Post submitted by Eva Kendrick, former HRC Alabama State Manager

Throughout the month of June, HRC Alabama staff have trained more than 200 Alabama child welfare professionals and foster and adoptive parents on HRC Foundation’s All Children- All Families project and how to compassionately care for LGBTQ youth and families in the child welfare system.

Training on LGBTQ competency and compassionate care for LGBTQ youth and families is more essential than ever in Alabama, given that in May, Governor Kay Ivey signed HB 24, the deceptively-named “Child Placing Agency Inclusion Act,” into law.

HB 24 enshrines discrimination into Alabama law by allowing some state-licensed adoption and foster care agencies to reject qualified prospective LGBTQ adoptive or foster parents based on the agency’s religious beliefs. An amendment was added in the Senate and agreed to by the House that limits that discriminatory exemption to agencies that do not receive state or federal funding.

With more than 5,000 children in Alabama’s child welfare system, it is heartening to know that now, thanks to the All Children - All Families training, hundreds more professionals and families serving LGBTQ youth and families in care are equipped with the skills necessary to practice equality and fairness in helping children reach the loving families they deserve. 

If you are interested in learning more about the All Children - All Families project or would like to have an HRC Alabama staff member meet with you, contact Eva Kendrick at eva.kendrick@hrc.org. 

Learn more about All Children–All Families’ work to promote LGBTQ cultural competency in adoption and foster care through our project at hrc.org/acaf. Want to stay up-to-date on All Children - All Families resources and activities? Subscribe to “Field Forward,” the program’s monthly e-newsletter at hrc.im/field-forward.