[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 58 (Tuesday, May 3, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E787]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           INTRODUCING THE EVERY CHILD DESERVES A FAMILY ACT

                                  _____
                                 

                        HON. FORTNEY PETE STARK

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 3, 2011

  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce legislation that 
will give thousands of children in our foster care system a chance at 
having the one thing many of them say is all they have ever truly 
wanted--a family. There are approximately 500,000 children in our 
foster care system right now. Over 125,000 of those are waiting to be 
adopted, but there are just not enough qualified adoptive and foster 
parents. That leads to nearly 25,000 youth ``aging out'' of care each 
year with no permanent family. These young people are more likely than 
nearly any other group to become homeless or incarcerated, or to suffer 
with mental illness or substance abuse.
  There is an acute shortage of adoptive and foster parents. Yet, 
despite this fact and the documented terrible consequences of long 
stays in the child welfare system, some states have enacted 
discriminatory bans prohibiting children from being placed with 
qualified parents due solely to the parent's marital status or sexual 
orientation. A number of additional states are actively considering 
similar discriminatory restrictions. Most recently, Arizona enacted a 
law to restrict the ability of unmarried and gay and lesbian 
individuals from adopting. Only six states affirmatively allow gay and 
lesbian couples to adopt jointly.
  This is unfair to good people who want to open their homes to youth, 
unimaginable for kids who just want a family to love them, and unsafe 
for children for whom we in this body are responsible. If states will 
not do the right thing, the Federal government should.
  Congress invests over $7 billion in the child welfare system each 
year. We should not accept policies that use Federal funds to enact 
discriminatory barriers to adoption and close the door to thousands of 
potential homes. Studies suggest that upwards of 2 million gay and 
lesbian individuals are interested in adopting or fostering a child. 
There are already approximately 1 million lesbian, gay, bisexual, and 
transgendered (LGBT) parents raising about 2 million children in the 
U.S. Leading child welfare, public health, medical and legal 
organizations agree that opening up the homes of all qualified 
prospective parents can help support the unique needs of foster youth. 
Groups including the Child Welfare League of America, the National 
Association of Social Workers, the American Psychological Association, 
and the American Bar Association, all support the ability of qualified 
unmarried and LGBT couples to foster and adopt. More than 30 years of 
research indicates optimal development for children is based on the 
stable attachments to committed and nurturing parents, not on the 
marital status, sexual orientation or gender identity of the parents. 
This research consistently demonstrates that children raised by same-
sex parents exhibit the same level of emotional, cognitive, social and 
sexual development outcomes as children raised by straight parents.
  When considering a potential placement for a child, the only criteria 
should be what is in the child's best interest and whether the 
prospective parent can provide a safe and nurturing home. Bigotry 
should play no part in this decision. That is why I am introducing the 
``Every Child Deserves a Family Act.'' This legislation would simply 
prohibit any entity that receives Federal child welfare funds from 
denying or delaying adoption or foster care placements based solely on 
the prospective parent's marital status or sexual orientation. States 
and child welfare agencies that fail to end discriminatory practices 
would face financial penalties. This is the same approach that has put 
an end to race discrimination in adoption and foster care placements.
  Children in our foster care system are some of our most precious--and 
vulnerable--youth. They depend on us to do all we can to find them 
supportive and loving families, and it is our obligation to act in 
their best interests when doing so. To fail in our task of opening 
every possible door to stable, permanent and loving homes is a grave 
disservice to these children and to our country. We cannot allow 
divisive politics and the culture war to further harm these children by 
shrinking the number of prospective adoptive and foster parents. I hope 
that all of my colleagues will join me in saying yes to children and no 
to bigotry by cosponsoring the ``Every Child Deserves a Family Act.''

                          ____________________