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SAFE HAVENS Closing the Gap Between Recommended Practice and Reality for Transgender and Gender-Expansive Youth in Out-Of-Home Care

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SAFE HAVENS Closing the Gap Between Recommended Practice and Reality for Transgender and Gender-Expansive Youth in Out-Of-Home Care SAFE HAVENS Closing the Gap Between Recommended Practice and Reality for Transgender and Gender-Expansive Youth in Out-of-Home Care APRIL 2017 PRINCIPAL RESEARCHERS AND AUTHORS FEATURED YOUTH Christina Wilson Remlin, Esq., Children’s Rights Mohammed, from a midwestern state M. Currey Cook, Esq., Lambda Legal Ashley, from a southeastern state Rosalynd Erney, Center for the Study of Social Policy Savannah, from a northeastern state Jennifer, from a southern state ADDITIONAL RESEARCHERS AND AUTHORS Barrett, from a northwestern state Hailey Cherepon, Children’s Rights Lydia, from a southern State Kaitlyn Gentile, Lambda Legal SERVICE PROVIDER CONTRIBUTORS Jerry Peterson, Ruth Ellis Center – Detroit, MI Cindy Simpson, CHRIS 180 – Atlanta, GA John Robertson, Crosswalk, Volunteers of America – Spokane, WA Jennifer Romelien, Administration for Children’s Services – New York, NY TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Executive Summary ..............................................................................1 II. Introduction ..........................................................................................6 III. Existing Law and Policy and Recommendations for Reform ................7 A. Federal Law and Policy ................................................................................7 1. Child Welfare ............................................................................................7 2. Juvenile Justice ........................................................................................9 3. Runaway and Homeless Youth ............................................................... 11 B. State Law and Policy ...................................................................................12 1. Child Welfare ..........................................................................................13 2. Juvenile Justice ......................................................................................15 3. Runaway and Homeless Youth ...............................................................18 C. State-Based Licensing, Training and Other Requirements .........................19 IV. Eliminating Practice Barriers: Lessons from Affirming Programs and Positive Experiences of TGNC Youth .......................................... 26 A. Families, Kin and Guardianship Placements ...............................................26 B. Congregate Care Settings ..........................................................................29 1. Child Welfare ..........................................................................................29 2. Juvenile Justice ......................................................................................35 3. Programs Serving Youth Experiencing Homelessness ...........................38 V. Conclusion .........................................................................................40 Endnotes ................................................................................................... 41 VI. Appendix A: State-by-State Licensing and Other Regulations VII. Appendix B: Additional Resources I.EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Child advocates and experts from a host of dangerous, exposing her to bullying, physical assaults disciplines have documented for over a decade the and even sexual abuse. At its core, such a placement overrepresentation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender constitutes a refusal to fully affirm the youth’s identity and queer or questioning (LGBTQ+)1 youth in child and may contribute to suicidal ideation and depression welfare, juvenile justice and runaway and homeless and exacerbate gender dysphoria,14 among other youth systems2 (“out-of-home care systems”) compared undesirable health outcomes.15 Lack of affirmation for to the general population.3 Further, transgender,4 TGNC youth in care is, too frequently, accompanied gender-expansive5 and gender-nonconforming6 by discrimination and mistreatment in school, at (TGNC)7 youth, who may identify across the sexual work and within their communities. Stigma, conflicts orientation spectrum,8 are overrepresented in these around gender nonconformity and racial identity also systems at even higher rates than youth who identify as LGBQ.9 IN A LOS ANGELES COUNTY FOSTER Data are scarce regarding the particular CARE SURVEY, experiences of TGNC youth in out-of-home care.10 However, extraordinarily high rates of family rejection, 5.6% OF YOUTH IDENTIFIED AS societal discrimination and victimization of TGNC TRANSGENDER COMPARED TO 1-2% people11—including staggering rates of violence against IN THE GENERAL POPULATION transgender women of color12—and anecdotal evidence suggest that TGNC youth in out-of-home care are AND 11.1% IDENTIFIED AS GENDER- exposed to even harsher and more abusive treatment NONCONFORMITY. than LGBQ youth in these systems. Most out-of-home care placements and facilities are sex-specific and many contribute to the criminalization of TGNC young aspects of youths’ supervision and care are governed people, particularly TGNC youth of color, at higher by regulations that reference a youth’s sex (or gender). rates than their cisgender16 and gender-conforming This makes it particularly important to insure that peers.17 Without assistance and support from out- out-of-home care practices are accepting and affirming of-home care providers, these issues may remain for TGNC young people.13 For example, placing a unaddressed, leading to disparately poor life outcomes young woman who is transgender on the boys’ floor for these young people. in a child welfare group home, juvenile justice facility This report, based on the authors’ reseach, or shelter for youth experiencing homelessness can be identifies barriers to affirming treatment for TGNC GLOSSARY The authors use the term transgender—a person whose gender identity (i.e., their innate sense of being male, female or something else) differs from the sex they were assigned or presumed to be at birth—to include youth who identify at all points along the gender spectrum, including youth who identify as non-binary or gender fluid. As an example, the authors use the description transgender girl to describe a girl who identifies as female, but was assigned the sex of male at birth. Gender-expansive is a broad term referring to aspects of gender expression, identity, and interests that go beyond cultural binary prescriptions of behaviors and interests associated primarily with boys or girls. Gender-expansive includes young people who do not identify with the sex they were assigned at birth as well as those who do, but may nonetheless find themselves barraged with questions based on their dress, appearance, or interests, such as, ”Are you a boy or a girl?“ or ”Why do you play with that? It’s a boy/girl toy!“ Other words with similar meetings include gender diverse and gender creative. Nat’l Ass’n of School Psychologists & Gender Spectrum, Gender Inclusive Schools: Overview, Gender Basics, and Terminology (2016), https://www. nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources/diversity/lgbtq-youth/gender-inclusive-schools-faqs/gender-inclusive- schools-overview-gender-basics-and-terminology. ”Gender Non-conforming or Gender Variant—a person whose gender expression differs from how their family, culture, or society expects them to behave, dress, and act.” Substance Abuse & Mental Health Servs. Admin., A Practitioner’s Resource Guide: Helping Families to Support Their LGBT Children (2014), at 3, https://store.samhsa.gov/shin/content/PEP14-LGBTKIDS/ PEP14-LGBTKIDS.pdf. The authors use the abbreviation TGNC in this report because it appears most frequently in the literature and research. The authors emphasize that every individual is unique and there is no “correct” way to identity or express oneself. Here, the authors use gender-nonconforming to convey that cultural norms around gender still negatively impact youth who express themselves outside of those norms. 1 “WHILE I WAS IN THE FACILITIES, I gender expression, providing a resource to help users WASN’T ABLE TO FOCUS ON MY understand the explicit protections that exist (or do CLASSES AND WHAT I NEEDED TO not exist) in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. LEARN. I WAS ALWAYS MORE FOCUSED Also provided are concrete law and policy reform ON WHO WAS OUT TO FIGHT ME AND recommendations and practical tips to better protect and serve TGNC youth involved in intervening WHO WAS GOING TO JUMP ME TODAY. public systems. The recommendations were developed I WAS SO BUSY PAYING ATTENTION TO with significant input from both TGNC youth who MY SURROUNDINGS THAT I COULDN’T reported affirming experiences during their placement PAY ATTENTION TO MY WORK. ONCE in out-of-home care and providers who have made I KNEW MY PAROLE OFFICER WAS recommended practices a reality for the youth they GOING TO RESPECT ME AND TREAT ME serve. FAIRLY, I WAS ABLE TO FOCUS ON WHAT I NEEDED TO DO AND WORKING ON POSITIVE THINGS.” ONLY 5-7% OF YOUTH ARE LGBTQ+ –LYDIA, BUT LGBTQ+ YOUTH ARE ALMOST transgender youth in care 25% OF THOSE IN FOSTER CARE, youth in out-of-home care and suggests steps to 20% OF YOUTH IN THE JUVENILE eliminate these barriers. The report provides first- JUSTICE SYSTEM 18 of-their-kind live national maps of specific out-of- AND ALMOST 50% OF YOUTH home care statutes, policies and licensing regulations related to sexual orientation, gender identity and EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS. All photographs are stock images for illustrative purposes only. 2 THE PROBLEM LGBTQ+ YOUTH IN THE JUVENILE Comprehensive data on the number of LGBTQ+ JUSTICE SYSTEM ARE
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