BOSTON (SHNS) - More Massachusetts families with pets would gain the ability to foster children under legislation the Senate is poised to take up Thursday. Senators are slated to tackle redrafted legislation (H 4911) that would remove dog breed restrictions that the Department of Children and Families must consider when handling foster placements, Senate President Karen Spilka's office said Wednesday afternoon. It also clarifies animal cruelty reporting guidelines among human service workers. The Senate gave initial approval to the bill on July 29. The House unanimously approved the bill, originally sponsored by Rep. Jack Patrick Lewis of Framingham, on July 25. Under the bill, the Department of Children and Families "would consider factors such as a pet's history of dangerous behavior and their health records, instead of a pet's breed," Spilka's office said in a media advisory. "Currently, a family who is thinking of adopting cannot do so if they own breeds including Rottweilers, Pit Bulls, German Shepherds, or a dog which mixes at least two of these three breeds." On the House floor in July, Lewis recounted how when he and his husband were considering adopting another child or becoming foster parents, a DCF social worker during a home visit had inquired about the breed of their bulldog. "If that DCF social worker, well-intended as she was, had put down pit bull mix or something else along those same terms, my family wouldn't have been able to welcome more people into our home, and I wouldn't have the joy of now having the number of kids that I now have," Lewis said. "This is what today's bill is all about." Under the bill, DCF can request "that a foster or pre-adoptive parent applicant or a foster or pre-adoptive parent obtain and provide a copy of a behavior or temperament assessment or provide veterinary records for any animal maintained on premises used as a foster or pre-adoptive home." Officials can also consider factors including the age and "behavioral aspects" of the child, past incidents of dangerous behavior involving the child and animals in other placements, whether the animal is licensed and vaccinated, the age and size of the animal, the number of animals at the home, and whether the animal will be penned or caged. The Senate meets at 11 a.m. Thursday.