Bipartisan Support for Reintroduction of Every Child Deserves a Family Act

This bill has been introduced a few times and has died in committee.  See here. It is set to be reintroduced this month. The bill number has not been assigned yet even though some media are posting bill numbers. Those bill numbers are from previous introductions of the legislation.

There’s No Place Like Home [Huffington Post 5/8/13 by Emily Hecht-McGowan] says “This week, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) announced their plan for a bipartisan, bicameral reintroduction of the Every Child Deserves a Family Act (ECDF), a bill that would make great strides in easing the foster care crisis in this country. The Every Child Deserves a Family Act is a child welfare bill that promotes the best interests of children in foster care by increasing their access to qualified, loving and permanent forever families. ECDF prohibits states from denying or delaying placements based on the prospective parents’ sexual orientation, gender identity or marital status, or based on the sexual orientation or gender identity of the child involved. ”

” Currently, in 39 states LGBT people and same-sex couples face some kind of barrier to fostering or adoption. The majority of states are silent on the issue, which results in, at best, uncertainty for LGBT families, and, at worst, a functional, unwritten ban on LGBT people serving as foster or adoptive parents. Only 10 states affirmatively prohibit sexual orientation discrimination in adoption. ”

“ven with these existing barriers, same-sex couples are still four times more likely than their different-sex counterparts to be raising an adopted child, and six times more likely to be raising foster children. And LGBT people are already raising about 4 percent of all adopted and 3 percent of all foster children in the U.S. ”

National Black Justice Coalitionsays “On behalf of the Black lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, I am proud to stand with Congressman John Lewis, Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, in addition to our lead ally organizations Family Equality Council and PFLAG, as they announce the planned reintroduction of the Every Child Deserves a Family Act (ECDF), a powerful move in affording LGBT families across the nation the dignity and recognition they deserve.

According to research compiled by the Movement Advancement Project, there are approximately one million LGBT parents, many of them of color, who are already raising about two million children in the U.S. If passed, ECDF would help legitimize these families by prohibiting federal resources from funding foster care and adoption programs that discriminate against potential adoption families because of marital status, gender identity, sexual orientation, or the gender identity of the adoptive child.

The fact is that 59% of the estimated 400,000 children currently in the U.S. foster care system are children of color, and 28% of the approximately 104,000 children waiting to be adopted are Black. For as long as we can remember, Black LGBT families have been creating welcoming temporary and permanent homes for these and many other children, often with significantly fewer resources and protections than their white or heterosexual counterparts. However, in the absence of legislative action by Congress, Black LGBT parents and children will continue to suffer under the confusion and injustice dictated by the various state laws that do not recognize or respect our families.

NBJC is committed to fostering a collective effort to accord dignity and respect to all Black families. What is clear is that there are hundreds of Black children that are looking for the security of a caring family, and that there are even more Black LGBT couples and individuals that are ready to provide a loving home for our kids. It is time that the federal government set a benchmark that helps to guarantee that these families are afforded the legal status and governmental support that honors the dignity of all of our families, regardless of how they’re made.”

The Previous Bill introduced had the following guidelines. We will post the new bill when it becomes available and compare and contrast the text:

“SEC. 3. EVERY CHILD DESERVES A FAMILY.

(a) Activities-

(1) PROHIBITION- An entity that receives Federal assistance or contracts with an entity that receives Federal assistance, and is involved in adoption or foster care placements may not–

(A) deny to any person the opportunity to become an adoptive or a foster parent on the basis of the sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status of the person, or the sexual orientation or gender identity of the child involved;

(B) delay or deny the placement of a child for adoption or into foster care on the basis of 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; or

(C) require different or additional screenings, processes, or procedures for adoptive or foster placement decisions on the basis of the sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status of the prospective adoptive or foster parent, or the sexual orientation or gender identity of the child involved.

(2) DEFINITION- In this subsection, the term ‘placement decision’ means the decision to place, or to delay or deny the placement of, a child in a foster care or an adoptive home, and includes the decision of the agency or entity involved to seek the termination of birth parent rights or otherwise make a child legally available for adoptive placement.

(b) Equitable Relief- Any individual who is aggrieved by an action in violation of subsection (a) may bring an action seeking relief in a United States district court of appropriate jurisdiction.

(c) Federal Guidance- Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall publish guidance to concerned entities with respect to compliance with this section.

(d) Technical Assistance- In order to ensure compliance with, and ensure understanding of the legal, practice, and culture changes required by, this Act in making foster care and adoption placement decisions, the Secretary shall provide technical assistance to all entities covered by this Act, including–

(1) identifying laws and regulations inconsistent with this Act and providing guidance and training to ensure the laws and regulations are brought into compliance within the prescribed period of time;

(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 within the prescribed period of time;

(3) providing guidance in expansion of recruitment efforts to ensure consideration of all interested and qualified prospective adoptive and foster parents regardless of the sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status of the prospective parent;

(4) comprehensive cultural competency training for covered entities and prospective adoptive and foster parents; and

(5) training judges and attorneys involved in foster care and adoption cases on the findings and purposes of this Act.”

REFORM Puzzle Piece