Question
How can we welcome and include LGBTQ parents and families into our program?
Answer
How can we welcome and include LGBTQ parents and families? Do promotional materials and ads feature same-sex couples or trans parents? Does your organization take care to ensure that LGBTQ parents feel included in parent trainings and meetings? If there are parent trainings and meetings, instead of saying, "Moms and dads" when you address the parents, make sure you acknowledge that there are a lot of different family structures.
When my kids were in Pre-K, I volunteered at their school one day reading books to the class. One of the books I read was called Love Makes a Family. The story talks about a child who was with her mom and dad and they love to give their dog a bath. Another child in the story was with her dad and his partner and they like to cook dinner together. It also talked about two sisters who live with their grandma and she's great at helping them with their math homework. This book is an example of normalizing LGBTQ families and all different kinds of families, whether they are single parents or children living with grandparents.
Are the parents aware that the staff has had inclusion trainings including LGBTQ? We have some friends who are lesbians and they have an adopted daughter. It really made a difference to them knowing that the staff at their child's school goes through diversity training and inclusion training, including LGBTQ. They felt that because it was in the promotional materials and on the website they really knew they were going to a place where their family is valued.
This Ask the Expert is an edited excerpt from the course, Cultural Competence With Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay, Transgender, and Questioning Individuals, by Sara Pullen, DPT, MPH.
