Is Your Door Open?

Eleven million American adults identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (LGBTQ+). Many of them have expanded their families or are considering it. In fact, research shows that up to 3.7 million youth under the age of 18 are being raised by an LGBTQ+ parent.

And yet, LGBTQ+ families have yet to live in a country where they are wholly safe, valued and seen. That’s where Family Equality comes in!

We work to ensure that everyone—regardless of who they are, who they love, or where they live—can find, form, and sustain a family by advancing equality for the LGBTQ+ community through education, advocacy, and community.

Our work couldn’t be happening at a more pivotal moment.

Our 2019 Family-Building Survey revealed that of the estimated 6 million LGBTQ+ millennials living in the United States, a stunning 63% plan to expand their families in the coming years.

This means that there will be millions of LGBTQ+ people embarking on their path to parenthood, seeking family-building practitioners who will treat them with the dignity and excellence they deserve.

To help equip experts, Family Equality created Open Door, a professional training program which provides LGBTQ+ diversity and inclusion training for family building professionals.

The goal of Open Door is to deepen LGBTQ+ competency amongst family building professionals, empowering them to create practices that respect & celebrate LGBTQ+ people.

Open Door is a first-of-its-kind program built to prioritize accessibility and ease. The program is divided into three modules:

Beyond Diversity: LGBTQ+ 101
Trans Fertility Considerations
Rainbow Flags: Building an Inclusive Practice

True to its name, the first module is rooted in fundamental principles of LGBTQ+ inclusion. From understanding pronouns to differentiating identities, you and your team will leave having a solid and shared foundation of language and understanding.

The second module takes you deeper into family building considerations for transgender and nonbinary people. This module covers basic logistics as well as tips and tricks for expanding your staff’s comfort with welcoming and celebrating trans and nonbinary patients.

Finally, the third module helps users take the knowledge gained in the first two modules and put it all into practice! From suggestions on updating intake forms and website language to tools for practicing gender-neutral pronouns and de-gendering family building language, folks will leave with a deeper sense of how to put inclusion into practice in their daily work.

Each module is completely online and self-paced. This allows anyone to enroll and engage with the content on their own time from anywhere in the world. Each module is 75 - 110 minutes in length and divided into chapters, making the content more digestible.

Modules consist of interviews with real patients & content experts, reflection questions, and links to external resources, research, and relevant articles in addition to facilitator-led content. While most people engage with the modules as a set, it is possible to gain access to one or two modules instead of all three.

Open Door is meant for anyone who touches the family formation process. From reproductive endocrinologists to lawyers, social workers to birth workers—any person who supports LGBTQ+ people on their path to parenthood can benefit from Open Door! Most often, an entire team will enroll in Open Door together. This can look like a fertility clinic, law practice, surrogacy center (etc.) purchasing an annual membership which gives access to their entire staff. Family Equality staff help teams enroll in the program, and support them through offering tech support, tracking team progress, and being available for questions.

Once the majority of a team completes the program, that practice is listed in Family Equality’s national Family Building Directory. Thousands of LGBTQ+ people across the country use it as a resource to make informed decisions about who they involve in the journey to expand their family.

This directory allows LGBTQ+ folks to find trained professionals in their geographic area, and gives them the peace of mind that all staff at a listed practice will have received training & support in making their work inclusive to the LGBTQ+ community. Individual practitioners can also enroll in Open Door and can be listed in the LGBTQ+ Family Building Directory.

Now more than ever, our families need to know that they are accessing care that is inclusive and understanding of all the ways that they might show up in the world.

If you’re ready to make a commitment to this community, there are a few ways to get started!

If you are an individual, you can enroll yourself using Family Equality’s Open Door website!

If you are interested in Open Door for you and your team, reach out to the Open Door team at opendoor@familyequality.org. Mention this article to enjoy 20% off your team’s membership purchase. If you are an individual purchasing through the Open Door website, use the code RNEmagazine22 for $20 off!

Open Door Scholarship

Do you identify as a queer or trans birthworker?

Family Equality believes in connecting LGBTQ+ people with LGBTQ+ practitioners. This allows for LGBTQ+ prospective parents to be better seen, heard, and validated on the journey to expand their families.

As such, we are committed to giving queer and trans practitioners barrier-free access to our professional training program. Reach out to opendoor@familyequality.org or visit the Open Door website to apply!

How Else Does Family Equality Support LGBTQ+ Families?

Family Equality offers many everyday avenues of support to queer families!

From virtual peer support groups to our robust library of resources, we have plenty of opportunities for LGBTQ+ families to find community, connection, and support no matter where they are on their parenting journey!

Check out familyequality.org or find us on social media to learn more! You can also email info@familyequality.org for more information.

Beyond Diversity: LGBTQ+ 101 for Employers

Family Equality also believes that employers must be prepared to support LGBTQ+ employees on their path to parenthood.

We have a training module specifically designed to ensure business owners, HR professionals, executive teams, and managers have the tools & understanding to create a welcoming workplace culture and inclusive policies with expertise and excellence.

This module can be utilized by individuals or entire teams. For more information, reach out to opendoor@familyequality.org.

Jess is a queer, nonbinary educator, organizer, and parent living in rural Vermont with their partner, kiddo, and baby. They're also the Director of Family Formation at Family Equality and bring with them years of experience working at the intersection of advocacy, facilitation, and community building.

Folks can get in contact at opendoor@familyequality.org.