The LGBT Foster Care Project (FCP)
I am excited to tell our community a little bit about one of the Center’s newest and most exciting programs that helps youth, families, adults and people who work at foster care agencies involved with the foster care system in New York City. The LGBT Foster Care Project (FCP) has been providing training and technical assistance to the foster care and adoption programs of five child welfare agencies in New York City to meet ten benchmarks for culturally competent practice with LGBT youth and families. The agencies involved in this pilot project are: Abbott House, Episcopal Social Services (ESS), Harlem Dowling, Leake &Watts, and SCO Family of Services (SCO). Each of these agencies runs multiple sites within their foster care and adoption programs. The overall purpose of the LGBT Foster Care Project is to partner with NYC foster care agencies to create a safe and welcoming environment for all youth in foster care and the adults who wish to take care of them. A key component of the LGBT Foster Care project is designed to capitalize on the youth who use the Center’s Youth Enrichment Services (YES) after-school and Saturday program. This component consists of a special peer internship within the YES Program involving youth who have experience with the foster care system and/or with being homeless to train them to assist the Foster Care Project Coordinator, Tracey Little, in conducting trainings at foster care agencies in LGBT cultural competency.
What is really exciting about this program is how it uses so many of the Center’s strengths to accomplish its purpose:
- Helping foster care agencies become culturally competent to work with LGBT people. The Center has worked with hundreds of LGBT and mainstream agencies and organizations to ensure that members of our community will be treated fairly, with compassion and understanding when they seek out assistance.
- Involving young people in an internship that teaches critical skills in leadership development and group facilitation as well as learning how to tell one’s own personal story in a way that will invite others to want to learn more and help out when necessary.
- Working with LGBT adults who are interested in expanding or starting a family with a young person who is in foster care. This project provides an opportunity for adults looking to foster a child to participate in LGBT-sensitive foster parent training and to be able to approach foster care agencies in the City that are culturally competent with our population.
All in all, a wonderful program that is just starting by training all of the staff at five agencies, and that hopes to expand each year until all agencies in the City are welcoming of all of our community.
More information can be found by visiting our website.
