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LGBT Equality Caucus

MEDIA CENTER

House LGBT Caucus Concerned about Taxpayer-Funded Discrimination in Adoption and Foster Care

February 25, 2020

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Caucus Press Release Logo

DATE: Feb. 25, 2020

CONTACT: rina.patel@mail.house.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

House LGBT Caucus Concerned about Taxpayer-Funded Discrimination in Adoption and Foster Care

Washington, D.C. – The Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus today expressed grave concerns about the Supreme Court decision to take up the case of Fulton v. City of Philadelphia. The Caucus is concerned that the Court may use this opportunity to cause further injury both to children, including LGBT children, seeking loving foster and adoptive homes, and to parents, including LGBT parents, looking to adopt or foster children.

In 2017, there were an estimated 443,000 children and youth in the United States foster care system, and 123,000 were eligible and waiting to be adopted. LGBT youth are overrepresented in the foster care system, and many youth identify with a cross-section of marginalized communities.

"As long as there are kids out there who need a family, we should be doing everything we can to connect them with loving parents" said Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, the first and only out member of Congress from New York and a father of three. "Ultimately, this case isn't about religious freedom - it's about granting a license to discriminate against families like mine. It hurts innocent children and denies them the family and support system they need."

"No parent should ever be denied the opportunity to build a family because of who they love or how they identify, and no child should ever be mistreated because of their identity. All that should matter is that children are placed in a safe, loving home," said LGBT Equality Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Angie Craig. "I'm proud to be a champion for LGBTQ adoptive parents and children are treated with the respect they deserve."

Reps. Maloney and Craig are the only LGBTQ adoptive parents in Congress, and are proud cosponsors of the bipartisan Every Child Deserves a Family Act, which prohibits all discrimination in the administration or provision of child welfare services by any agency receiving Federal funds on the basis of sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), religion, or marital status. The bill was reintroduced in the House and Senate by Reps. John Lewis (D-GA) and Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon (R-PR) and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).

Please contact Shawn Gaylord at 202-257-8416 or shawn.gaylord@mail.house.gov with press inquiries.

Founded in 2008, the mission of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus is to promote lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) equality. The Caucus, which is led by the seven openly LGBT members of Congress, is strongly committed to achieving the full enjoyment of human rights for LGBT people in the U.S. and around the world.