Help! - General FAQ

GLBT vs LGBT

It is common within the GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender) community to reference either GLBT or LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) both are appropriate acronym's. At FLO we have a tendency to use GLBT, but neither is more accurate or acceptable than the other.

GLBT and GLBT&Q Acronym's

The acronym GLBT used when appropriate by Families Like Ours, Inc. stands for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender. You will typically see this acronym used when referenced to adults, but can sometimes be used with talking about youth. When you see that we have added the letter “Q” to this list, it refers to Questioning, which is a normal process that most individuals experience typically in adolescence. This is an important topic for FLO,and the adoption and foster care community. An ever growing amount of GLBT families are choosing to become adoptive and foster parents. Additionally in Washington State alone, 14.5%* of current foster youth are self identifying as GLBT&Q individuals.
 
As a perspective foster or adoptive family, you cannot state or have stated on your home study that you do not want placement of a GLBT youth (gay kid). It simply doesn't work that way. Yes, you could adopt that 2 year old that some day informs you that he/she is an GLBT individual. This isn't something any parent has control over, biological, adoptive or foster.
 
*WA State Foster Youth Survey, 2008

Why is it sometimes the site loads slow?

Load time depends on several factors, your connection, the speed of your computer, if you are using a service like a cable modem, DSL, standard modem or American Online®. It also can be slowed by routers being down somewhere in the country or a large amount of Internet traffic. When this happens just wait a while and try again. Unfortunately there is little we can do about this problem outside of our own equipment and portal. We make every attempt however to limit the load time of every page on the server to help with load issues you may have. We would suggest contacting your Internet access provider.

How can I contact your office directly?

Families Like Ours, Inc.

206-441-7602 | 1-877-230-3055
 
Physical Location:*
603 Stewart Street, Suite 902
Seattle, Washington 98101
 
Accounting, donation, and financial related:
P.O. Box 10159
Bainbridge Island, Washington 98110
 
* Please keep in mind that FLO is primarily staffed by community volunteers and our team is typically out in the field working. If you would like to meet with someone from FLO at our physical location, it is best to schedule an appointment or call ahead.

 

How can I become a volunteer?

We cannot do this alone and frankly we shouldn’t be doing this alone. This is your community and we all have a very personal stake in its success. In order to obtain that success we need your help. Families Like Ours, Inc. is always looking for community volunteers. If you would like to lend a hand and help, or have an idea please contact us by clicking here or calling us at 1-877-230-3055.

Do you help non-gay and lesbian families wishing to adopt?

Yes of course. Our children not live in a world that is only gay and lesbian, or “straight” (for lack of a better word) families; Families Like Ours celebrates the diversity of all non-traditional adoptive families and does not discriminate based on family structure. We expect all our families members to respect the differences in families and welcome all adoptive families and professionals regardless of sexual orientation, identity, age, race, disability, or income status. We have an open challenge to all other agencies, nonprofits, commercial businesses, faiths and governments to take this same view of non-discrimination.

When I see the words “non-traditional families”, what do you mean by that?

Simply the fact of being an adoptive family creates what is often viewed as a “non-traditional family.” As you can see throughout the Families Like Ours web site, we have information pertaining to issues related to general adoption, specific to gay and lesbian families and single parent adoption families. We do not separate a “non-traditional family” as a family from one group of society, but simply those families that have or wish to have children through adoption.

How is Families Like Ours, Inc funded if it is a free resource?

Families Like Ours, Inc. is a nonprofit organization with funding coming from a variety of resources including community grants, foundations, direct donations and corporate sponsorships. However our main source of funding comes from you, the families and professionals that use the services of Families Like Ours. Every dollar counts. Make your tax deductible donation count today.

What is the purpose and mission of Families Like Ours?

The mission of Families Like Ours, Inc. is to make change by breaking down the barriers within the adoption and foster care communities. Therefore, reducing the amount of time our children are waiting for a stable and safe forever family.

Our programs and services are designed to increase adoption awareness and help reduce the number of adoptable children in foster-care by providing a centralized resource for support, information and education to adoptive families and professionals. While our emphases are with gay and lesbian adoptive families, we welcome the diversity of all families regardless of sexual orientation and family structure.

What is an adoption exchange?

Adoption Exchanges are here to provide families and professionals with local and regional support and advocacy. The main role of all exchange's is to provide family specific recruitment for waiting children, break down placement barriers, educate their local, and regional adoption community, and help families navigate through the adoption and foster care maze.

What our exchange does …

  • FLO is the only independent national Adoption Exchange, that means we work with all families and professionals, in all states. Most exchanges are tied to a specific state, county or region, we do not work that way.
  • FLO strongly advocates for all pre & post adoptive and foster families and youth, GLBT and non GLBT alike
  • FLO was established as a peer-to-peer, volunteer network of families and professionals that share the same goal, which still continues today
  • FLO creatively breaks down placement barriers for kids, families and professionals
Families Like Ours helps get kids out of foster care and into forever families