Family Spotlight:
Gretchen and Tiffany
Gretchen Schmid and Tiffany James moved to Baltimore, Maryland from Lincoln, Nebraska ten years ago. Indeed, they moved to Maryland looking for a supportive community and a state that valued their presence as full citizens who happen to be members of the GLBT community. They first found their home in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, and now reside in the neighborhood of Hampden where they are raising their 14-month-old daughter Rachel.
Tiffany is a Neighborhood Liaison in the Mayor Martin O'Malley's Office of Neighborhoods, as well as the Mayor's Representative on the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Task Force. Because the City of Baltimore provides health insurance to domestic partners, Gretchen can stay home with their daughter. Gretchen also provides child care for a second child in their home. Tiffany is glad her employer, the City of Baltimore, believes in equal pay for equal work by providing health benefits to domestic partners of employees just as it provides health benefits to legal spouses of employees. If Tiffany worked for the state of Maryland, she would not be eligible to cover Gretchen on her plan.
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