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Promising Practices Guide Human Rights Campaign Foundation 1640 Rhode Island Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036 phone 202-628-4160 TTY 202-216-1572 fax 866-304-3257 website www.hrc.org/acaf e-mail [email protected] © 2009 by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. The HRC Foundation grants permission for the reproduction 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: 1-934765-13-9 ISBN 13: 978-1-934765-13-5 TABLE OF CONTENTS Letter from All Children – All Families National Advisory Council ....................................................... 5 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 7 Why is this important? .............................................................................................................................. 7 All Children – All Families ....................................................................................................................... 9 How to Use This Guide ........................................................................................................................... 12 Leadership and Management .................................................................................................................. 15 Governance ......................................................................................................................................... 15 Governing Body .............................................................................................................................. 15 Mission or Values Statement .......................................................................................................... 18 Client Non-Discrimination Policy, FAQ and Other Policy Statements .......................................... 20 Executive Leadership ...................................................................................................................... 24 Human Resources Management .......................................................................................................... 27 Employment Non-Discrimination Policy ........................................................................................ 28 Openly LGBT Staff ......................................................................................................................... 28 Recruitment And Selection ............................................................................................................. 29 Evaluation and Feedback .................................................................................................................... 30 Gathering and Using Data ............................................................................................................... 30 Protecting Data/Privacy Issues ........................................................................................................ 32 Client Rights ....................................................................................................................................... 33 Protection of Rights and Ethical Obligations .................................................................................. 33 Grievance Procedures ..................................................................................................................... 33 Staff Training ...................................................................................................................................... 34 Training Approach .......................................................................................................................... 34 All Children – All Families Training Curriculum ........................................................................... 40 Adoption and Foster Care Services ......................................................................................................... 43 Recruitment of Adoptive and Foster Families .................................................................................... 43 Intentional Outreach ........................................................................................................................ 43 Partnerships with the LGBT Community ....................................................................................... 46 Organizational Atmosphere: Who Is Welcome Here? ........................................................................ 50 Physical Space ................................................................................................................................ 50 Marketing/Outreach Materials (Website, Brochures, Newsletters) ................................................ 51 Initial Phone Contact ....................................................................................................................... 53 Introductory Seminars/Orientation Sessions ................................................................................... 54 Paperwork/Forms ............................................................................................................................ 56 Parent Preparation Training ............................................................................................................ 56 Homestudy/Family Assessment .......................................................................................................... 58 Unique Issues with LGBT Families ................................................................................................ 58 Conducting and Writing the Homestudy......................................................................................... 64 Homestudy Questions for LGBT Prospective Parents (Single and Couples) ................................. 67 Homestudy Questions for Transgender Prospective Parents .......................................................... 69 Placement ............................................................................................................................................ 70 Support for Waiting Families .......................................................................................................... 70 Waiting Children: Addressing Worker Bias ................................................................................... 71 Waiting Children: Placing Older Youth .......................................................................................... 73 Waiting Children: Placements to and from Foster Families ........................................................... 75 Infant Adoption: Working with Birth Families ............................................................................... 75 Adoption Finalization ......................................................................................................................... 76 Post-Permanency Support to Sustain Families ................................................................................... 77 Placement is Just the Beginning: A Commitment to the Future ..................................................... 77 Educational Seminars ...................................................................................................................... 78 Support Groups ............................................................................................................................... 78 Family Counseling and Mental Health Services ............................................................................. 80 Working with Schools ..................................................................................................................... 81 Benchmarks of LGBT Cultural Competency .......................................................................................... 82 Resources ................................................................................................................................................... 85 Glossary of Terms ................................................................................................................................... 85 Review of LGBT Parenting Laws ........................................................................................................... 89 Review of Research on LGBT Parenting ................................................................................................ 92 The Transgender Community & Adoption and Foster Care ................................................................... 94 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................................... 99 Trainers and Consultants ....................................................................................................................... 100 Appendices ............................................................................................................................................... 103 Appendix A: Guiding Principles ........................................................................................................... 103 Appendix B: All Children – All Families Pledge of Commitment ....................................................... 108 Appendix C: All Children – All Families Agency Self-Assessment .................................................... 109 Appendix D: All Children – All Families National Advisory Council ................................................
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