Legislation would outlaw discriminatory practices against both LGBTQ+ children and adopters
November 22, 2025 - On Friday, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), along with Reps. Danny K. Davis (D-IL-07), Angie Craig (D-
MN-02), Judy Chu (D-CA-28), and Gwen Moore (D-WI-04), introduced legislation to ban discrimination against LGBTQ+ couples looking to adopt and protect LGBTQ+ children in the foster care system.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
The John Lewis Every Child Deserves a Family Act would prohibit discrimination by federally funded child welfare agencies against individuals and couples on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, or marital status. The bill would also improve the safety and well-being of LGBTQ+ children involved with federally funded child welfare services by establishing a National Resource Center for LGBTQ+ youth and by banning harmful practices like conversion therapy.
“Every child deserves a safe, loving household, and it is absolutely unacceptable that so many children are denied this access because of antiquated laws and deliberate discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals,” said Sen. Gillibrand. “This legislation will ensure that taxpayer-funded adoption services and foster care providers cannot engage in discrimination against children or potential parents, solidifying protections for some of our most vulnerable children. I’m proud to introduce this legislation, and I will fight to get it passed.”
“Government has a unique responsibility to ensure that each and every child in foster care finds a loving, affirming family,” said Rep. Davis. “I am proud to co-lead the John Lewis Every Child Deserves a Family Act that increases the number of foster and adoptive homes available to all children in foster care and that helps neglected and abused children find the caring relationship they need to heal and thrive.”
“As an LGBTQ+ adoptive parent and a mother who had to fight in court to adopt my son, I have witnessed firsthand the widespread discrimination in our country’s adoption and foster care systems,” said Rep. Craig. “No state should allow discrimination against LGBTQ+ foster children or adoptive parents who can provide a safe and loving home. I’m proud to help carry on the late John Lewis’ legacy through this critical legislation we crafted together to ensure that LGBTQ+ adoptive parents and children are treated with the respect and dignity they deserve.”
“Every child deserves to grow up in a safe, stable, and loving home. This bill protects children in foster care by expanding the number of foster and adoptive families available to them and ensuring that no child or family is discriminated against or turned away because of who they are or how they pray,” said Rep. Chu. “The John Lewis Every Child Deserves a Family Act is a critical step toward creating a foster care system that truly protects and supports all children.”
“The safety and wellbeing of our children in care should always be our key priority,” said Rep. Moore. “This legislation reaffirms this principle and ensures that discrimination doesn’t prevent a child finding a loving and permanent home while providing important protections for LGBTQ youth in care. I am honored to lead this effort with my colleagues to lift up the needs of our most vulnerable children. ”
Same-sex couples are 10 times as likely to become foster parents and seven times as likely to pursue adoption than different-sex couples, according to a 2024 report from the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law. However, fourteen states currently allow child welfare agencies to turn away qualified foster and adoptive parents on the basis of their sexual identity or gender orientation, even though hundreds of thousands of children in the American foster care system need a loving home. Oklahoma, for instance, passed a bill in 2018 allowing religious-based adoption agencies to discriminate against same-sex couples, single people, and non-Christians. Several other states have passed or are considering similar legislation. Meanwhile, LGBTQ+ children, who are overrepresented in the system and make up at least 30 percent of children in foster care, suffer greater rates of mistreatment and experience worse outcomes than their peers. The John Lewis Every Child Deserves a Family Act would outlaw discriminatory practices against both LGBTQ+ children and adopters.
This legislation is cosponsored by Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tina Smith (D-MN), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Coons (D-DE), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Ed Markey (D-MA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), John Fetterman (D-PA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH).
“Children enter the child welfare system through no fault of their own, and our communities have a shared responsibility to ensure they are cared for with dignity and fairness,” said Darra Gordon, CEO of Family Equality. “This bill is a vital, practical step toward ending discriminatory barriers that prevent thousands of children from finding the safe, loving, and permanent homes they deserve. We thank Rep. Davis and Sen. Gillibrand for their leadership and urge Congress to act swiftly.”
“Discrimination against LGBTQIA+ children, youth and parents has no place in child welfare services,” said Linda Spears, President and CEO of the Child Welfare League of America. “Such discrimination too often adds to the stress and trauma in the lives of children, especially for those children and youth in foster care who may not have the stable and loving family they deserve. To ensure that all children and youth in care have the quality care they deserve, we must have the broadest possible pool of foster and adoptive families. We can accomplish this by identifying and assessing applicants on the basis of their ability to successfully parent a child and work with diverse family dynamics, not on the basis of their gender identity or sexual orientation. CWLA is proud to endorse the Every Child Deserves a Family Act and applauds Senator Gillibrand and Representative Danny Davis for the introduction and support of this important legislation.”
“Every child deserves a safe, loving, and affirming home. But too often, LGBTQ+ youth face unique challenges in the foster care system,” said David Stacy, Human Rights Campaign Vice President of Government Affairs. “When youth enter foster care, the State has a responsibility to place them with families that will support them—not exclude them because of who they are or who their caregivers are. That’s why we support the Every Child Deserves a Family Act, which ensures that agencies receiving federal funds cannot discriminate based on religion, marital status, sexual orientation, or gender identity”
“LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit children, parents, kin, and families have the right to free from discrimination and harm while involved with the child welfare system and to be treated with dignity and respect,” said Currey Cook, co-chair of the John Lewis Every Child Deserves a Family Campaign. “The John Lewis Every Child Deserves a Family Act is an important step forward to ensure those rights are clear and explicit so children and families can expect and receive fair treatment by a system that too often harms rather than helps.”
“Having grown up and aged out of the foster care system, I know firsthand why this legislation is vital to reducing the number of children who linger in care without a place to call home,” said Schylar Baber, co-chair of the John Lewis Every Child Deserves a Family Campaign. “Too many children still lack foster families and end up in group homes or residential centers simply because there is nowhere else to place them. I was part of what is now called the generation that waits—removed at age six, denied adoption at age twelve because the prospective parent was an unmarried male, and told I was “unadoptable.” Instead of permanency, I endured years of instability and trauma caused by outdated policies and discrimination. Love eventually prevailed when I was adopted at age 25 by the same person who had been denied years earlier, but that was six years of a home I should never have been denied. We must remove barriers that exclude viable families, because every child deserves permanency, stability, and love.”
The full text of the John Lewis Every Child Deserves a Family Act is available here.
Source: Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
