John Lewis Every Child Deserves a Family Act
Latest action · May 26, 2021 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 26, 2021
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
John Lewis Every Child Deserves a Family Act
This bill prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or religion in the provision of child welfare programs and services by entities receiving federal funding. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must provide technical assistance to help states follow this requirement, including (1) guidance for bringing state laws into compliance, (2) developing training to increase cultural competency related to social identity, and (3) training for judges and attorneys involved in child welfare cases, among other supports.
Additionally, HHS must establish the National Resource Center on Safety, Well-Being, Placement Stability, and Permanency for LGBTQ Children and Youth Involved with Child Welfare Services to provide training, technical assistance, and guidance to applicable state and local agencies and service providers.
Further, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act may not be the basis for challenging the application or enforcement of this bill. The Government Accountability Office must study and report on states' compliance with the requirements of the bill no later than three years after enactment.
Cosponsors 46
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from May 26, 2021 to Dec 13, 2022; 24 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-CA | Alex Padilla | Original | May 26, 2021 |
| D-MN | Amy Klobuchar | Original | May 26, 2021 |
| I-ME | Angus S. King Jr. | Original | May 26, 2021 |
| D-NV | Catherine Cortez Masto | Original | May 26, 2021 |
| D-MD | Chris Van Hollen | Original | May 26, 2021 |
| D-CT | Christopher Murphy | Original | May 26, 2021 |
| D-NJ | Cory A. Booker | Original | May 26, 2021 |
| D-CA | Dianne Feinstein | Original | May 26, 2021 |
| D-MA | Edward J. Markey | Original | May 26, 2021 |
| D-MA | Elizabeth Warren | Original | May 26, 2021 |
| D-NV | Jacky Rosen | Original | May 26, 2021 |
| D-NH | Jeanne Shaheen | Original | May 26, 2021 |
| D-WA | Maria Cantwell | Original | May 26, 2021 |
| D-HI | Mazie K. Hirono | Original | May 26, 2021 |
| D-CO | Michael F. Bennet | Original | May 26, 2021 |
| D-CT | Richard Blumenthal | Original | May 26, 2021 |
| D-NJ | Robert Menendez | Original | May 26, 2021 |
| D-OR | Ron Wyden | Original | May 26, 2021 |
| D-OH | Sherrod Brown | Original | May 26, 2021 |
| D-WI | Tammy Baldwin | Original | May 26, 2021 |
| D-IL | Tammy Duckworth | Original | May 26, 2021 |
| D-DE | Thomas R. Carper | Original | May 26, 2021 |
| D-VA | Tim Kaine | Original | May 26, 2021 |
| D-MN | Tina Smith | Original | May 26, 2021 |
| I-VT | Bernard Sanders | Jun 7, 2021 | |
| D-MI | Debbie Stabenow | Jun 7, 2021 | |
| D-PA | Robert P. Casey Jr. | Jun 15, 2021 | |
| D-NM | Ben Ray Luján | Jun 16, 2021 | |
| D-VA | Mark R. Warner | Jun 17, 2021 | |
| D-RI | Sheldon Whitehouse | Aug 3, 2021 | |
| D-MD | Benjamin L. Cardin | Aug 4, 2021 | |
| D-VT | Patrick J. Leahy | Sep 13, 2021 | |
| D-RI | Jack Reed | Sep 21, 2021 | |
| D-OR | Jeff Merkley | Oct 26, 2021 | |
| D-DE | Christopher A. Coons | Dec 2, 2021 | |
| D-NH | Margaret Wood Hassan | Jan 6, 2022 | |
| D-NM | Martin Heinrich | Jan 31, 2022 | |
| D-IL | Richard J. Durbin | Feb 7, 2022 | |
| D-MI | Gary C. Peters | Mar 14, 2022 | |
| D-HI | Brian Schatz | Jul 13, 2022 | |
| D-MT | Jon Tester | Sep 7, 2022 | |
| D-WA | Patty Murray | Sep 15, 2022 | |
| D-GA | Jon Ossoff | Sep 21, 2022 | |
| I-AZ | Kyrsten Sinema | Sep 21, 2022 | |
| D-CO | John W. Hickenlooper | Nov 15, 2022 | |
| D-AZ | Mark Kelly | Dec 13, 2022 |
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 26, 2021 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- May 26, 2021Introduced in Senate
- May 26, 2021Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R47080 | Child Welfare in the President’s FY2023 Budget Archived | Report | Apr 26, 2022 |
Related bills 3
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 1791 | Every Child Deserves a Family Act | Reintroduction of | Jun 11, 2019 |
| HR 3488 | John Lewis Every Child Deserves a Family Act | Related bill | May 26, 2021 |
| S 4629 | John Lewis Every Child Deserves a Family Act | Reintroduced Bill | Jun 20, 2024 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to prohibit discrimination on the basis of religion, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), and marital status in the administration and provision of child welfare services, to improve safety, well-being, and permanency for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning foster youth, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- John Lewis Every Child Deserves a Family Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Families.
- Adoption and foster care
- Child safety and welfare
- Civil actions and liability
- Congressional oversight
- Families
- Family relationships
- Government information and archives
- Government studies and investigations
- Marriage and family status
- Religion
- Sex, gender, sexual orientation discrimination
- Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations
- State and local government operations
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- May 26, 2021Introduced 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.
