Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and out Rep. Angie Craig have reintroduced the John Lewis Every Child Deserves a Family Act, a sweeping federal bill designed to protect queer youth in foster care and LGBTQ+ parents who want to adopt. The bill would ban discrimination by any child welfare agency receiving federal funds and prohibit foster caretakers from placing queer youth in conversion therapy, which the legislation says is a form of discrimination that harms LGBTQ people.
It also creates a National Resource Center focused on safety and placement stability for queer children, and expands data collection to “understand fully the extent and impact of discrimination and ensure accountability.” According to the bill, LGBTQ+ youth are “overrepresented in the foster care system by at least a factor of two,” making up at least 30% of those in care.
They experience harassment, discrimination, violence, and poor treatment at far higher rates, and are more likely to attempt suicide. Craig, herself a queer adoptive parent, said, “As an LGBTQ+ adoptive parent… I have witnessed firsthand the widespread discrimination in our country’s adoption and foster care systems….No state should allow discrimination against LGBTQ+ foster children or adoptive parents.” Fifteen states currently allow such discrimination. This marks the bill’s ninth introduction.
