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Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Providers
Washington County Licensing expects providers to create a welcoming and inclusive environment for all children and families in the community. It is the expectation and dedication of the Washington County Child Care Program to continually work toward increasing our cultural competence. All licensed child care providers are encouraged to take training that will increase their cultural competence as it relates to the children cared for. This training will be counted towards the 16 hours of in-service training required by the state of Minnesota.
Provider Expectations Regarding Diversity and Inclusion for Adult Foster Care Providers
- AFC providers are considered a public accommodation under Minnesota Statute and may not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, disability, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation, or sex.
- Respectful language and actions are expected of all individuals living in the home. No one should feel threatened or demeaned in their home. This does not mean that differences can't be expressed but does mean that all conversations should be respectful.
- AFC providers are expected to ask and use language preferred by the person such as preferred pronouns and person-centered or identity-first language.
- AFC providers are expected to educate themselves about the needs of the individuals living in the home. This can be done in a variety of different ways such as by taking classes, attending trainings, reading books/articles, or consulting professionals. The needs of the individuals includes not just information about a person's disability and needs for services but about their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, color, creed, disability, etc.
Washington County recognizes the cultural disparities in the child welfare and foster care system. It is the expectation and dedication of the Washington County Foster Care Program to continually work toward increasing our cultural competence.
- All licensed child foster care providers will take at least one hour each year in training that increases their cultural competence as it relates to the children in their care. This training will be counted towards the 12 hours of in-service training required by the State of Minnesota.
- Black Aging Matters: How to Better Address Racism-Related Stress in African American Older Adults (YouTube Video): This webinar provides in-depth current research, clinical applications, and first-hand testimonial on the impact of race-related stress on African-American older adults. Featured presenters are Keith Whitfield, PhD, Provost, Wayne State University; Frances Shani Parker, and Jameca Woody Falconer, PhD.
- Discrimination in America: Experiences and Views of African-Americans (PDF): This report presents African-Americans' personal experiences of racism and discrimination, as well as their perceptions of discrimination in their local area and in the nation.
- Diverse Elders Coalition (DEC): The DEC advocates for policies and programs that improve aging in our communities as racially and ethnically diverse people; American Indians and Alaska Natives; and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender people.
- National Resource Center on LGBT Aging: The National Resource Center on LGBT Aging is the country's first and only technical assistance resource center aimed at improving the quality of services and supports offered to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender older adults.
- Autism Resource Guide 75000-72 4/20 (PDF) : Local resources for residents of Washington County and the greater metro area.
- Center for Inclusive Child Care (CICC): The mission of the CICC is to be a centralized, comprehensive, and responsive resource network supporting quality care for children in community settings.
- Disability Hub: Free, statewide resource network that helps you solve problems, navigate the system, and plan your future.
- Individual Education Plan (IEP): The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is a federal law that tells schools what they must do for students with disabilities.
- Learning Disabilities in Children: Learning disabilities can seriously interfere with a child's ability to learn. It is a range of learning and thinking differences that can affect the way the brain takes in, uses, stores, and sends out information.
- National Alliance on Mental Illness: Organization dedicated to improving the lives of children and adults with mental illnesses and their families.
- PACER Center: PACER provides individual assistance, workshops, publications, and other resources to help families make decisions about education and other services for their child or young adult with disabilities. PACER's National Bullying Prevention Center provides resources designed to benefit all students, including those with disabilities.
LGBTQ+
Every child, youth, and adult is entitled to a safe, loving, and affirming foster care home, irrespective of the young person's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. Evidence shows that LGBTQ+ youth are overrepresented in the foster care system. These youth face serious risks and challenges beyond those experienced by other youth. Rejection by their families and other caregivers adds to these risks. With some additional education and training, your family can successfully provide a welcoming home to a LGBTQ+ person in need.
- Let the person in your care know you are willing to listen and talk about anything.
- Make it clear that slurs or jokes based on gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation are not tolerated in your house. Express your disapproval of these types of slurs or jokes when you encounter them in the community or media.
- Use gender-neutral language when asking about relationships. For example, instead of, "Do you have a girlfriend?" ask, "Is there anyone special in your life?"
- Provide access to a variety of books, movies, and materials - including those that positively represent same-sex relationships. Point out LGBTQ celebrities, role models who stand up for the LGBTQ community, and people who demonstrate bravery in the face of social stigma.
- Support their self-expression through choices of clothing, jewelry, hairstyle, friends, and room decoration.
- Insist that other family members include and respect all people in your home.
- Allow them to participate in activities that interest them, regardless of whether these activities are stereotypically male or female.
- Educate yourself about LGBTQ history, issues, and resources.
- Respond in an affirming, supportive way.
- Understand that the way people identify their sexual orientation or gender identity may change over time.
- Use the name and pronoun (he/she/they/them) the person prefers. (If unclear, ask how he or she prefers to be addressed.)
- Respect their privacy. Allow them to decide when to come out and to whom.
- Avoid double standards: Allow your LGBTQ youth to discuss feelings of attraction and engage in age-appropriate romantic relationships, just as you would a heterosexual youth.
- Welcome their LGBTQ friends or partner at family get-togethers.
- Connect them with LGBTQ organization s, resources, and events. Consider seeking an LGBTQ adult role model for your youth, if possible.
- Reach our for education, resources, and support if you feel the need to deepen your understanding of LGBTQ experiences.
- Stand up for them when he or she is mistreated.
It is important to note that some people do not think any of these labels describe them. Some people do not like the idea of labels at all, while others, feel comfortable with certain labels and not others.
- Basic Facts of Being LGBTQ (PDF)
- Foster and Adoptive Parents of LGBTQ Youth
- Foster Care's Invisible Youth (YouTube Video)
- Human Rights Campaign
- It Gets Better Project
- OutFront Minnesota
- PFLAG Twin Cities
- Pronouns Matter
- Resources for Adults
- Resources for Kids and Teens
- Resources for Parents
- Resources for Seniors and Service Providers
- Tillett Wright's Story (YouTube Video)
- The Trevor Project
Race
- Children's Books
- Educational Resources
- Foster Care & Adoption Perspective
- Natural Hair Care Resources
- Resource Books
- All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold and Suzanne Kaufman
- All Because You Matter by Tami Charles and Bryan Collier
- All Kinds of Children by Norma Simon
- All the Colors of the Earth by Sheila Hamanaka
- Books with Characters of Color: 0-18 years old
- Hair Like Mine by Latashia M. Perry
- I Am Enough by Grace Byers
- I Am Every Good Thing by Derrick Barnes and Gordon C. James
- I Like Myself by Karen Beaumont
- Skin Like Mine by Latashia M. Perry
- The Colors of Us by Karen Katz
- The Skin You Live In by Michael Tyler
- We're Different, We're the Same (Sesame Street) by Bobbi Kates
- Whoever You Are by Mem Fox
- A Conversation on Race This is a series of short films about identity in America from the New York Times.
- A Parent's Guide to Preventing and Responding to Prejudice (PDF)
- Children's Understanding of Race (PDF)
- How to Facilitate Positive Racial Identity
- MN ADOPT: Race, Racism and Racialized Violence Resource
- Parenting Tasks that Facilitate Positive Racial Identity (PDF)
- Race: The Power of an Illusion videos and resources
- Sesame Street: The ABC's of Racial Justice
- Sesame Street: Dealing with Racism
- Sesame Street: Talking About Race
- Talking to Children About Racial Bias
- Understanding Race video and resources
- We Shall Remain (YouTube video) This video addresses the effects of historical trauma to tribal communities.
- Parenting in Racially and Culturally Diverse Adoptive Families Factsheet (PDF) (Child Welfare Information Gateway and the Children's Bureau)
- The Realities of Raising a Kid of a Different Race; An Adoption Story
- The Trauma of Being Black in Foster Care (TEDX Video)
- Transracial Parenting in Foster Care and Adoption Guidebook (PDF) (includes African American, Arab American, Asian American, European American, Hispanic, and Native American resources)
- Does Anybody Else Look Like Me? A Parent's Guide to Raising Multiracial Children by Donna Jackson Nakazawa
- Loving Across the Color Line: A White Adoptive Mother Learns about Race by Sharon E. Rush
- Raising the Rainbow Generation: Teaching Your Children to be Successful in a Multicultural Society by Darlene Powell Hopson and Derek S. Hopson
- Why are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race by Beverly Daniel Tatum
- White Fragility by Robin Diangelo