[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1224 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1224

To prohibit an agency, or entity, that receives Federal assistance and 
   is involved in adoption or foster care programs from delaying or 
denying the placement of a child based on the race, color, or national 
 origin of the child or adoptive or foster parent or parents involved, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                July 14 (legislative day, June 30), 1993

   Mr. Metzenbaum (for himself and Ms. Moseley-Braun) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                       Labor and Human Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To prohibit an agency, or entity, that receives Federal assistance and 
   is involved in adoption or foster care programs from delaying or 
denying the placement of a child based on the race, color, or national 
 origin of the child or adoptive or foster parent or parents involved, 
                        and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Multiethnic Placement Act of 1993''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) nearly 500,000 children are in foster care in the 
        United States;
            (2) tens of thousands of children in foster care are 
        waiting for adoption; and
            (3) two years and 8 months is the median length of time for 
        children waiting to be adopted.
    (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to decrease the length 
of time for children waiting to be adopted and to prevent 
discrimination in the placement of children on the basis of race, color 
or national origin.

SEC. 3. MULTIETHNIC PLACEMENTS.

    (a) Activities.--
            (1) Prohibition.--An agency, or entity, that receives 
        Federal assistance and is involved in adoption or foster care 
        placements may not delay or deny the placement of a child for 
        adoption or into foster care, or otherwise discriminate in 
        making a placement decision, solely because of the race, color, 
        or national origin of the adoptive (or foster) parent or 
        parents or the child.
            (2) Permissible consideration.--An agency or entity to 
        which paragraph (1) applies may consider the race, color, or 
        national origin of a child in arriving at a placement decision 
        if such factors are relevant to the best interests of the child 
        involved and are considered in conjunction with other factors.
            (3) Definition.--As used in this subsection, the term 
        ``placement decision'' means the decision to place, or to delay 
        or deny the placement of a child in a foster care or adoptive 
        home, and includes the decision of the agency or entity 
        involved to seek the termination of birth parent rights or 
        otherwise make a child legally available for adoptive 
        placement.
    (b) Limitation.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 
not provide adoption assistance funds under section 474(a)(3) of the 
Social Security Act to an agency or entity that is not in compliance 
with subsection (a).
    (c) Equitable Relief.--Any individual aggrieved by an agency or 
entity in violation of subsection (a) shall have the right to bring an 
action seeking relief in a United States District Court of appropriate 
jurisdiction.
    (d) Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be construed to 
affect an adoption or foster care placement made pursuant to the Indian 
Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.).

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