FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT:
Adrienne Cooley, 517-719-6321 adrienne@gethappypr.com
West Michigan Partnership for Children Awarded 2020 LGBTQ+ Fund; Launches Foster Care A.L.L.Y. Project
Grand Rapids Community Foundation awards WMPC $60,000 LGBTQ+ fund
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. (Aug 27, 2020) – West Michigan Partnership for Children (WMPC) announces it is the recipient of Grand Rapids Community Foundation’s LGBTQ+ fund for the new Foster Care A.L.L.Y. (Affirming and Listening to our LGBTQ+ Youth) Project. The project seeks to build the foundation and infrastructure for a Kent County foster care system that welcomes and affirms LGBTQ+ youth and caregivers.
“We’re thankful to have the resources to initiate change and increase the support of those in foster care who identify as LGBTQ+,” says Kristyn Peck, CEO of WMPC. “This fund and the A.L.L.Y. Project will help us realize our vision of a community of belonging, resiliency, and hope where children and families flourish.”
With a disproportionately high number of children in foster care who identify as LGBTQ+, according to a 2019 study, this fund will allow WMPC to set a foundation for embedding affirmation of LGBTQ+ persons within its organization and the foster care system through the Foster Care A.L.L.Y. Project.
Goals of the project include:
- ● Improved experience in the Kent County child welfare system by persons identifying as
LGBTQ+
- ● Creation of a Gay/Straight Alliance for youth in foster care
- ● Increased knowledge of the Kent County foster care workforce on needs and strengths
of youth who identify as LGBTQ+, on how to talk to birth parents about their child’s identification as LGBTQ+, and/or their placement in a LGBTQ+ home.
These efforts will be led by JF Consulting Services in collaboration with WMPC and its partner agencies. The CEO of JF Consulting Services, Jonathan Farman, has more than 10 years of experience working to create cultures that better affirm and provide care for LGBTQ+ persons in various settings, including churches and other faith-based organizations, educational settings, and within the medical community.
WMPC pilots an innovative foster care model for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to create a better future for children in Kent County.
For more information on West Michigan Partnership for Children, visit: www.wmpc.care
