U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
NEW YORK – Standing with LGBT families and advocates, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand Sunday announced that she will introduce the Every Child Deserves a Family Act to open more homes to children by ending discrimination against adoptive and foster parents based on sexual orientation, gender identity and marital status.
Nationwide, there are an estimated 402,000 children in the U.S. foster care system, and 23,000 children will “age out” before finding a permanent home. In New York City, there were over 11,000 children in foster care last year, which cost the City over $200 million.
Though as many as two million LGBT people nationally would adopt if able, many states expressly ban same-sex couples from adopting or fostering children.
The legislation Gillibrand outlined would bar any entity that receives federal funds and is involved in adoption or foster care placement from discriminating against parents based on sexual orientation, gender identity or marital status.
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