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Prudential Offers LGBT Seniors a Piece of the Rock

Prudential Financial’s Group Insurance business has decided to target market long-term care insurance to the LGBT community. The company announced yesterday that it has established the Prudential Affinity Alliance program, essentially a forum for partnering with LGBT organizations backed by a training program for the company’s long-term care sales team. The company’s long-term care sales team will be educated on the unique issues facing gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender seniors. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) was the first GLBT organization on board in the program.

“Prudential has a solid record of sponsorship support to LGBT community organizations, including HRC. But we’re also committed to ensuring that the LGBT community’s unique long-term care needs and the various options available to them are understood,” said Eric Holtzman, vice president of Long-Term Care Insurance, Prudential, in a company press release. “The reality is the LGBT community lacks the traditional support that married heterosexuals enjoy and as a result face a greater need for long-term care insurance.”

Prudential says it worked closely with Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) to develop a training program designed to help financial professionals understand cultural sensitivities and unique challenges facing the gay and lesbian community. The company cited some interesting facts about the issues faced by GLBT seniors.

According to the 2006 National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute report entitled “Make Room for All: Diversity, Cultural Competency & Discrimination in an Aging America, nearly 90 percent of gay and lesbian seniors have no children to help them, while only 20 percent of heterosexual seniors are childless. The report also noted:

• Medicaid regulations protect the assets and homes of married spouses when the other spouse enters a nursing home or long-term care facility; no such protections are offered to same-sex partners:
• Social Security pays survivor benefits to widows and widowers, but not to the surviving same-sex life partner of someone who dies:
• Federal tax laws and other regulations of 401(k) s and pensions discriminate against same-sex partners, costing the surviving partner in a same-se relationship tens of thousands of dollars a year, and possibly over $1 million during the course of a lifetime:
• State tax laws, except in states that have legalized same-sex marriage, civil unions or domestic partnerships also discriminate against same-sex couples.

Prudential boasts a long and active history of commitment to the gay and lesbian community through grants, sponsorships and domestic partnership benefits for employees of same-sex relationships. As one of the first corporate sponsors of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act legislation, Prudential was also a leader in offering domestic partnership benefits to employees of same-sex relationships. Since 2003, Prudential has received a 100 percent score on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s annual Corporate Equality Index and also proudly supports organizations dedicated to improving the lives of gays and lesbians including the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), the Human Rights Campaign, and Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG).

Prudential has been in the long-term care insurance business for over 20 years. Prudential Financial, a $631 billion company, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America serving over 50 million individual and institutional customers.

MEGA Answers the Question: “Maybe Baby?”

If the sound of your ticking biological clock is driving you crazy, you may want to spend some time with the MEGA Family Project this Saturday, June 14 from 9:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. at UUCA. The LGBT family-focused organization is holding a workshop called Creating a Family: Choices for Prospective LGBT Parents. The day will include advice on your baby birthin’ options from professionals as well as personal stories about the issues faced, told by lesbian moms and gay dads who have already brought home their little bundles of joy and dirty diapers.

MEGA says the workshop will cover issues like open adoption, donor insemination, the current state of international adoptions, foster parenting, adopting from the foster care system and surrogacy, guided by professionals who work on these issues. Apparently The Stork was not available. An adoption attorney will advise you on the very important legal issues you need to consider in deciding to become a parent, and take questions from workshop attendees. Queer parents will share their personal journeys through the different methods available. Parental discretion is advised.

The workshop is $15, which even includes a pizza lunch, snacks and drinks. (If you cannot eat pizza, you can e-mail Kathy@megafamilyproject.org to discuss alternative menu choices.) There was no indication as to whether the drinks provided would include the liquid-courage adult beverages that some may require. You can register online anytime before the deadline, which is 11 p.m. tomorrow, Friday June 13.

Blogger’s Note: My feeble attempts at humor in this posting simply serve to express my personal fear of babies. This lesbian has never had even one fraction of a second of maternal instinct. I don’t know nothin’ about birthin’ no babies, and I prefer to keep it that way. Besides, it’s probably best for this DNA to stop here. For those of you with the intestinal fortutitude, desire and boundless love to take on the task of child rearin’, more power to you. And don’t miss MEGA’s workshop, where you’re sure to get the strength you will need. Kathy Kelly and her crew have done amazing work for queer families, and I’m sure this workshop will be no exception. The MEGA Family Project provides support, education and advocacy for Georgia’s LGBT families and our children. All programs are open to everyone, regardless of whether or not you have children.

Georgia Lesbian Mom Wins Appeal, Will Not Be Jailed

The Amercian Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced yesterday that the Georgia Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of one lesbian mom, who had volunteered to adopt and care for a seven-year-old girl, at the request of (and with the permission of) the girl’s biological mother. Elizabeth Hadaway was convicted of criminal contempt of court in 2007 for not handing her daughter over to foster care after she lost custody solely because she’s a lesbian. A year and one day after a county court judge sentenced Hadaway to 10 days in jail, the Georgia Court of Appeals overturned her contempt conviction, which had been staid pending appeal, yesterday. The ACLU represented Hardaway in the appeal and secured the little girl’s return home from foster care last May.”Just yesterday I was watching Emma hunt for Easter eggs and thinking how the possibility of going to jail and being separated from her again made it hard to just enjoy the moment,” Hadaway said in an ACLU press release. “I’m just so grateful that the court has lifted this burden so we can move on and I can keep focused on making sure Emma has a happy home and a good life.”

Hadaway’s legal problems began in 2006, when a Wilkinson County Superior Court judge was on the verge of granting her request to permanently adopt Emma when he noticed in a home study that Hadaway was living with her female partner of seven years. The judge abruptly changed his mind solely because Hadaway is a lesbian. Although Emma’s biological mother told the court that she wanted the child to be raised and adopted by Hadaway, the judge denied the adoption and ordered that Emma be sent back to her biological mother. Hadaway met with the biological mother, who is a truck driver struggling to care for her daughter, at a truck stop to hand over the girl. After accepting custody, thus satisfying the court order, the biological mother saw how distraught Emma was at being taken from Hadaway and again insisted that Hadaway should raise the girl. Because Hadaway took Emma back, the Wilkinson County judge then ordered that Emma be sent to live in a foster home and sentenced Hadaway and her attorney to 10 days in jail for contempt of court. Wilkinson County is in middle Georgia, between Macon and Milledgeville.

Emma was eventually returned to Hadaway’s care last May after an expert commissioned by Wilkinson County Department of Children and Family Services found that the little girl was experiencing emotional trauma because of the separation from Hadaway. A judge in another Georgia county then granted Hadaway permanent custody. The Department of Family and Children Services let Emma return home. The ACLU describes the three months of foster care as an experience in which Emma’s “welfare was seriously compromised.”

“We’re pleased that the court has agreed with us that Elizabeth Hadaway shouldn’t do jail time simply for doing the right thing for her child, but it’s unfortunate that it’s taken almost two years of court proceedings to end up with things where Elizabeth, Emma, and Emma’s biological mom wanted them to be in the first place,” said Debbie Seagraves, Executive Director of the ACLU of Georgia. “Elizabeth Hadaway did everything the judge ordered her to do, and she should never have been punished.”

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LGBT Families Face MEGA Issues

I am on the mailing list for the MEGA Family Project, not because I currently have a partner and family in my life (I do not), but because I so admire the efforts of this important organization and want to keep up with their work. Born four years ago during the fight against the anti-gay marriage amendment in Georgia (the genesis of the name was “Marriage Equality Georgia”), MEGA has transformed itself post-amendment into an important voice and resource for LGBT families, in particular those with children. An e-mail to the MEGA list, penned by Executive Director Kathy Kelly, got my attention when it hit my inbox late last night. I was struck by the thoughtfulness and thoroughness of her words on the work yet left undone for LGBT families in Georgia (and in fact the nation, if not the world).

I wanted to post here some of Kelly’s thoughts, because I believe successfully meeting these needs is critical to advancing gay rights overall. Whether we currently find ourselves partnered with kids or not, issues affecting queer families affect all of us by association. Gay and lesbian family issues are, in a sense, examples of the discrimination and homophobia that impact the entire queer community. Ultimately, we all benefit from the work of MEGA, even if their focus on families with children doesn’t seem to apply to any one of use personally.

A rising tide lifts all boats. MEGA lifts us all through their work for acceptance, for equal rights and responsibilities under our laws, and for an end to hatred and fear. Here, then, are Kathy Kelly’s thoughts (very slightly edited by me for editorial consistency) on the state of her organization’s advocacy efforts, and her list of the 6 areas that she she sees as important for LGBT families:

“Some days, I am completely overwhelmed by the unmet needs we (in the LGBT community) are experiencing. There is so much that needs to be done for us to have strong families, healthy children, and to keep Georgia a place where LGBT families are treated well and continue to thrive.

I just came back from a national conference where many people are struggling with doing the very important work needed in the LGBT community, but I am in a very different place. I feel hopeful, optimistic, and downright joyful about the potential future for our families. We are on our way, we just need to continue doing the work to get our families to a strong, healthy place in history.

Below are some critical areas that currently receive only minimal attention from MEGA due to our limited financial resources:

1. Our kids need support through ongoing programs to help them face the certain discrimination and possible bullying they may face.
2. Parents need to be better armed to face a world designed for heterosexual families (from churches, to schools, to the playground).
3. Parents need to be educated about the best legal means available to protect their families given the current political landscape in Georgia.
4. LGBT adults coming out of heterosexual marriages with children need our support from what is often a difficult transition for both kids and adults.
5. Our children need us to be advocates at every school around the state that is not providing a positive, affirming environment for LGBT families.
6. Parents who haven’t been able to complete second parent adoptions are losing custody of their children as a result of relationship break-ups. This isn’t healthy for our kids and is extremely painful for the parents.

These issues are what keep me working every day to champion the cause of LGBT families.”

-Kathy Kelly, Executive Director

MEGA Family Project

Kelly and the MEGA Family Project sent the e-mail to appeal for support for the organization. In particular, MEGA offers an option for donating called the “MEGA Family Champion.” By becoming a Family Champion, supporters choose to make automatic monthly contributions to this non-profit organization. In addition to the tax-deductibility of your donation, becoming a MEGA Family champion also brings you special discounts and other benefits throughout the year. (The MEGA Family Project is a 501(c)3 organization with the Internal Revenue Service, so your donation is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.) If you want to support MEGA but don’t feel comfortable with a monthly donation, you can make a one-time contribution here.

In addition to its advocacy efforts, MEGA holds monthly educational and social activities to strengthen the LGBT community of families. The organization is based in the Atlanta Metro, but works on advocacy issues and hosts social events throughout the state of Georgia. MEGA also maintains several different mailing lists where you can opt in to receive news and information on specific issues–including adoption, artificial insemination, and parenting, to name a few. And there are regional lists for communication among LGBT families in specific communities, including, for example a list for the Savannah area, Cobb County and North Fulton County. Thanks to Kathy Kelly, the MEGA Family Project staff and to Georgia’s LGBT families for their visibility and for the positive example they are. Because hate really is not a family value.