{"id":10291,"date":"2024-01-08T16:38:40","date_gmt":"2024-01-08T23:38:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/co4kids.org\/?p=10291"},"modified":"2025-01-23T11:22:22","modified_gmt":"2025-01-23T18:22:22","slug":"colorado-division-of-child-welfare-among-10-colorado-organizations-recognized-in-the-human-rights-campaigns-annual-change-makers-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/co4kids.org\/es\/news-press\/colorado-division-of-child-welfare-among-10-colorado-organizations-recognized-in-the-human-rights-campaigns-annual-change-makers-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado Division of Child Welfare among 10 Colorado organizations recognized in the Human Rights Campaign\u2019s annual Change-Makers Report"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Colorado Division of Child Welfare among 10 Colorado organizations recognized in the Human Rights Campaign\u2019s annual Change-Makers Report<\/h1><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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DENVER <\/strong>(Jan. 8, 2024) \u2014 The Human Rights Campaign Foundation has once again awarded the Colorado Department of Human Services\u2019 Division of Child Welfare with its prestigious Innovator Seal of Recognition, which recognizes the division\u2019s leadership on LGBTQ+ inclusion. This is the third time since 2019 that the division has earned the recognition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The recognition was announced in the HRC Foundation\u2019s All Children-All Families 2023 Cha<\/a>nge-Makers Report<\/a>, which highlights efforts to make services more inclusive for the LGBTQ+ community, including children and youth in foster care and prospective foster and adoptive parents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur teams have worked diligently over the past five years to implement innovative approaches to LGBTQ+ inclusion in key policy and practice areas to help LGBTQ+ youth and families thrive,\u201d<\/strong> said Mollie Bradlee, interim director of the Office of Children, Youth and Families, which oversees the Division of Child Welfare. \u201cWorking with the Human Rights Campaign is one of several ways our department is dedicated to making policy and practice changes to improve the lives of some of our most at-risk and marginalized children, youth and families.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The agencies featured in HRC\u2019s report provided professional development to staff and implemented ACAF\u2019s benchmarks of LGBTQ+ inclusion, which track policy and practice changes within agencies. Agencies can receive one of three tiers of recognition, which celebrate the strides the agencies have made toward becoming fully LGBTQ+ welcoming and affirming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along with CDHS\u2019 Division of Child Welfare, the Adams County Department of Human Services and Adoption Options also received the Innovator Seal of Recognition \u2014 the highest tier of recognition \u2014 placing them among the nation\u2019s top child welfare organizations for LGBTQ+ inclusion. Another Colorado Department of Human Services program, the Colorado Sexual Health Initiative (CoSHI), was recognized in the ACAF report for taking strides in its LGBTQ+ inclusion journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAdams County has been an innovator in LGBTQ+ inclusion since 2017. We are proud to be the first Colorado county to receive the ACAF seal of recognition and set our goal high at achieving the Innovator Seal in our first year,\u201d <\/strong>said the Adams County ACAF Committee. \u201cWe aim to recruit and certify LGBTQ+ affirming foster homes while ensuring our policies and practices align with the affirmation we support in our families. We display our ACAF seals in all our recruitment materials to ensure inclusivity. Adams County hosted its second annual Pride event, and also kicked off its first Winter Solstice Gayla to celebrate our LGBTQ+ community. We aim to bring inclusion and affirmation into every step of our process.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2019, 71 agencies across 23 states were featured in ACAF\u2019s first edition of this report. Just five years later, a record-breaking 172 agencies across 43 states implemented LGBTQ+ inclusive policies and affirming practices. These agencies employ over 30,500 professionals and serve more than 1.4 million children, youth and families annually.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 10 Colorado organizations that received one of the three tiers of recognition in the Change-Makers Report are listed below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Innovative Inclusion:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n