Every Child Deserves a Family Act
Latest action · May 19, 2015 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMay 19, 2015
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Every Child Deserves a Family Act
Prohibits adoption or foster care placement service entities that receive federal assistance (or that contract with entities receiving such assistance) from using the sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status of a prospective adoptive or foster parent, or from using the sexual orientation or gender identity of the child, to: (1) deny a person the opportunity to become an adoptive or foster parent; (2) delay or deny the placement of a child for adoption or into foster care; or (3) require different or additional screenings or procedures for adoptive or foster placement decisions, including whether to seek the termination of birth parent rights or to make a child legally available for adoptive placement.
Allows individuals aggrieved by a violation of this Act to bring an action seeking relief in federal court.
Directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to publish guidance on legal compliance and to assist entities with casework practices, recruitment efforts, and cultural competency training.
Allows HHS to withhold payments under part B (Child and Family Services) or part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act to states that fail to comply with this Act.
Cosponsors 20
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from May 19, 2015 to Jan 12, 2016; 11 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-MN | Al Franken | Original | May 19, 2015 |
| I-VT | Bernard Sanders | Original | May 19, 2015 |
| D-NY | Charles E. Schumer | Original | May 19, 2015 |
| D-MA | Edward J. Markey | Original | May 19, 2015 |
| D-MA | Elizabeth Warren | Original | May 19, 2015 |
| D-NH | Jeanne Shaheen | Original | May 19, 2015 |
| D-WA | Maria Cantwell | Original | May 19, 2015 |
| D-HI | Mazie K. Hirono | Original | May 19, 2015 |
| D-WA | Patty Murray | Original | May 19, 2015 |
| D-CT | Richard Blumenthal | Original | May 19, 2015 |
| D-WI | Tammy Baldwin | Original | May 19, 2015 |
| D-CA | Barbara Boxer | May 21, 2015 | |
| D-VT | Patrick J. Leahy | Jun 1, 2015 | |
| D-OR | Ron Wyden | Jun 2, 2015 | |
| D-OR | Jeff Merkley | Jun 4, 2015 | |
| D-NJ | Robert Menendez | Jun 8, 2015 | |
| D-OH | Sherrod Brown | Jul 29, 2015 | |
| D-MD | Benjamin L. Cardin | Aug 4, 2015 | |
| D-CA | Dianne Feinstein | Aug 4, 2015 | |
| D-CT | Christopher Murphy | Jan 12, 2016 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Finance Committee | Referred May 19, 2015 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- May 19, 2015Introduced in Senate
- May 19, 2015Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Related bills 2
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 1303 | Every Child Deserves a Family Act | Reintroduced Bill | Jun 7, 2017 |
| HR 2449 | Every Child Deserves a Family Act | Related bill | Jun 1, 2015 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to prohibit discrimination in adoption or foster care placements 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.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Every Child Deserves a Family Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Families.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- May 19, 2015Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
