Little City Recognized as FIRST Agency in Illinois to Receive HRC Seal of Recognition

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) will recognize Little City Foundation as the first foster care and adoption agency in Illinois to obtain cultural competence in serving the LGBT community.  Bryan Samuels, Commissioner of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will give remarks and HRC Family Project Director Ellen Kahn will present the seal to Little City in an exclusive media event on Wednesday, May 23, 2012, at the Hard Rock Hotel in Chicago.

“Our primary focus is children,” commented Little City Executive Director Shawn E. Jeffers.  “And regardless of gender, race, religion, creed, sexual preference, we want to find the very best homes and loving families for our children.”

As the largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) represents a force of more than one million members and supporters nationwide.  HRC’s All Children – All Families initiative seeks to enhance LGBT cultural competence among child welfare professionals and educate LGBT people about opportunities to become foster or adoptive parents to waiting children.

“You can’t afford to turn away loving families,” commented Ellen Kahn, HRC’s Family Project Director and lead of the All Children – All Families initiative.  “We’re delighted Little City is providing an example to other foster care agencies in Illinois in making a purposeful commitment to LGBT families who have a desire to provide a loving home environment to children in need.”

Recognized by the State of Illinois as a leader in human services, Little City operates as one of the state’s most established and prominent non-profit organizations serving children and adults with autism and other intellectual and developmental disabilities for more than 50 years. 

And for more than 15 years, its foster care and adoption program has provided innovative, individualized and community-based treatment to children and their families.  It has consistently achieved a greater than 95 percent  placement stability rate.

“We’ve been working on this initiative for almost four years,” added Little City Community Services Operations Manager Emily Rawsky.  “Our children deserve the very best homes and families and we’ve made a commitment to make this work for them; we were very intentional about it.” 

For more information on Little City, visit www.littlecity.org.