Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today introduced new legislation to bar any entity that receives federal funds and is involved in adoption or foster care placement from discriminating against parents based on sexual orientation, gender identity or marital status. Though as many as two million LGBT people nationally would adopt if able, many states ban same-sex couples from adopting or fostering children. Nationwide, there are an estimated 402,000 children in the U.S. foster care system, and 23,000 children will “age out” before finding a permanent home. Congress invests more than $8 billion into the child welfare system each year. In New York, there were over 22,000 children in foster care last year, and the state spent more than $400 million on related services.
“We need to support the loving, caring and responsible adults who want to welcome children in need of families into their homes,” said Senator Gillibrand. “This bill removes outdated and discriminatory barriers that have kept thousands of children within the welfare system instead connecting them with devoted parents. By passing the Every Child Deserves a Family Act, we will finally provide the protections LGBT people need to adopt and foster children across the country.”
The Every Child Deserves A Family Act would protect qualified potential parents by prohibiting any entity that receives federal funds and is involved in adoption or foster care placements from discriminating on the basis of their sexual orientation, gender identity or marital status. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the Every Child Deserves A Family Act would save $100 million over five years and just under $400 million over the course of 10 years. The bill is co-sponsored by Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Al Franken (D-MN), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Ed Markey (D-MA), Patty Murray (D-WA) Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Charles Schumer (D-NY), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
Across New York, thousands of children are in foster care and millions of dollars are spent on those services.
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In Western New York, there are 1,300 children in foster care and the government spends approximately $27 million on services for children in foster care.
In the Rochester-Finger Lakes Region, there are 847 children in foster care and the government spends approximately $23 million on services for children in foster care.
In Central New York, there are 912 children in foster care and the government spends approximately $23 million on services for children in foster care.
In the Southern Tier, there are 696 children in foster care and the government spends approximately $15 million on services for children in foster care.
In the Capital Region, there are 925 children in foster care and the government spends approximately $29 million on services for children in foster care.
In the North Country, there are 497 children in foster care and the government spends approximately $10 million on services for children in foster care.
On Long Island, there are 892 children in foster care and the government spends approximately $27 million on services for children in foster care.
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“As the national organization that connects, supports, and represents LGBTQ parents and their families in the U.S., Family Equality Council values Senator Gillibrand’s longstanding commitment to ensuring that every child in foster care has the opportunity to find a forever home,” said Gabriel Blau, Executive Director of the Family Equality Council. Her stewardship of the Every Child Deserves a Family Act showcases her dedication to ensuring that the best interests of youth in foster care is the first priority of agencies and individual providers, and to making sure that no qualified parent is turned away because of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status. With 23,000 youth aging out of care each year without finding permanency, passage of the Every Child Deserves a Family Act is all the more crucial, and we look forward to working with the Senator to ensure that no child is denied the chance to find his or her forever family.”
“Loving parents, a nurturing, safe environment – these are what all children need to grow and thrive,” said Ellen Kahn, Human Rights Campaign’s Director of the Children, Youth and Families Program. “HRC applauds Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s leadership in reintroducing the Every Child Deserves a Family Act which will remove discriminatory and arbitrary barriers that stand between hundreds of thousands of children in our nation’s foster care system, and the loving, qualified, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender adults who look forward to welcoming a child and building a family together.”
“We applaud Senator Gillibrand for working to help more children to find homes with loving families,” said Nathan Schaefer, Executive Director of the Empire State Pride Agenda. “For it’s love that makes a family—not the gender, sexual orientation, marital status, or gender identity of the parents or children. Legislation like the Every Child Deserves a Family Act is especially necessary as more LGBTQ Americans gain the freedom to marry. With nationwide access to the right to marriage likely in the near future, issues relevant to creating families come to the fore, and LGBTQ families need protection from discrimination.”
Only seven states prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation in adoption, and only five explicitly ban discrimination in foster care. Louisiana, Mississippi and Michigan prohibit same-sex couples from jointly adopting, and Nebraska, Ohio, Kentucky and Kansas restrict same-sex couples from accessing second-parent adoption. A majority of states are silent on the issue of LGBT foster care, therefore providing no protections for men and women who want to provide homes for children.