On August 26, 2021, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation released a new report titled "2021 Change-Makers," which details how child welfare agencies across the country have been increasing LGBTQ+ inclusivity. The report highlights the HRC's "All Children, All Families" (ACAF) program, which partnered with 119 organizations this past year – a 19% increase from the year prior. The partnered organizations serve more than one million clients yearly and operate in 35 states.
"The third edition of our Change-Makers report shows that, despite the many hardships of the last year, more organizations than ever before are working alongside the Human Rights Campaign Foundation to make impactful change for the LGBTQ+ youth and families they serve," stated Alison Delpercio of the ACAF program. "This year's participants also demonstrated a growing commitment to intersectionality and ensuring [that] organizational policies and practices do not reinforce the same systems of oppression that put youth and families at risk in the first place. By taking on these challenges, the change-makers featured in our 2021 report are models for youth-serving professionals everywhere.".
According to the report, LGBTQ+ youth – who are already at increased risk of negative experiences – are overrepresented in the US foster care system: approximately one in three. Additionally, LGBTQ+ youth in foster care systems report mistreatment, frequent placement disruptions, and being sent congregate care settings at greater rates.
Tiers of recognition
There were 32 new participating organizations this year, and the program expanded to Alabama, Connecticut, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, and the District of Columbia.
Ninety-two percent of participating organizations met a tier of recognition, while 14 returning organizations advanced to a greater tier of recognition. There were 10 participating organizations that did not meet a tier of recognition.
The "2021 Change-Makers" report features three tiers of recognition that highlight the progress organizations have made toward becoming more LGBTQ+ inclusive:
For the "Building Foundation for Inclusion" tier, 25 participating organizations met the three benchmarks in place for their foundational criteria and for including nondiscrimination protections: nondiscrimination, staff training, and rolling out the welcome mat.The "Solid Foundation for Inclusion" tier was met by 40 organizations that hit all six benchmarks for policy and practice regarding LGBTQ+ inclusion: nondiscrimination, staff training, rolling out the welcome mat, parent/CASA/exchange best practices, youth best practices, and sustainability and capacity building The organizations within this tier are generally developing long-term LGBTQ+ inclusivity practices.For the "Innovative Inclusion" tier, 44 organizations met all six benchmarks mentioned above, in addition to providing at least one example of innovation in policy in practice. Organizations in this tier were recognized for going beyond to innovate the services provided to LGBTQ+ youth and their families
The organizations conducted internal self-assessments, which included participants reporting over 22,000 hours of professional development on LGBTQ+ inclusion, as well as over 7,000 hours regarding LGBTQ+ policies and practices.
Out of the participating organizations:82 (69%) are in the private child welfare sector18 (15%) are part of CASA (Court-Appointed Special Advocates)12 (10%) are in the public child welfare sector7 (6%) are in the adoption exchange sector
Out of the LGBTQ+ adults surveyed, 84% would consider adoption or foster care in the future, yet only 14% of those surveyed knew of an LGBTQ+-inclusive agency in their location. COVID-19 considerations
"Social distancing requires new strategies for client engagement and creates new opportunities to ensure [that] clients [can] access services without encountering challenges related to their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression," according to a statement by ACAF describing key considerations regarding LGBTQ+ inclusivity in child welfare agencies and COVID-19.
One priority of ACAF was to understand how COVID-19 affects LGBTQ+ communities across the nation. Studies show that LGBTQ+ people have greater rates of COVID-related health complications, they are more likely to live in poverty, and had less access to sufficient medical care, paid medical leave, and basic necessities throughout the pandemic.
Part of what ACAF did this past year was anticipate challenges that are unique to the LGBTQ+ community and develop an understanding of how to proceed. One example was how virtual meetings and discussions could pose some risk to a youth if they were still not open about their gender identity or sexuality to members of their household.
Washington's participating organizations and what they do
In total there were six organizations from Washington that participated in ACAF's LGBTQ+ inclusivity report:
Your Adoptive Family is a licensed adoption agency in Seattle that received a "Solid Foundation for Inclusion" tier of recognition. The organization supports adoption experiences from start to finish: preadoption support, home study, post-placement visits, and post-adoption support. The organization also offers therapy support for individuals and families, with specialties in attachment and bonding, trauma, and transracial adoption.Amara is another foster care service in Seattle; it received an "Innovative Inclusion" tier of recognition. It is a nonprofit organization that partners with people and communities that are most affected by the child welfare system. Part of what Amara does is address trauma, build connections, and ensure that all families and their children feel safe and supported. Amara offers programs and services not only to families involved with foster care and adoption but also to adoptees and their families following the adoption.Northwest Resource Associates is a Seattle-based foster care and adoption service that gained a "Solid Foundation for Inclusion" tier of recognition. The organization provides orientation, training, and support to current and prospective foster parents, as well as welfare, adoption, foster care, and victim services, and homelessness assistance. It also manages the national adoption photo listing website AdoptUSKids. Community Youth Services (Foster Care) received a "Solid Foundation for Inclusion" tier of recognition by empowering at-risk youth and families to meet goals for stability, safety, belonging, and success through providing services and advocacy. Through CYS, one can become an adoptive or foster parent. The organization makes sure the adoptive or foster family can meet the child before placement, which creates better stability, longer placements, and youth success. The organization's foster care serves those ages 6 to 21 years who are referred by Washington state's Division of Children & Family Services. It also provides case management services, behavioral management support, case aide services, 24/7 crisis support, one-on-one training for foster parents, and other services.Snohomish County Court-Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) is a volunteer program run through the county; it received a "Building Foundation for Inclusion" tier of recognition. The court appoints these special advocates for children in the foster care system, who then gather information and facts about the children, speak to people in the their lives, attend all court hearings for the child, and follow the case through until the end. As a child's advocate, they will speak on behalf of the child and assist with making decisions that are in the child's best interest. CASA volunteers must pass a criminal background check, engage in an in-person interview, and participate in over 30 hours of pre-service training. Snohomish County CASA is actively looking for volunteers. The Chelan-Douglas CASA program received a "Building Foundation for Inclusion" tier of recognition. In 2020, they served 220 children with 88 active volunteers.
