All Children - All Families: Serving Transgender & Non-Binary Foster & Adoptive Parents

“Promising Practices for Serving Transgender & Non-Binary Foster & Adoptive Parents” is a first-of-its-kind comprehensive guide for child welfare professionals seeking to intentionally recruit, certify and support transgender and non-binary adults to serve as resource parents for young people in care. The guide covers key lessons learned through interviews with transgender and non-binary foster and adoptive parents as well as agency administrators from across the U.S.

Preview of Guide Content

This guide is intended for a range of audiences inside child welfare agencies and arranged by key areas of need. You can read from front-to-back or jump to specific sections addressing current challenges:

  • Section I: Introduction. A look at research on transgender and non-binary parents and the unique strengths they can bring to foster care and adoption; an overview of key terms and concepts related to gender identity and expression; and keys to success by your role in an agency.

  • Section II: Guiding Principles for Leadership. An issue-by-issue guide for administrators working to build an agency inclusive of people of all genders, and offer services rooted in cultural humility, including: transgender and non-binary inclusive non-discrimination policies; data collection on gender identity; creating an inclusive agency environment (i.e., amending forms, addressing gender-segregated facilities, displaying key literature and signage); engaging local organizations; training staff and gathering community feedback.

  • Section III: Resource Parent Certification Process from A-Z. An overview of promising practices for frontline workers, supervisors and advocates to consider while guiding prospective transgender and non-binary resource parents through the certification process from recruitment to post-placement support.

  • Section IV: Tools for Agencies. Tools to support child welfare agencies implementing the practices offered in this guide, including: a checklist for creating gender-inclusive events; affirming questions on gender identity; resources to share with transgender and non-binary parents and a glossary of terms.

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