A bipartisan bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives that seeks to ensure federal protections for disabled parents involved in child welfare proceedings. 

The Equality for Families with Disabilities Act, H.R. 8355, would require state agencies to include in their federally reviewed child welfare plans an explanation of the “procedural safeguards and supportive parenting services” it offered to disabled people who are parents, relatives, or foster or adoptive parents. Included in that explanation must be details about a “fact-specific” parenting assessment process that “does not rely on generalizations but evaluates the strengths, needs, and capabilities of the individual with a disability.”