HRC Adoption Forum Featuring HHS Commissioner on Children, Youth and Families

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Commissioner of the Administration for Children, Youth and Families Bryan Samuels, is joining the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, LGBT families, and representatives from area child welfare agencies, for an adoption forum on Wednesday November 30, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. to recognize the close of National Adoption Month, and to call on child welfare professionals to include LGBT families, year-round, in their efforts to expand the pool of families for foster youth.  A new video by the HRC Family Project on LGBT adoption will be premiered at the forum.  The event will stream live at www.hrc.org/adoptionforum.  HRC has celebrated adoptive families throughout National Adoption Month and is offering a wealth of resources related to adoption and other issues important to LGBT families at www.hrc.org/issues/adoption.

“As we end National Adoption Month, the work of finding permanent families for children and youth continues—it’s everyday work for child welfare professionals,” said Ellen Kahn, HRC Family Project Director and a professional social worker.  “Today we are recognizing several public agencies that have expanded their efforts to find families by reaching out to the LGBT community, a largely untapped resource. By partnering with HRC’s ACAF, these agencies have improved their practice with LGBT families and as a result are seeing an increase in foster and adoptive parents.”

This month, HRC issued All Children-All Families Seals of Recognition to Alameda County, CA, and to the state of New Jersey’s Resource Family Division, which join Los Angeles County as the only public social services agencies to earn the seal for their success in implementing the ACAF policies and practices.  HRC also issued the ACAF Seal of Recognition to Forever Families Through Adoption, a New York- and Connecticut-authorized adoption placement agency and resource center in Rye Brook, New York.  Bryan Samuels, Commissioner of the Administration on Children, Youth  and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will join several of these agency leaders, and foster/adoptive families, to discuss this initiative and to feature a new video about this work. 

“We have more than 100,000 children in foster care in the United States waiting for a permanent family. Child welfare systems with responsibilities for finding potential parents now have resources through HRC’s All Children-All Families to reach out to caring and competent families in the LGBT community,” said Commissioner Bryan Samuels.

HRC has created a resource center for families considering adoption at www.hrc.org/issues/adoption with information about adoption agencies that work with LGBT families, answers to frequently asked questions about adoption and foster care, a video montage called Gay Parents Speak, featuring real parents telling their stories of adopting and loving children, and links to related programs and organizations.

The “All Children – All Families” initiative, launched in 2007, promotes policies and practices that welcome LGBT foster and adoptive parents.  The program seeks to enhance LGBT cultural competence among child welfare professionals and educate LGBT people about opportunities to become foster or adoptive parents to waiting children.  To date, ACAF has 50 participating agencies across the country, and has awarded 16 seals of recognition. In September HRC launched a “50 state strategy,” with the goal of securing at least one ACAF-recognized adoption agency dedicated to working with LGBT families in every state.   More information about the initiative can be found at www.hrc.org/acaf.

National Adoption Month: LGBT Considerations for Employers

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, announced today the release of a groundbreaking resource “Adoption Benefit Programs: LGBT Considerations for Employers,” which provides standards and guidelines for insuring equity for all employees who adopt. The release is timed to coincide with National Adoption Month, which raises awareness about the thousands of children and youth in foster care waiting for a “forever family.” To download the guide visit: www.hrc.org/AdoptionBenefits.

“Leading employers know that providing optimal benefits for all employees is simply good business, and the right thing to do,” said Human Rights Campaign Foundation President Joe Solmonese. “With the release of this resource we highlight the key role employers can play in making adoptions possible for LGBT parents and the children that need them.”

Nearly 500,000 children and youth are in foster care in the U.S., 130,000 of which await permanent families today. Over 20,000 exit the foster care system as adults without ever finding a family. While studies show nearly 4 out of 10 Americans have considered adoption, many are concerned that the costs will be an obstacle. Adoption benefits are a growing trend among businesses — more U.S. employers than ever now offer them, according to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.

“Providing benefits to families who adopt not only creates goodwill among employees but a sense of parity with families who receive benefits when they create or expand their families through birth,” said Rita Sorenen, President of the Dave Thomas Foundation. “For families who adopt from foster care, it is particularly meaningful to have additional supports, such as paid leave, in place. And as Dave Thomas always said, 'For employers, proving adoption benefits is not only the smart thing to do, it is the right thing to do.'”