Sponsors (30)
The bill would strengthen nondiscrimination protections, supports, and data-driven policies to expand and improve family placements for LGBTQ and other children in foster care, but it raises privacy risks, implementation costs, religious-liberty conflicts, and potential federal-state legal disputes that could limit provider availability and slow rollout.
LGBTQ children and youth in foster care are protected from exclusion and discrimination by federally funded child-welfare providers, increasing their access to safe placements and services.
Prospective foster and adoptive parents would be considered without non-merit barriers (including SOGI, religion, or marital status), expanding the pool of family-like placements for children.
Federal guidance, technical assistance, and a National Resource Center will provide training and resources to improve cultural competency and care for LGBTQ youth in the child-welfare system.
Faith-based and other providers with religious objections could lose federal funding or be required to change practices, and inability to use RFRA as a defense may produce litigation and reduce provider options in some communities.
Collecting SOGI data on children and families creates privacy and safety risks for vulnerable youth if safeguards fail or information is exposed.
States and covered entities will incur administrative, training, and compliance costs to change laws, policies, casework, and data systems to meet federal requirements and deadlines.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Prohibits discrimination by child welfare providers based on religion, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), or marital status; requires guidance, SOGI data collection, and a national resource center.
Prohibits child welfare providers that receive federal support from refusing services or discriminating against children, youth, family members, or prospective foster/adoptive parents because of religion, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), or marital status. It creates a private right of action for people harmed by such discrimination, requires the federal Secretary to issue compliance guidance within six months, and directs technical assistance and training to improve cultural competency and recruitment of foster/adoptive families. Requires the federal government to collect sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) data in foster/adoptive reporting, to record when SOGI-related family conflict contributed to a child’s removal, and to establish a National Resource Center focused on safety, well-being, placement stability, and permanency for LGBTQ children and youth in child welfare systems.
Introduced November 20, 2025 by Kirsten Gillibrand · Last progress November 20, 2025