John Lewis Every Child Deserves a Family Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1848 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 MAY 26, 2021 Mrs. GILLIBRAND (for herself, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. BALD- WIN, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. BROWN, Ms. SMITH, Mr. CARPER, Mr. BENNET, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. KAINE, Mr. MENENDEZ, Ms. WARREN, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. KING, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. PADILLA, Ms. ROSEN, Mrs. SHAHEEN, and Ms. HIRONO) 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 (in- cluding sexual orientation and gender identity), and mar- ital status in the administration and provision of child welfare services, to improve safety, well-being, and per- manency for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning foster youth, and for other pur- poses. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1848.IS S1848 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1848 IS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘John Lewis Every 2 Child Deserves a Family Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 4 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 5 (1) Every child or youth unable to live with 6 their family of origin is entitled to a supportive and 7 affirming foster care placement. Federal law re- 8 quires, and child welfare experts recommend, that 9 children and youth be placed with a family or in the 10 most family-like setting available. 11 (2) Thousands of children and youth lack a sta- 12 ble, safe, and loving temporary or permanent home 13 and have been placed in a congregate care setting, 14 which is associated with more placements, poorer 15 educational outcomes, and greater risk of further 16 trauma. More homes are needed to accommodate the 17 growing number of children and youth involved with 18 child welfare services. 19 (3) On the last day of fiscal year 2019, there 20 were an estimated 424,000 children and youth in the 21 United States foster care system, and 122,000 were 22 waiting to be adopted. Tragically, approximately 23 20,000 ‘‘aged out’’ of the child welfare system with- 24 out a forever family, placing them at higher risk of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1848.IS S1848 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1848 IS negative outcomes including poverty, homelessness, 1 incarceration, and early parenthood. 2 (4) Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 3 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.) protects people from discrimi- 4 nation based on race, color, or national origin in 5 programs, activities, and services administered or 6 performed by child welfare agencies. Eliminating dis- 7 crimination in child welfare based on religion, sex 8 (including sexual orientation and gender identity), 9 and marital status would increase the number and 10 diversity of foster and adoptive homes able to meet 11 the individual needs of children and youth removed 12 from their homes. 13 (5) Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and 14 queer or questioning (referred to in this Act as 15 ‘‘LGBTQ’’) youth are overrepresented in the foster 16 care system by at least a factor of 2, comprising at 17 least 30 percent of children and youth in foster care. 18 These numbers are higher for transgender and non- 19 binary youth compared to their cisgender LGBQ 20 counterparts. 21 (A) While some LGBTQ youth enter foster 22 care for similar reasons as non-LGBTQ youth, 23 the 2 most common reasons for LGBTQ youth 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1848.IS S1848 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1848 IS are high rates of physical abuse and conflict 1 with parents. 2 (B) LGBTQ foster youth report twice the 3 rate of poor treatment while in care experienced 4 by foster youth who do not identify as LGBTQ 5 and are more likely to experience discrimina- 6 tion, harassment, and violence in the child wel- 7 fare system than their LGBTQ peers not in the 8 child welfare system. 9 (C) Because of high levels of bias, LGBTQ 10 foster youth have a higher average number of 11 placements and higher likelihood of living in a 12 group home than their non-LGBTQ peers, neg- 13 atively affecting mental health outcomes and 14 long-term prospects. 15 (D) Approximately 28 percent of homeless 16 youth with histories of time in foster care iden- 17 tified as LGBTQ and were significantly more 18 likely to experience 7 of 8 adverse events, such 19 as being physically harmed, or being stig- 20 matized or discriminated against, compared to 21 their peers with no foster care history. 22 (E) LGBTQ youth in foster care had near- 23 ly 3 times greater odds of reporting a past-year 24 suicide attempt compared to LGBTQ youth 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1848.IS S1848 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1848 IS who were never in foster care (35 percent for 1 those youth in foster care as compared to 13 2 percent for those youth who were never in fos- 3 ter care). These numbers were even higher for 4 LGBTQ foster youth of color (38 percent) and 5 highest for transgender and nonbinary foster 6 youth (45 percent). 7 (F) LGBTQ youth who had been in foster 8 care had over 3 times greater odds of being 9 kicked out, abandoned, or running away due to 10 treatment based on their LGBTQ identity com- 11 pared to those who were never in foster care 12 (27 percent for those youth who had been in 13 foster care as compared to 8 percent for those 14 youth who had never been in foster care). These 15 numbers were higher for LGBTQ foster youth 16 of color (30 percent) and transgender and non- 17 binary foster youth (40 percent). 18 (6) ‘‘Conversion therapy’’ is a form of discrimi- 19 nation that harms LGBTQ people. It undermines an 20 individual’s sense of self-worth, increases suicide ide- 21 ation and substance abuse, exacerbates family con- 22 flict, and contributes to second-class status. No sci- 23 entifically valid evidence supports this discredited 24 practice, which is prohibited by many States and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1848.IS S1848 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1848 IS foreign nations. Approximately 350,000 LGBTQ 1 adults were subjected to so-called ‘‘conversion ther- 2 apy’’ as adolescents, and an estimated 16,000 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, in- 6 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 margina- 11 lized identities often experience more stress and 12 trauma than other youth, compounding the negative 13 effects of discrimination and increasing the likeli- 14 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 discrimi- 21 nation exists may deter them from even attempting 22 to foster or adopt. 23 (9) Professional organizations that serve chil- 24 dren in the fields of medicine, psychology, law, and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1848.IS S1848 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1848 IS child welfare oppose discrimination against prospec- 1 tive parents in adoption and foster care. 2 (10) Religious organizations play a critical role 3 in providing child welfare services. Most welcome all 4 children, youth, and families and affirm a diversity 5 of religions and faiths. State assessments, planning, 6 and counseling should connect children and youth 7 for whom spirituality and religion are important 8 with affirming, faith-based resources consistent with 9 the faith of the child or youth. 10 (11) Child welfare agencies that refuse to serve 11 same-sex couples and LGBTQ individuals reduce the 12 pool of qualified and available homes for children 13 and youth who need placement on a temporary or 14 permanent basis. 15 (A) Same-sex couples are 7 times more 16 likely to foster and adopt than their different- 17 sex counterparts. 18 (B) Same-sex couples raising adopted chil- 19 dren tend to be older than, just as educated as, 20 and have access to the same economic resources 21 as other adoptive parents. 22 (C) Research shows that sexual orientation 23 is a nondeterminative factor in parental success 24 and that children with same-sex parents have 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1848.IS S1848 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1848 IS the same advantages and expectations for 1 health, social, and psychological development as 2 children whose parents are different-sex. 3 (D) Discrimination against qualified pro- 4 spective foster and adoptive parents for non- 5 merit related reasons denies religious minority, 6 LGBTQ, and unmarried relatives the oppor- 7 tunity to become foster and adoptive parents 8 for their own kin in care, including grand- 9 children. 10 (12) LGBTQ families of origin are at risk for 11 discrimination in child welfare referrals, investiga- 12 tions, removals, reunification, kinship placements, 13 and other case management services. A study of low- 14 income African-American mothers showed that those 15 who identified as lesbian or bisexual were 4 times 16 more likely than their non-LGBTQ counterparts to 17 lose custody of their children in child welfare pro- 18 ceedings. LGBTQ-positive services are necessary to 19 shield families and protect parents’ rights to reunifi- 20 cation. 21 (13) Single people are more likely than couples 22 to experience challenges in adopting due to biases 23 that persist against single-parent adoption. During 24 fiscal year 2019, 29 percent of adoptions from foster 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1848.IS S1848 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1848 IS care were completed by unmarried single people, in- 1 cluding adoptions by some 2200 single men and 2 more than 16,800 single women. Studies show that 3 the outcomes for children adopted and raised by sin- 4 gle parents are just as good as, if not better than, 5 outcomes for children adopted by couples. 6 (14) More nationwide data about the experi- 7 ences of LGBTQ children and youth involved with 8 child welfare services is needed to understand fully 9 the extent and impact of discrimination and ensure 10 accountability. States must report and researchers 11 must collect this sensitive data in an ethical, affirm- 12 ing, and non-intrusive manner, with appropriate 13 safeguards to protect respondents. 14 (b) PURPOSE.—The purposes of this Act are— 15 (1) to prohibit discrimination on the basis of re- 16 ligion, sex (including sexual orientation and gender 17 identity), and marital status in the administration 18 and provision of child welfare services that receive 19 Federal funds; and 20 (2) to improve safety, well-being, and perma- 21 nency for LGBTQ children and youth involved with 22 child welfare services. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1848.IS S1848 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1848 IS SEC. 3. EVERY CHILD DESERVES A FAMILY. 1 (a) PROHIBITION.—No child or youth involved with 2 child welfare services, family, or individual shall, on the 3 grounds of religion, sex (including sexual orientation and 4 gender identity), or marital status, be excluded from par- 5 ticipation in, denied the benefits of, or be subjected to dis- 6 crimination in the administration or provision of child wel- 7 fare programs and services by a covered entity. 8 (b) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—Any individual who 9 is aggrieved by a violation of this Act may bring a civil 10 action seeking relief in an appropriate United States dis- 11 trict court. The court shall award a plaintiff prevailing in 12 such an action all appropriate relief, including injunctive, 13 declaratory, and other equitable relief necessary to carry 14 out this Act, attorneys’ fees, and such other relief as the 15 court determines appropriate. 16 (c) FEDERAL GUIDANCE.—Not later than 6 months 17 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 18 shall publish and disseminate guidance with respect to 19 compliance with this Act. 20 (d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—In order to ensure 21 compliance with and understanding of the legal, practice, 22 and cultural changes required by this Act, the Secretary 23 shall provide technical assistance to all covered entities, 24 including— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1848.IS S1848 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1848 IS (1) identifying State laws and regulations in- 1 consistent with this Act, and providing guidance and 2 training to ensure the State laws and regulations are 3 brought into compliance with this Act by the appli- 4 cable compliance deadline in effect under subsection 5 (h); 6 (2) identifying casework practices and proce- 7 dures inconsistent with this Act and providing guid- 8 ance and training to ensure the practices and proce- 9 dures are brought into compliance with this Act by 10 the applicable compliance deadline; 11 (3) providing guidance in expansion of recruit- 12 ment efforts to ensure consideration of all prospec- 13 tive adoptive and foster parents regardless of the re- 14 ligion, sex (including sexual orientation and gender 15 identity), or marital status of the prospective parent; 16 (4) creating comprehensive cultural competency 17 training for covered entities and prospective adoptive 18 and foster parents; and 19 (5) trainin [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]