The Open Door Project Task Force: A Qualitative Study on LGBT Aging

Figures & data

TABLE 1 Responses to Closed-Ended Questions

Measure	Response Category/Scale
Has a new diversity policy been established as a result of the Open Door Project (can include diversity statement, revised mission statement, etc.)?	0% No0% It has been drafted but approval is not complete89% It has been drafted and approved by the organization11% Not applicable; policy already inclusive
Have you made changes to policies and procedures or the personnel manual regarding benefits, leave, etc.?	11% No0% It has been drafted but approval is not complete44% It has been drafted and approved by the organization44% Not applicable; policy already inclusive
Have changes been made to internal agency intake forms to make them more inclusive of LGBT persons (marital status, gender, who client lives with)?	56% No0% Changes have been proposed, but have not been finalized33% Changes have been proposed and finalized11% Not applicable; forms already inclusive
Due to the Open Door Project, is information about local or regional LGBT resources now readily available to agency's staff, providers, and clients?	33% No22% In process33% Yes11% Not applicable; a list of LGBT resources was available prior to the Open Door Project
As part of the Open Door Project, has a strategy for ongoing training of agency staff on working with LGBT clients been planned?	22% No78% Yes0% Unsure
If ongoing training of agency staff has been planned, has it been executed?	22% None has been planned22% No56% Yes0% Unsure
Please indicate the extent to which you agree
or disagree with the following statements.			Neither
Each statement refers to the impact of the			Agree
Open Door Project on your agency:	Strongly		nor		Strongly
	Disagree	Disagree	Disagree	Agree	Agree
1. Our agency has increased its capacity to work effectively with LGBT clients.	0%	0%	0%	90%	10%
2. Discussion of LGBT issues in our agency has become “normalized” or “de-stigmatized.”	0%	0%	20%	60%	20%
3. All staff members understand it is their professional obligation to provide culturally competent services to LGBT clients regardless of their personal stance on LGBT issues.	0%	0%	10%	30%	60%
4. Leadership within our organization has been supportive of the Open Door Project.	0%	0%	0%	11%	89%
5. Leadership has actively participated in the Open Door Project.	0%	0%	0%	40%	60%
6. The impact of the Open Door Project will be felt long after the completion of the Task Force meetings.	0%	0%	20%	70%	10%
Note: Where more than one person was interviewed from an agency, responses were compared for the first six questions. There was agreement between those individuals, providing a small measure of validation of the questions. Since there was agreement, only one response per agency was included in the final tabulation to ensure that the results represented agencies, not individuals.

Table

Outcome Measurement Form for Open Door Task Force
Measure	Response Category/Scale
Has a new diversity policy been established as a result of the Open Door Project (can include diversity statement, revised mission statement, etc.)?	□ No□ It has been drafted but approval is not complete□ It has been drafted and approved by the organization□ Not applicable; policy already inclusive
Have you made changes to policies and procedures or the personnel manual regarding benefits, leave, etc.?	□ No□ It has been drafted but approval is not complete□ It has been drafted and approved by the organization□ Not applicable; policy already inclusive
Have changes been made to internal agency intake forms to make them more inclusive of LGBT persons (marital status, gender, who client lives with)?	□ No□ Changes have been proposed, but have not been finalized□ Changes have been proposed and finalized□ Not applicable; forms already inclusive
Due to the Open Door Project, information about local or regional LGBT resources is now readily available to our agency's staff, providers, and clients.	□ No□ In process□ Yes□ Not applicable; a list of LGBT resources was available prior to the Open Door Project
As part of the Open Door Project, has a strategy for ongoing training of agency staff on working with LGBT clients been planned?	□ No□ Yes□ Unsure
If ongoing training of agency staff has been planned, has it been executed?	□ None has been planned□ No□ Yes□ Unsure
Please indicate the extent to which you
agree or disagree with the following
statements. Each statement refers to the			Neither
impact of the Open Door Project			nor
on your agency:	Strongly		Agree		Strongly
	Disagree	Disagree	Disagree	Agree	Agree
1. Our agency has increased its capacity to	□	□	□	□	□
work effectively with LGBT clients.	□	□	□	□	□
2. Discussion of LGBT issues in our agency has become “normalized” or “de-stigmatized.”	□	□	□	□	□
3. All staff members understand it is their professional obligation to provide culturally competent services to LGBT clients regardless of their personal stance on LGBT issues.	□	□	□	□	□
4. Leadership within our organization has been supportive of the Open Door Project.	□	□	□	□	□
5. Leadership has actively participated in the Open Door Project.	□	□	□	□	□
6. The impact of the Open Door Project will be felt long after the completion of the Task Force meetings.	□	□	□	□	□