United States Congress
103d Congress - H.R. 3307 IH

HR 3307 IH

To prohibit any entity that receives Federal assistance from delaying or denying the placement of a child into foster care or for adoption based on any difference between the race, color, or national origin of the child and that of the prospective foster or adoptive parent or parents if a prospective parent of the same race, color, or national origin is not available.

October 19, 1993

Mr. GUTIERREZ introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

To prohibit any entity that receives Federal assistance from delaying or denying the placement of a child into foster care or for adoption based on any difference between the race, color, or national origin of the child and that of the prospective foster or adoptive parent or parents if a prospective parent of the same race, color, or national origin is not available.

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. MULTIETHNIC PLACEMENTS.

(a) PROHIBITION AGAINST DISCRIMINATION BASED ON DIFFERENCES IN RACE, COLOR, OR NATIONAL ORIGIN- In determining the placement of a child for foster care or adoption, in a case in which an individual of the same race, color, or national origin as the child is not available to be the parent of the child, an entity that receives Federal assistance may not give greater weight to any difference between the race, color, or national origin of the child and that of any prospective parent of the child than the entity gives to any other factor used in determining the best interests of the child.

(b) INAPPLICABILITY TO PLACEMENTS UNDER THE INDIAN CHILD WELFARE ACT OF 1978- Subsection (a) shall not apply to the placement of a child into foster care or for adoption under the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.).

(c) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION- Any individual aggrieved by a violation of subsection (a) by an entity may bring an action in the United States district court for the district in which the individual or the entity is located for damages and such other relief as the court may deem appropriate.

SEC. 3. DENIAL OF FEDERAL PAYMENTS FOR FOSTER CARE AND ADOPTION ASSISTANCE IF STATE PROGRAM UNLAWFULLY DISCRIMINATES IN CHILD PLACEMENT DECISIONS.

(a) IN GENERAL- Section 471(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)) is amended--

(1) by striking `and' at the end of paragraph (16);

(2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (17); and

(3) by adding at the end the following:

`(18) provides that the State agency, and any local agency involved in the placement of children into foster care or for adoption, will comply with section 2 of the Multiethnic Placement Act of 1993.'.

(b) EFFECTIVE DATE- The amendments made by subsection (a) shall apply to payments under part E of title IV of the Social Security Act for calendar quarters beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act.

END