Case Study 1: Two Dads

Families Like Ours (FLO)—GLBTQ: SAFE program Placement Case Study: Caseworker seeks Two Dads for Abused Teen One of the key elements of FLO’s SAFE program is the recruitment and mentoring of families, including families with two moms and two dads; besides families open to providing supportive and safe homes for GLBTQ kids. Recently our team was contacted by the caseworker of a young teen who had entered foster care after being severely abused and neglected by female family members. With no other family members available for him, he was placed in a group home setting. A strong advocate for this youth, the teen’s caseworker began actively looking for a family for this troubled kid. The teen had also begun seeing a therapist who recommended that a family with two strong, nurturing father figures would be best for this young man. When the caseworker asked the youth if having two gay dads would be a problem, the youth stated “I haven’t ever had even one dad so two sounds great!” The teen’s caseworker was referred to FLO to assist in finding a match from the dozens of families FLO recruits, educates and mentors. Working together with the caseworker we were able to develop an outline of the type of family that would best suit this youth. FLO began a placement search that included families that had a completed home study and license, and those in the process. This quickly expanded to a more global family specific recruitment for this youth. A great potential match was found with a new family. FLO was able to quickly get this family into one of our pre-service trainings, besides CPR/First Aid/BBP training and arrange for an expedited child specific home study with a private placement agency. Case Issues

• Therapist recommends that abused teen would thrive in two dad household
• Teen in short-term housing

FLO’s, GLBT&Q: SAFE Program Results

• Caseworker and FLO work together to define requirements for a good match
• Family specific recruitment
• Support for caseworker, teen and family

For more information, contact Families Like Ours at 1-877-230-3055