FOURTH EDITION PROMISING PRACTICES IN ADOPTION AND FOSTER CARE A Comprehensive Guide to Policies and Practices That Welcome, Affirm and Support Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Foster and Adoptive Parents A Publication of the HRC Foundation’s All Children—All Families Initiative Finding permanent families for children by promoting fairness for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender foster and adoptive parents. Human Rights Campaign Foundation 1640 Rhode Island Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036 phone 202-628-4160 TTY 202-216-1572 fax 202-239-4202 website www.hrc.org/acaf e-mail [email protected] © 2012 by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. The HRC Foundation grants permission for the repro- duction and redistribution of this publication only when reproduced in its entirety and distributed free of charge. The Human Rights Campaign name and the Equality logo are trademarks of the Human Rights Campaign. ISBN 10: 1934765252 ISBN 13: 978-1-934765-25-8 Table of Contents Letter from the Advisory Council .................................................................................................. 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 2 Why Is This Important? ...................................................................................................................2 All Children – All Families ................................................................................................................4 Reading This Guide .........................................................................................................................10 Benchmarks of LGBT Cultural Competency ....................................................................................11 Leadership and Management ....................................................................................................... 13 Governance .....................................................................................................................................13 Human Resources Management .....................................................................................................27 Evaluation and Feedback ................................................................................................................31 Client Rights ....................................................................................................................................34 Staff Training ...................................................................................................................................35 All Children – All Families Training Curriculum ...............................................................................42 Adoption and Foster Care Services ............................................................................................... 44 Recruitment of Adoptive and Foster Families ................................................................................44 Organizational Atmosphere: Who Is Welcome Here? ....................................................................52 Homestudy/Family Assessment ......................................................................................................61 Placement .......................................................................................................................................74 Adoption Finalization ......................................................................................................................83 Post-Permanency Support to Sustain Families ...............................................................................84 Resources ..................................................................................................................................... 89 Glossary of Terms ........................................................................................................................... 89 Review of LGBT Parenting Laws ..................................................................................................... 93 Review of Research on LGBT Parenting ......................................................................................... 96 The Transgender Community and Adoption and Foster Care ........................................................ 99 Transracial Adoption: Intersections of Sexual Orientation, Race and Culture ............................... 105 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................... 107 Appendices ................................................................................................................................... 109 Appendix A: Guiding Principles ...................................................................................................... 109 Appendix B: All Children – All Families Pledge of Commitment ..................................................... 116 Appendix C: All Children – All Families Agency Self-Assessment ................................................... 117 Appendix D: FAQs About the Agency Self-Assessment Process ..................................................... 130 Appendix E: All Children – All Families National Advisory Council ................................................. 132 Appendix F: About The HRC Foundation Family Project ................................................................ 133 Appendix G: Acknowledgements ................................................................................................... 133 Works Cited .................................................................................................................................. 135 From the Advisory Council Dear Colleagues, We are delighted that you are taking the time to read the All Children – All Families Promising Practices guide and begin the important process of improving your practice with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) foster and adoptive parents. While some in the child welfare profession may still question whether to place children and youth with LGBT parents, we believe that debate is over. With 30 years of social science research, the support of leading child welfare organizations and thousands of real success stories to draw from, we know that LGBT parents are equally nurturing, strong and committed and are an important and valuable resource for children and youth. With the astounding number of children and youth in foster care, it is our responsibility to remove all barri- ers that stand in the way of finding permanent families. We share and support your commitment to ensuring that all qualified prospective families who wish to open their homes and hearts to children and youth have the opportunity to do so, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Since launching All Children – All Families in 2007, we have celebrated many successes, including the distribu- tion of more than 4,000 Promising Practices guides to agencies and professionals across the country, strong partnerships with national child welfare organizations, and a steadily increasing number of participating agen- cies. Each year our certified trainers deliver innovative professional training for thousands of foster care and adoption professionals, including recent trainings for over 500 staff of New Jersey’s Department of Youth and Family Services. By reading this guide, you are adding to this success. We encourage you to utilize all of the tools and resources available through All Children – All Families and to strive for earning the Seal of Recogni- tion, which is the best contemporary measure of excellence in serving LGBT families. This guide is designed to help you assess your agency policies and to measure your current level of skill and competencies in all areas of practice with prospective or current LGBT parents. It provides a logical framework for creating an organization that is truly welcoming, affirming and supportive of LGBT families. We realize that some of the promising practices outlined in the guide are easier than others to implement depending on the size and scope of your organization, your location and your past work with this community. Whether you make rapid changes or advance slowly, we support your decision to participate in All Children – All Families, and we welcome you to reach out to us as you proceed. Sincerely, Ellen Kahn, HRC Family Project director, and All Children – All Families National Advisory Council (for list of members, see Appendix E) Introduction Why Is This Important? The numbers of youth moving into and out of LGBT Adoption: The Numbers substitute care varies from year to year. In 2010, there were approximately 408,000 children in An estimated 19.4 percent of same-sex foster care; 107,000 of them were waiting to be couples identified in Census 2010 have 4 adopted.1 While the optimal goal for these a child living in the home with them. young people is reunification with their parents Approximately 65,500 adopted children and youth are being raised by lesbian or relatives, that is not always possible. Adop- or gay parents, accounting for more tion by loving, permanent families is a better than choice for them than institutional care, group 4 percent of all adopted children in the homes and overcrowded foster homes. All po- United States.5 tential parents for these children should be wel- Approximately 14,100 children and comed and affirmed. youth