mr. ALLEN, Mrs. LESKO, Mr. GAETZ, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. RESCHENTHALER, Mr. GROTHMAN, and Mr. PALMER) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means A BILL To ensure that organizations with religious or moral convic- tions are allowed to continue to provide services for chil- dren. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Child Welfare Provider 4 Inclusion Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 7 (1) Child welfare service providers, both individ- 8 uals and organizations, have the inherent, funda- 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:36 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1750.IH H1750 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1750 IH mental, and inalienable right to free exercise of reli- 1 gion protected by the United States Constitution. 2 (2) The right to free exercise of religion for 3 child welfare service providers includes the freedom 4 to refrain from conduct that conflicts with their sin- 5 cerely held religious beliefs. 6 (3) Most States provide government-funded 7 child welfare services through various charitable, re- 8 ligious, and private organizations. 9 (4) Religious organizations, in particular, have 10 a lengthy and distinguished history of providing 11 child welfare services that predates government in- 12 volvement. 13 (5) Religious organizations have long been and 14 should continue contracting with and receiving 15 grants from governmental entities to provide child 16 welfare services. 17 (6) Religious organizations cannot provide cer- 18 tain child welfare services, such as foster-care or 19 adoption placements, without receiving a government 20 contract, grant or license. 21 (7) Religious organizations display particular 22 excellence when providing child welfare services. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:36 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1750.IH H1750 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1750 IH (8) Children and families benefit greatly from 1 the child welfare services provided by religious orga- 2 nizations. 3 (9) Governmental entities and officials admin- 4 istering federally funded child welfare services in 5 some States, including Massachusetts, California, Il- 6 linois, and the District of Columbia, have refused to 7 contract with religious organizations that are unable, 8 due to sincerely held religious beliefs or moral con- 9 victions, to provide a child welfare service that con- 10 flicts, or under circumstances that conflict, with 11 those beliefs or convictions; and that refusal has 12 forced many religious organizations to end their long 13 and distinguished history of excellence in the provi- 14 sion of child welfare services. 15 (10) Ensuring that religious organizations can 16 continue to provide child welfare services will benefit 17 the children and families that receive those federally 18 funded services. 19 (11) States also provide government-funded 20 child welfare services through individual child wel- 21 fare service providers with varying religious and 22 moral convictions. 23 (12) Many individual child welfare service pro- 24 viders maintain sincerely held religious beliefs or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:36 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1750.IH H1750 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1750 IH moral convictions that relate to their work and 1 should not be forced to choose between their liveli- 2 hood and adherence to those beliefs or convictions. 3 (13) Because governmental entities provide 4 child welfare services through many charitable, reli- 5 gious, and private organizations, each with varying 6 religious beliefs or moral convictions, and through 7 diverse individuals with varying religious beliefs or 8 moral convictions, the religiously impelled inability 9 of some religious organizations or individuals to pro- 10 vide certain services will not have a material effect 11 on a person’s ability to access federally funded child 12 welfare services. 13 (14) The provisions of this Act are remedial 14 measures that are congruent and proportional to 15 protecting the constitutional rights of child welfare 16 service providers guaranteed under the Fourteenth 17 Amendment to the United States Constitution. 18 (15) Congress has the authority to pass this 19 Act pursuant to its spending clause power and en- 20 forcement power under section 5 of the Fourteenth 21 Amendment to the United States Constitution. 22 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are as fol- 23 lows: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:36 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1750.IH H1750 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1750 IH (1) To prohibit governmental entities from dis- 1 criminating or taking an adverse action against a 2 child welfare service provider on the basis that the 3 provider declines to provide a child welfare service 4 that conflicts, or under circumstances that conflict, 5 with the sincerely held religious beliefs or moral con- 6 victions of the provider. 7 (2) To protect child welfare service providers’ 8 exercise of religion and to ensure that governmental 9 entities will not be able to force those providers, ei- 10 ther directly or indirectly, to discontinue all or some 11 of their child welfare services because they decline to 12 provide a child welfare service that conflicts, or 13 under circumstances that conflict, with their sin- 14 cerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions. 15 (3) To provide relief to child welfare service 16 providers whose rights have been violated. 17 SEC. 3. DISCRIMINATION AND ADVERSE ACTIONS PROHIB- 18 ITED. 19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Government, and 20 any State that receives Federal funding for any program 21 that provides child welfare services under part B or E of 22 title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq., 23 671 et seq.) (and any subdivision, office or department 24 of such State) shall not discriminate or take an adverse 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:36 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1750.IH H1750 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1750 IH action against a child welfare service provider on the basis 1 that the provider has declined or will decline to provide, 2 facilitate, or refer for a child welfare service that conflicts 3 with, or under circumstances that conflict with, the pro- 4 vider’s sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions. 5 (b) LIMITATION.—Subsection (a) does not apply to 6 conduct forbidden by paragraph (18) of section 471(a) of 7 such Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(18)). 8 SEC. 4. FUNDS WITHHELD FOR VIOLATION. 9 The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 10 withhold from a State 15 percent of the Federal funds 11 the State receives for a program that provides child wel- 12 fare services under part B or E of title IV of the Social 13 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq., 671 et seq.) if the 14 State violates section 3 when administering or disbursing 15 funds under such program. 16 SEC. 5. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION. 17 (a) IN GENERAL.—A child welfare service provider 18 aggrieved by a violation of section 3 may assert that viola- 19 tion as a claim or defense in a judicial proceeding and 20 obtain all appropriate relief, including declaratory relief, 21 injunctive relief, and compensatory damages, with respect 22 to that violation. 23 (b) ATTORNEYS’ FEES AND COSTS.—A child welfare 24 service provider that prevails in an action by establishing 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:36 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1750.IH H1750 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1750 IH a violation of section 3 is entitled to recover reasonable 1 attorneys’ fees and costs. 2 (c) WAIVER OF SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY.—By accept- 3 ing or expending Federal funds in connection with a pro- 4 gram that provides child welfare services under part B or 5 E of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621 6 et seq., 671 et seq.), a State waives its sovereign immunity 7 for any claim or defense that is raised under this section. 8 SEC. 6. SEVERABILITY. 9 If any provision of this Act, or any application of such 10 provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be un- 11 constitutional, the remainder of this Act and the applica- 12 tion of the provision to any other person or circumstance 13 shall not be affected. 14 SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. 15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 16 (b), the amendments made by this Act shall take effect 17 on the 1st day of the 1st fiscal year beginning on or after 18 the date of the enactment of this Act, and the withholding 19 of funds authorized by section 4 shall apply to payments 20 under parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security 21 Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq., 671 et seq.) for calendar quar- 22 ters beginning on or after such date. 23 (b) EXCEPTION.—If legislation (other than legisla- 24 tion appropriating funds) is required for a governmental 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:36 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1750.IH H1750 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1750 IH entity to bring itself into compliance with this Act, the 1 governmental entity shall not be regarded as violating this 2 Act before the 1st day of the 1st calendar quarter begin- 3 ning after the 1st regular session of the legislative body 4 that begins after the date of the enactment of this Act. 5 For purposes of the preceding sentence, if the govern- 6 mental entity has a 2-year legislative session, each year 7 of the session is deemed to be a separate regular session. 8 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 9 In this Act: 10 (1) CHILD WELFARE SERVICE PROVIDER.—The 11 term ‘‘child welfare service provider’’ includes orga- 12 nizations, corporations, groups, entities, or individ- 13 uals that provide or seek to provide, or that apply 14 for or receive a contract, subcontract, grant, or 15 subgrant for the provision of, child welfare services. 16 A provider need not be engaged exclusively in child 17 welfare services to be considered a child welfare 18 service provider for purposes of this Act. 19 (2) CHILD WELFARE SERVICES.—The term 20 ‘‘child welfare services’’ means social services pro- 21 vided to or on behalf of children, including assisting 22 abused, neglected, or troubled children, counseling 23 children or parents, promoting foster parenting, pro- 24 viding foster homes or temporary group shelters for 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:36 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1750.IH H1750 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1750 IH children, recruiting foster parents, placing children 1 in foster homes, licensing foster homes, promoting 2 adoption, recruiting adoptive parents, assisting 3 adoptions, supporting adoptive families, assisting 4 kinship guardianships, assisting kinship caregivers, 5 providing family preservation services, providing 6 family support services, and providing time-limited 7 family reunification services. 8 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 9 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, any com- 10 monwealth, territory or possession of the United 11 States, and any political subdivision thereof, and any 12 Indian tribe, tribal organization, or tribal consortium 13 that has a plan approved in accordance with section 14 479B of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 679c) or 15 that has a cooperative agreement or contract with 16 one of the 50 States for the administration or pay- 17 ment of funds under part B or E of title IV of the 18 Social Security Act. 19 (4) FUNDING; FUNDED; FUNDS.—The terms 20 ‘‘funding’’, ‘‘funded’’, or ‘‘funds’’ include money paid 21 pursuant to a contract, grant, voucher, or similar 22 means. 23 (5) ADVERSE ACTION.—The term ‘‘adverse ac- 24 tion’’ includes, but is not limited to, denying a child 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:36 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1750.IH H1750 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1750 IH welfare service provider’s application for funding, re- 1 fusing to renew the provider’s funding, canceling the 2 provider’s funding, declining to enter into a contract 3 with the provider, refusing to renew a contract with 4 the provider, canceling a contract with the provider, 5 declining to issue a license to the provider, refusing 6 to renew the provider’s license, canceling the pro- 7 vider’s license, terminating the provider’s employ- 8 ment, or any other adverse action that materially al- 9 ters the terms or conditions of the provider’s em- 10 ployment, funding, contract, or license. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:36 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1750.IH H1750 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS