Center’s LGBTQ Foster Care Project Marks One Year Anniversary; Receives High Praise From City of New York
This year marks the first anniversary of the Center’s LGBTQ Foster Care Project, a Center Families program that works to ensure New York City based foster care agencies have the tools and resources they need to treat LGBTQ children in foster care with dignity and respect, and to create an affirming and inclusive environment for LGBTQ identified birth, foster, and adoptive parents. As part of this effort, the project has formed a partnership with the New York City Administration for Children’s Services, “to provide foster care agencies with the information, training and resources needed to offer safe, high-quality and sensitive services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth.” Under the new policy, “participating foster care agencies will have demonstrated efforts towards LGBTQ inclusiveness and cultural competency as outlined in ACS Best Practice and Quality Assurance Standards.” Those standards are based almost entirely on the guidelines, procedures, and best-practice recommendations from Center Families’ LGBTQ Foster Care Project.
The LGBTQ Cultural Competency Benchmarks include “ensuring that all youth, staff and parents receive notice of the ACS Non-Discrimination Policy, actively recruit potential gay affirming foster care and adoptive parents from the LGBT community and identify a staff person to serve as the LGBTQ contact person within the agency.”
Earlier this year, The Foster Care Project marked its pilot year with an orientation and recognition ceremony at the Administration for Children’s Services, where it honored five agencies for their work towards creating an affirming and inclusive environment for the LGBTQ Community. The agencies included: Harlem Dowling, Leake & Watts, Episcopal Social Services, SCO Family of Services and Abbot House. The Foster Care Project also recently welcomed three new agencies as LGBTQ inclusive, including: Mercy First, Children’s Aid Society and Little Flower.
And this week Center Families learned that Commissioner for the New York City Administration for Children’s Services John B. Mattingly, is honoring LGBTQ Foster Care Project Program Coordinator Tracey Little, with the Commissioner’s Child Advocacy Award. Little will receive the award at an April 28 ceremony at ACS. In a letter announcing the honor, the Commissioner said:
“In recognition of April as National Child Abuse Prevention Month, the New York City Administration for Children’s Services is pleased to take this opportunity to honor you with the Commissioner’s Child Advocacy Award for your outstanding contribution to keeping children safe and strengthening families.
“As part of our mission, ACS investigates reports of child abuse and neglect, provides safe homes for children in foster care and works to rehabilitate youth involved in the juvenile justice system. We rely on skilled, caring individuals and organizations, like yourself, to achieve these goals. Your dedication and compassion have made a difference in the lives of countless children and young people—not only this month but on every single day of the year. We thank you for your contributions to this critical work.”
Congratulations to Center Families’ LGBTQ Foster Care Project for its positive impact on the key agency that looks out for the well-being of New York City’s children! Because of these efforts, a growing number of agencies throughout the city now have the vital resources they need to protect LGBTQ children and families!