Text of US HB 2028 (2013)

I 113TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2028 To prohibit discrimination in adoption or foster care placements based on the sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status of any prospec- tive adoptive or foster parent, or the sexual orientation or gender identity of the child involved. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 16, 2013 Mr. LEWIS (for himself, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. BASS, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. CLARKE, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. CONYERS, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. DEUTCH, Ms. EDWARDS, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. HONDA, Ms. EDDIE BER- NICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. KENNEDY, Ms. KUSTER, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Ms. MOORE, Mr. NADLER, Ms. NORTON, Mr. O’ROURKE, Ms. PELOSI, Ms. PINGREE of Maine, Mr. POCAN, Mr. POLIS, Mr. QUIGLEY, Ms. ROY- BAL-ALLARD, Ms. LINDA T. SA´NCHEZ of California, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SCHIFF, Ms. SCHWARTZ, Mr. SERRANO, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. SWALWELL of California, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. TSONGAS, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, and Ms. WILSON of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was re- ferred to the Committee on Ways and Means A BILL To prohibit discrimination in adoption or foster care place- ments based on the sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status of any prospective adoptive or foster parent, or the sexual orientation or gender identity of the child involved. VerDate Mar 15 2010 06:30 May 24, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H2028.IH H2028 jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2028 IH 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 ‘‘Every Child Deserves 4 a Family Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 7 (1) There is a shortage of qualified individuals 8 willing to adopt or foster a child in the child welfare 9 system. As a result, thousands of foster children 10 lack a permanent and safe home. 11 (2) In order to open more homes to foster chil- 12 dren, child welfare agencies should work to eliminate 13 sexual orientation, gender identity, and marital sta- 14 tus discrimination and bias in adoption and foster 15 care recruitment, selection, and placement proce- 16 dures. 17 (3) Of the estimated 400,000 children in the 18 United States foster care system, more than 19 104,000 cannot return to their original families and 20 are legally free for adoption. 21 (A) 50,516 children were adopted in 2011, 22 while 26,286 youth ‘‘aged out’’ of the foster 23 care system. 24 VerDate Mar 15 2010 06:30 May 24, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2028.IH H2028 jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2028 IH (B) Research shows that youth who ‘‘age 1 out’’ of the foster care system are at a high risk 2 for poverty, homelessness, incarceration, and 3 early parenthood. 4 (C) Increasing adoption rates, in addition 5 to establishing permanency and decreasing risk 6 factors for foster youth, can yield annual na- 7 tional cost savings between $3,300,000,000 and 8 $6,300,000,000. 9 (4) Experts agree that in many States, lesbian, 10 gay, bisexual, and transgender youth experience dis- 11 crimination, harassment, and violence in the foster 12 care system because of their sexual orientation or 13 gender identity. 14 (5) Approximately 60 percent of homeless les- 15 bian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth were pre- 16 viously in foster care. According to the Urban Jus- 17 tice Center, many of these young people reported 18 that living on the streets felt ‘‘safer’’ than living in 19 their group or foster home. 20 (6) According to the Williams Institute, an esti- 21 mated 19 percent of same-sex couple households in- 22 clude children under 18 years of age. 23 (7) The Williams Institute estimates that 24 3,000,000 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender 25 VerDate Mar 15 2010 06:30 May 24, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2028.IH H2028 jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2028 IH people have had a child and as many as 6,000,000 1 American adults and children have a lesbian, gay, 2 bisexual, or transgender parent. Among adults under 3 50 years of age living alone or with a spouse or 4 partner, 48 percent of lesbian, bisexual, or 5 transgender women are raising a child under 18 6 years of age, and 20 percent of gay, bisexual, or 7 transgender men are doing so. 8 (8) As of 2013, same-sex couples are raising 9 1.4 percent of adopted children with 2 parents and 10 are fostering 1.7 percent of foster children living 11 with 2 parents. A 2007 report from the Williams In- 12 stitute found that an additional 2,000,000 gay, les- 13 bian, and bisexual individuals are interested in adop- 14 tion. 15 (9) According to the Williams Institute/Urban 16 Institute, same-sex couples raising adopted children 17 tend to be older than, just as educated as, and have 18 access to the same economic resources as other 19 adoptive parents. Studies confirm that children with 20 same-sex parents have the same advantages and 21 same expectations for health, social, and psycho- 22 logical adjustment, and development as children 23 whose parents are heterosexual. 24 VerDate Mar 15 2010 06:30 May 24, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2028.IH H2028 jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2028 IH (10) An Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute 1 study found that 1⁄3 of child welfare agencies in the 2 United States reject gay, lesbian, and bisexual appli- 3 cants. 4 (A) The practice of prohibiting applicants 5 from becoming foster parents or adopting chil- 6 dren solely on the basis of sexual orientation or 7 marital status has resulted in reducing the 8 number of qualified adoptive and foster parents 9 overall and denying gay, lesbian, bisexual, and 10 unmarried relatives the opportunity to become 11 foster parents for their own kin, including 12 grandchildren, or to adopt their own kin, in- 13 cluding grandchildren, from foster care. 14 (B) According to the Williams Institute, 15 more than 3,400 children are currently in foster 16 placements with same-sex couples. Another 17 22,000 children are being raised by same-sex 18 adoptive couples. If other States followed the 19 minority of States and discriminated against 20 qualified individuals because of their sexual ori- 21 entation or marital status, foster care expendi- 22 tures would increase between $87,000,000 and 23 $130,000,000 per year in order to pay for addi- 24 tional institutional and group care, as well as to 25 VerDate Mar 15 2010 06:30 May 24, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2028.IH H2028 jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2028 IH recruit and train new foster and adoptive par- 1 ents. 2 (11) Some States allow 1 member of a same- 3 sex couple to adopt, but do not recognize both mem- 4 bers of the couple as the child’s legal parents. Rec- 5 ognition of joint adoption provides children with the 6 same rights and security that children of hetero- 7 sexual parents enjoy. These protections include ac- 8 cess to both parents’ health benefits, survivor’s, So- 9 cial Security, and child support entitlements, legal 10 grounds for either parent to provide consent for 11 medical care, education, and other important deci- 12 sions, as well as the establishment of permanency 13 for parents and child. 14 (12) Professional organizations in the fields of 15 medicine, psychology, law, and child welfare have 16 taken official positions in support of the ability of 17 qualified gay, lesbian, bisexual, and unmarried cou- 18 ples to foster and adopt a child, as supported by sci- 19 entific research showing sexual orientation as a non- 20 determinative factor in parental success. 21 (13) Discrimination against potential foster or 22 adoptive parents based on sexual orientation, gender 23 identity, or marital status is not in the best interests 24 of children in the foster care system. 25 VerDate Mar 15 2010 06:30 May 24, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2028.IH H2028 jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2028 IH (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to de- 1 crease the length of time that children wait for perma- 2 nency with a loving family and to promote the best inter- 3 ests of children in the child welfare system by preventing 4 discrimination in adoption and foster care placements 5 based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital 6 status. 7 SEC. 3. EVERY CHILD DESERVES A FAMILY. 8 (a) ACTIVITIES.— 9 (1) PROHIBITION.—An entity that receives Fed- 10 eral assistance or contracts with an entity that re- 11 ceives Federal assistance, and is involved in adoption 12 or foster care placements may not— 13 (A) deny to any person the opportunity to 14 become an adoptive or a foster parent on the 15 basis of the sexual orientation, gender identity, 16 or marital status of the person, or the sexual 17 orientation or gender identity of the child in- 18 volved; 19 (B) delay or deny the placement of a child 20 for adoption or into foster care on the basis of 21 the sexual orientation, gender identity, or mar- 22 ital status of any prospective adoptive or foster 23 parent, or the sexual orientation or gender iden- 24 tity of the child; or 25 VerDate Mar 15 2010 06:30 May 24, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2028.IH H2028 jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2028 IH (C) require different or additional 1 screenings, processes, or procedures for adop- 2 tive or foster placement decisions on the basis 3 of the sexual orientation, gender identity, or 4 marital status of the prospective adoptive or 5 foster parent, or the sexual orientation or gen- 6 der identity of the child involved. 7 (2) DEFINITION OF PLACEMENT DECISION.—In 8 this section, the term ‘‘placement decision’’ means 9 the decision to place, or to delay or deny the place- 10 ment of, a child in a foster care or an adoptive 11 home, and includes the decision of the agency or en- 12 tity involved to seek the termination of birth parent 13 rights or otherwise make a child legally available for 14 adoptive placement. 15 (b) EQUITABLE RELIEF.—Any individual who is ag- 16 grieved by an action in violation of subsection (a) may 17 bring an action seeking relief in a United States district 18 court of appropriate jurisdiction. 19 (c) FEDERAL GUIDANCE.—Not later than 6 months 20 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 21 Health and Human Services shall publish guidance to con- 22 cerned entities with respect to compliance with this sec- 23 tion. 24 VerDate Mar 15 2010 06:30 May 24, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2028.IH H2028 jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2028 IH (d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—In order to ensure 1 compliance with, and ensure understanding of the legal, 2 practice, and culture changes required by, this Act in mak- 3 ing foster care and adoption placement decisions, the Sec- 4 retary shall provide technical assistance to all entities cov- 5 ered by this Act, including— 6 (1) identifying laws and regulations inconsistent 7 with this Act and providing guidance and training to 8 ensure the laws and regulations are brought into 9 compliance within the prescribed period of time; 10 (2) identifying casework practices and proce- 11 dures inconsistent with this Act and providing guid- 12 ance and training to ensure the practices and proce- 13 dures are brought into compliance within the pre- 14 scribed period of time; 15 (3) providing guidance in expansion of recruit- 16 ment efforts to ensure consideration of all interested 17 and qualified prospective adoptive and foster parents 18 regardless of the sexual orientation, gender identity, 19 or marital status of the prospective parent; 20 (4) comprehensive cultural competency training 21 for covered entities and prospective adoptive and fos- 22 ter parents; and 23 VerDate Mar 15 2010 06:30 May 24, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2028.IH H2028 jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2028 IH (5) training judges and attorneys involved in 1 foster care and adoption cases on the findings and 2 purposes of this Act. 3 (e) DEADLINE FOR COMPLIANCE.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para- 5 graph (2), an entity that receives Federal assistance 6 and is involved with adoption or foster care place- 7 ments shall comply with this section not later than 8 6 months after publication of the guidance referred 9 to in subsection (c), or 1 year after the date of en- 10 actment of this Act, whichever occurs first. 11 (2) AUTHORITY TO EXTEND DEADLINE.—If a 12 State demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Sec- 13 retary of Health and Human Services that it is nec- 14 essary to amend State statutory law in order to 15 change a particular practice that is inconsistent with 16 this section, the Secretary may extend the compli- 17 ance date for the State and any entities in the State 18 that are involved with adoption or foster care place- 19 ments a reasonable number of days after the close 20 of the 1st State legislative session beginning after 21 the date the guidance referred to in subsection (c) 22 is published. 23 (3) AUTHORITY TO WITHHOLD FUNDS.—If a 24 State fails to comply with this section, the Secretary 25 VerDate Mar 15 2010 06:30 May 24, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2028.IH H2028 jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2028 IH may withhold payment to the State of amounts oth- 1 erwise payable to the State under part B or E of 2 title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621 3 et seq., 670 et seq.), to the extent the Secretary 4 deems the withholding necessary to induce the State 5 into compliance with this section. 6 (f) GAO STUDY.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 5 years after 8 the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 9 General of the United States shall conduct a study 10 to determine whether the States have substantially 11 complied with this Act, including specifically whether 12 the States have— 13 (A) eliminated policies, practices, or stat- 14 utes that deny to any otherwise qualified person 15 the opportunity to become an adoptive or foster 16 parent on the basis of the sexual orientation, 17 gender identity, or marital status of the person, 18 or the sexual orientation or gender identity of 19 the child involved; 20 (B) removed all program, policy, or statu- 21 tory barriers that delay or deny the placement 22 of a child for adoption or into foster care on the 23 basis of the sexual orientation, gender identity, 24 or marital status of any qualified, prospective 25 VerDate Mar 15 2010 06:30 May 24, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2028.IH H2028 jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2028 IH adoptive or foster parent, or the sexual orienta- 1 tion or gender identity of the child; and 2 (C) eliminated all different or additional 3 screenings, processes, or procedures for adop- 4 tive or foster placement decisions based on the 5 sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital 6 status of the prospective adoptive or foster par- 7 ent, or the sexual orientation or gender identity 8 of the child involved. 9 (2) REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.—Not later 10 than 1 year after completing the study required by 11 paragraph (1), the Comptroller General shall submit 12 to Congress a written report that contains the re- 13 sults of the study. 14 Æ VerDate Mar 15 2010 06:30 May 24, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2028.IH H2028 jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS