On August 15, HRC awarded Northeast Ohio Adoption Services (NOAS) with the All Children - All Families Seal of Recognition as a Leader in Supporting and Serving LGBTQ Youth & Families. HRC Board of Directors Member Suzanne Hamilton (based in Cleveland) was on hand to commend the dedicated team of staff members who led NOAS’s efforts in this area. The Seal was presented at the Hilton Downtown Cleveland.

NOAS is an independent, specialized adoption and foster care agency based out of Warren, Ohio, and has been in service since 1978. Throughout that time they have led innovations on ensuring family stability for youth throughout the region. NOAS prides itself on innovation -- from ensuring family stability to maintaining sibling connections, the agency is looked to as an example by peers in Ohio and throughout the country. This same drive for innovative solutions to the needs of children is behind their work toward All Children - All Families’ Seal of Recognition.

NOAS earned the Seal of Recognition by meeting All Children - All Families’ 10 key Benchmarks of LGBTQ Cultural Competency.

“NOAS is so honored to be presented with the All Children All Families LEADER certification from the Human Rights Campaign!,” NOAS posted on Facebook. “We are so happy to be specially equipped to serve the LGBTQ community!”

If you would like to learn more about Northeast Ohio Adoption Services, please visit their website.

HRC Foundation's All Children - All Families has guided agencies across the U.S. in improving practice with LGBTQ youth and parents for more than a decade. To learn more about the program's practice improvement model and see a full list of participating agencies, visit hrc.org/acaf. To find LGBTQ-inclusive agencies in your area, check out the list of participating agencies.

Above: Eric Meinhart, Plexus; Luz Pellot, HRC Cleveland; Cheryl Tarantino, NOAS; Cynthia Wallis, NOAS; Suzanne Hamilton, HRC Cleveland, BoD; Thomas Hawn, Plexus.