Recommended Practices to Promote the Safety and Well-Being of LGBTQ Youth and Youth at Risk of Or Living with HIV in Child Welfare Settings

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RECOMMENDED PRACTICES To Promote the Safety and Well-Being of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning (LGBTQ) Youth and Youth at Risk of or Living with HIV in Child Welfare Settings This publication consolidates and summarizes to End Homelessness, the National Center for Lesbian recommended practices derived from previous Rights, the National Center for Transgender Equality, publications of the Child Welfare League of America, the National Network for Youth and the Sylvia Rivera the American Bar Association Center on Children and Law Project, among others. We encourage agencies the Law: Opening Doors for LGBTQ Youth in Foster to refer to the original publications for additional Care Project, Diane E. Elze, the Family Acceptance contextual information about LGBTQ youth in foster Project, Lambda Legal, Legal Services for Children, care as well as detailed commentary supporting the Gerald P. Mallon, Robin McHaelen, the National Alliance practices recommended in the following pages.

Additional resources include:

A Place of Respect: A Guide for Group Care Facilities Serving National Recommended Best Practices for Serving LGBT Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Youth Homeless Youth http://www.nclrights.org/site/DocServer/A_Place_Of_Respect. http://www.nclrights.org/site/DocServer/national-recommended- pdf?docID=8301 best-practices-for-lgbt-homeless-yo.pdf?docID=5821

A Practical Guide for Youth Workers Serving Lesbian, Gay, Opening Doors for LGBTQ Youth in Foster Care: A Guide for Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Youth Lawyers and Judges http://www.cwla.org/pubs/pubdetails.asp?PUBID=1385 http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publications/ center_on_children_and_the_law/lgbtq_book.authcheckdam.pdf Child Welfare League of America Best Practice Guidelines: Serving LGBT Youth in Out-of-Home Care Out of the Margins: A Report on Regional Listening Forums http://www.nclrights.org/site/DocServer/bestpracticeslgbtyouth. Highlighting the Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, pdf?docID=1322 Transgender, and Questioning Youth in Care http://www.lambdalegal.org/publications/out-of-the-margins Getting Down to Basics: Tools to Support LGBTQ Youth in Care http://www.lambdalegal.org/publications/getting-down-to-basics Publications of Gerald P. Mallon regarding this population http://www.garymallon.com/publications.htm It’s Your Life http://www.americanbar.org/tools/digitalassetabstract.SIGNIN. Understanding Transgender: Frequently Asked Questions html/content/dam/aba/migrated/child/PublicDocuments/its_ About Transgender People your_life.pdf http://www.transequality.org/Resources/NCTE_ UnderstandingTrans.pdf Moving the Margins: Curriculum for Child Welfare Services with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Youth in the Margins: A Report on the Unmet Needs of Lesbian, Youth in Out-of-Home Care Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Adolescents in Foster Care http://www.lambdalegal.org/publications/moving-the-margins http://www.lambdalegal.org/publications/youth-in-the-margins CONTENTS

PAGE SECTION

1 Purpose

2 LGBTQ Youth Are Often Underserved and Unsafe in Child Welfare Systems

4 Leading Child Welfare Professional Organizations Call for Supporting LGBTQ Youth in Care

6 The Historical Development of Standards of Care for LGBTQ Youth in Child Welfare Systems

9 Recommended Practices to Promote the Safety and Well-Being of LGBTQ Youth and Youth at Risk of or Living with HIV in Child Welfare Settings

17 Conclusion Photos: iStock (cover); Corbis (this page) Models used for illustrative purposes only PURPOSE

hrough these Recommended Practices, the child in the child welfare system.3 On April 6, 2011, the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA)1 ACYF Commissioner, Bryan Samuels, issued a memorandum and co-authors2 seek to provide guidance to the encouraging protection and support of LGBTQ youth in Administration on Children, Youth and Families foster care.4 Th ese Recommended Practices elaborate on the (ACYF), state and local child welfare agencies and provision of services to LGBTQ youth in the areas of foster Ttheir contract providers on how to fulfi ll their professional care, child protection, family preservation, adoption and youth and legal obligations to ensure safe and proper care consistent development. Th ey aim to assist state child welfare agencies to with the best interest and special needs of each and every meet the needs of this particularly vulnerable and underserved lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning (LGBTQ) population by promoting safe, competent and supportive settings for LGBTQ youth.

1 Established in 1920, and headquartered in Washington, DC, CWLA strives 3 Th e federally mandated State Plan for Foster Care and Adoption Assistance to advance sound public policy on behalf of the more than 3 million abused, requires that there be a case plan for each child placed in the child welfare neglected and vulnerable children served by its nearly 560 member agencies. system. Th e plan must be designed such that “the child’s health and safety CWLA’s mission is to engage people everywhere in promoting the well-being of shall be the paramount concern[.]” 42 USC § 671(a)(15)(A)(2011); see all children, youth, and their families, and protecting every child from harm. also § 671(a)(22)(2011). Th e plan must include “a discussion of the safety 2 American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law: Opening Doors and appropriateness of the placement[,]” 42 USC § 675(1)(A)(2011), and for LGBTQ Youth in Foster Care Project; Diane E. Elze, Associate Professor and “address the needs of the child while in foster care, including a discussion of the Director of the M.S.W. Program, University at Buff alo School of Social Work; appropriateness of the services that have been provided to the child under the Family Acceptance Project; Lambda Legal; Legal Services for Children; Gerald plan.” § 675(1)(B)(2011). Additionally, a procedure must be in place for review P. Mallon, Julia Lathrop Professor of Child Welfare, Silberman School of Social of the case plan on a regular basis, to ensure that the plan remains “consistent Work at Hunter College of the City University of New York; Robin McHaelen, with the best interest and special needs of the child[.]” § 675(5)(A)(2011). Executive Director, True Colors; National Alliance to End Homelessness; 4 U.S. Dep’t of Health & Human Servs., Admin. on Children, Youth & National Center for Lesbian Rights; National Center for Transgender Equality; Families, Information Memorandum ACYF-CB-IM-11-03, Lesbian, Gay,

Photos: iStock (cover); Corbis (this page). Models used for illustrative purposes only. National Network for Youth; and Sylvia Rivera Law Project. Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning Youth in Foster Care (Apr. 6, 2011).

1 LGBTQ YOUTH ARE OFTEN UNDERSERVED AND UNSAFE IN CHILD WELFARE SYSTEMS

GBTQ youth are over-represented in child welfare and other sexually transmitted infections, attempted suicide systems across the country.5 For some LGBTQ and violence.9 Community reports show high levels of adolescents in care, their sexual orientation or victimization among LGBTQ adolescents10 related to the gender identity and/or expression is the reason social stigma and harassment they face from their peers and they may be living out of the home. Families adults in their lives.11 LGBTQ youth who experience the hostile to their children’s LGBTQ identities may have highest levels of family and caregiver rejection are most at risk L 12 rejected, abused or neglected them, causing them to enter for serious health problems in adulthood. the child welfare system in the fi rst place.6 Case workers may believe that young LGBTQ people in the system LGBTQ youth routinely experience harassment and abuse are harder to place in permanent settings or reunify with in the child welfare system. Th is includes harassment and families, which results in many LGBTQ youth emancipating victimization from peers, and may also include sexual abuse. from care without these important lifelong connections. If Moreover, many report discrimination, harassment and given appropriate support, acceptance and access to coping abusive reactions from child welfare staff and foster parents. strategies, young LGBTQ people demonstrate high levels Th ey may be subjected to coercive and harmful conversion of resilience and positive outcomes.7 Conversely, if LGBTQ or reparative therapies attempting to change their sexual youth in the child welfare system are given little or no support orientation or gender identity,13 put in isolation from other by caregivers and child welfare professionals, they face poor young people in congregate care settings, or cycled through prospects of successfully transitioning to adult living and multiple foster homes when one after another unsuitable face elevated health and behavioral risks compared to their placement turns out to be a poor fi t.14 Blatant hostility and non-LGBTQ peers.8 Research has shown that LGB youth verbal abuse are often an accepted aspect of institutional are more likely than their heterosexual peers to be at risk for culture. Because of such treatment, many LGBTQ youth feel substance use, sexual behaviors that can lead to HIV infection forced to hide their sexual orientation or gender identity in

9 Ctrs. for Disease Control & Prevention, Sexual Identity, Sex of Sexual Contacts, 5 See id. See also Shannan Wilber, Caitlin Ryan & Jody Marksamer, CWLA and Health-Risk Behaviors Among Students in Grades 9-12 – Youth Risk Behavior Best Practice Guidelines for Serving LGBT Youth in Out-of-Home Care 1 (2006) Surveillance, Selected Sites, United States 2001-2009, 60 MMWR Early Release [hereinafter CWLA Best Practice Guidelines]; Child Welfare League of Am. & (June 6, 2011); Caitlin Ryan et al., Family Rejection as a Predictor of Negative Lambda Legal Def. & Educ. Fund, Getting Down to Basics: Tools to Support Health Outcomes in White and Latino Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Young Adults, 123 LGBTQ Youth in Care (2010) [hereinafter Getting Down to Basics], LGBTQ Pediatrics 346 (2009). Youth Risk Data. 10 See LGBT Youth: An Epidemic of Homelessness, supra note 7, at 41-46. 6 See Getting Down to Basics, supra note 5, LGBTQ Youth Risk Data. 11 See Child Welfare League of Am. & Lambda Legal Def. & Educ. Fund, Out 7 See Nat’l Gay & Lesbian Task Force Policy Inst. & Nat’l Coal. for the Homeless, of the Margins: A Report on Regional Listening Forums Highlighting the Experiences Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Youth: An Epidemic of Homelessness 84-85 of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Youth in Care 2-3 (2006) (2006) (crediting “programs established to work specifi cally with LGBT homeless [hereinafter Out of the Margins]. youth” with helping clients “feel good about [their] emerging identit[ies]” and 12 Ryan et al., supra note 7. saving clients’ lives, “getting [them] off drugs, into safe housing and reconnected 13 Nat’l Ass’n of Soc. Workers, “Reparative” and “Conversion” Th erapies for with [their] famil[ies]”) [hereinafter LGBT Youth: An Epidemic of Homelessness]; Lesbians and Gay Men (2000); Am. Psychological Ass’n, Appropriate Th erapeutic Caitlin Ryan et al., Family Acceptance in Adolescence and the Health of LGBT Young Responses to Sexual Orientation (2009). Adults, 23 J. Child Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing 205, 213 (2010) (“Family 14 At listening forums for LGBTQ youth in out-of-home care, one teenager acceptance predicts greater self-esteem, social support, and general health status; shared a story of being beaten by other residents and then told by group home it also protects against depression, substance abuse, and suicidal ideation and staff that it was his own fault for being a “faggot.” Another youth told of a foster behaviors.”). family that took away her clothes and called her a “dyke.” Out of the Margins, 8 See LGBT Youth: An Epidemic of Homelessness, supra note 7, at 41-82. supra . l hSkdldfll

2 order to survive. Others, unable to hide, may run away from treatment for Gender Identity Disorder (GID), given sex- their placements and end up on the streets.15 segregated rooming assignments inconsistent with their gender identities, called by their names assigned at birth Transgender youth, whose circumstances and needs are rather than their preferred names and forced to dress in ways particularly misunderstood, often suff er especially poor that allow no room for their gender expression.17 treatment in child welfare systems.16 Th ey are regularly targeted for harassment and assault, denied necessary medical

15 LGBT Youth: An Epidemic of Homelessness, supra note 7, at 11-23. 17 See id.; Jody Marksamer et al., A Place of Respect: A Guide for Group Care 16 Getting Down to Basics, supra note 5, Working with Transgender Youth. Facilities Serving Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Youth (Spring 2011) [hereinafter A Place of Respect].

“LGBTQ YOUTH WHO EXPERIENCE FAMILY AND CAREGIVER REJECTION ARE MOST AT RISK FOR SERIOUS HEALTH PROBLEMS IN ADULTHOOD.” Photo: iStock. Models used for illustrative purposes only.

3 LEADING CHILD WELFARE PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS CALL FOR SUPPORTING LGBTQ YOUTH IN CARE

he overwhelming consensus among the country’s leading and most respected child welfare, social science and medical health organizations is that LGBTQ youth and adults deserve respect and support from professional service providers. Th e TNational Association of Social Workers (NASW), the American Psychological Association (APA), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) oppose discrimination against LGBTQ youth.18 Th ese professional organizations agree that all youth should be aff orded the same treatment and respect regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.19 Specifi cally, the major professional associations caution against use of therapies to attempt to change sexual orientation. For example, the American Psychiatric Association “opposes any psychiatric treatment, such as reparative or conversion therapy, which is based upon the assumption that homosexuality per se is a American Psychological Association advises parents, guardians, mental disorder or based upon the a priori assumption that the young people and their families to avoid sexual orientation patient should change his/her homosexual orientation.”20 Th e treatments that portray homosexuality as a mental illness or developmental disorder and instead to seek psychotherapy and 18 Getting Down to Basics, supra note 5, What the Experts Say: Position & Policy supportive services for LGBTQ youth that provide accurate Statements on LGBTQ Issues from Leading Professional Associations. information on sexual orientation, decrease rejection and 19 “NASW recognizes that there is considerable diversity in gender expression 21 and identity among our population and believes that people of diverse gender— increase family and school support. including those sometimes called ‘transgender’—should be aff orded the same respect and rights as any other person.” Nat’l Ass’n of Soc. Workers, Abstract, Consistent with the professional standards governing this Transgender and Gender Identity Issues, Social Work Speaks (2009) [hereinafter fi eld, LGBTQ youth should receive culturally competent NASW Transgender]. NASW also states “that same-gender sexual orientation should be aff orded the same respect and rights as other-gender sexual orientation.” child welfare services, including: positive youth development Nat’l Ass’n of Soc. Workers, Abstract, Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Issues, Social programs; LGBTQ-affi rming preventive services; foster Work Speaks (2009). care services focused on permanency; safe foster placements 20 Am. Psychiatric Ass’n, Psychiatric Treatment and Sexual Orientation. Position Statement (1998). See generally Am. Psychological Ass’n, Abstract, Resolution where an LGBTQ youth’s sexual orientation, gender identity on Appropriate Affi rmative Responses to Sexual Orientation Distress and Change and gender expression are respected; referrals to LGBTQ- Eff orts [hereinafter Appropriate Affi rmative Responses]; Am. Psychoanalytic Ass’n competent physical and mental health care providers; Position Statement on Reparative Th erapy (1999) (“Psychoanalytic technique LGBTQ-affi rming mentors and role models who can provide does not encompass purposeful eff orts to ‘convert’ or ‘repair’ an individual’s sexual orientation. Such directed eff orts are against fundamental principles of long-term sources of support in their lives; and transitional psychoanalytic treatment and often result in substantial psychological pain by services that help establish independent life skills, taking reinforcing damaging internalized homophobic attitudes.”); Am. Psychiatric into account the specifi c challenges faced by LGBTQ people Ass’n, Th erapies Focused on Attempts to Change Sexual Orientation (Reparative or Conversion Th erapies) (2011) (“APA recommends that ethical practitioners hCbdldfll l refrain from attempts to change individuals’ sexual orientation[.]”). 21 Appropriate Affi rmative Responses, supra note 20. Photo: Corbis. Models used for illustrative purposes only.

4 Photo: Corbis. Models used for illustrative purposes only. consistent withprofessionally acceptedstandards ofcare. abuse andimprove outcomes forthesevulnerableyoung people, remedy neglectsuff Recommended Practices, statechildwelfare agencies willhelp 22 discrimination because ofpervasive CWLA BestPracticeGuidelines ered by LGBTQ youth, aswell asprevent , supra note5. . 22 By implementing these 5 AND SUPPORT FROM AND SUPPORT DESERVE RESPECT DESERVE “LGBTQ YOUTH PROFESSIONAL PROVIDERS.” AND ADULTS SERVICE SERVICE THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF STANDARDS OF CARE FOR LGBTQ YOUTH IN CHILD WELFARE SYSTEMS

n the 1990s, Lambda Legal began a national initiative the experiences of gay and lesbian youth in the child welfare to focus on the needs of LGBTQ youth experiencing system, with recommendations to social work practitioners and discrimination in foster care and juvenile justice systems. policymakers on providing competent child welfare services to In 2001, Lambda Legal published Youth in the Margins: LGBTQ youth. In 2002, Mallon co-authored Th ere’s No Place A Report on the Unmet Needs of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Like Home: Safety, Permanency, and Well-being for Lesbian and Iand Transgender Adolescents in Foster Care.23 Th e report surveyed Gay Adolescents in Out-of-Home Care, a publication examining policies and practices in 14 states and found that LGBTQ youth the challenges of ensuring permanency, safety and well-being for were neglected and marginalized by the state child welfare systems LGBT youth.27 Mallon has also written extensively about social charged with safeguarding them. While many child welfare work practice with transgender and gender-variant children.28 professionals recognized and endeavored to address the plight of these young people, they lacked best practice guidelines, training In 2002, Legal Services for Children and the National Center and resources to provide competent services to the LGBTQ for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) launched the Model Standards young people in their care. Many of these gaps have been fi lled Project to develop and disseminate model professional standards in the ensuing years with the following resources. governing services to LGBTQ youth in out-of-home care. Th e Model Standards Project, in partnership with CWLA, published In 1991, CWLA published Serving Gay and Lesbian Youths: Th e a resource entitled Best Practice Guidelines: Serving LGBT Youth Role of Child Welfare Agencies, Recommendations of a Colloquium, in Out-of-Home Care (CWLA Best Practice Guidelines) in 2006, one of the fi rst publications addressing obstacles to providing the fi rst set of comprehensive professional guidelines for how quality services to LGBT youth in foster care and making child welfare and juvenile justice professionals can best serve recommendations for policy, practice and advocacy to better LGBTQ youth in state care. Th e CWLA Best Practice Guidelines meet their needs.24 In subsequent years, Gerald P. Mallon, include accurate, up-to-date information about the best practices Julia Lathrop Professor of Child Welfare at the Silberman for supporting positive youth development; meeting the health School of Social Work at Hunter College and Executive and educational needs of LGBTQ youth; managing confi dential Director of the National Resource Center for Permanency and information; and creating safe, respectful and nurturing home Family Connections, published multiple books and articles and social environments for LGBTQ youth in care.29 on issues faced by LGBTQ youth in the child welfare system and suggestions for improving agency environments and In 2002, social work experts Caitlin Ryan and Rafael Díaz establishing LGBT-affi rming child welfare services.25 In 1998, developed the Family Acceptance Project, a community research, Mallon published We Don’t Exactly Get the Welcome Wagon: Th e intervention, education and policy initiative to decrease major Experiences of Gay and Lesbian Adolescents in New York City’s Child Welfare Systems,26 the fi rst comprehensive research on Mallon, Let’s Get Th is Straight: A Gay and Lesbian Affi rming Approach to Child Welfare (2000). 27 Gerald P. Mallon et al., Th ere’s No Place Like Home: Safety, Permanency and 23 Lambda Legal Def. & Educ. Fund, Youth in the Margins: A Report on the Well-Being For Lesbian and Gay Adolescents in Out-of-Home Care, 80 Child Unmet Needs of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Youth in Foster Care Welfare 78 (2000). (2001). 28 See Social Services With Transgendered Youth, Gerald P. Mallon ed. (1999); 24 Child Welfare League of Am., Serving Gay and Lesbian Youths: Th e Role of Teresa DeCrescenzo & Gerald P. Mallon, Transgender Children and Youth: A Child Welfare Agencies, Recommendations of a Colloquium (1991). Child Welfare Practice Perspective, 85(2) Child Welfare 215 (2006); Social Work 25 See http://www.garymallon.com/publications.htm. Practice with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender People, Gerald P. Mallon ed. 26 Gerald P. Mallon, We Don’t Exactly Get the Welcome Wagon: Th e Experiences (2d ed. 2008). of Gay and Lesbian Adolescents in Child Welfare Systems (1998); see also Gerald P. 29 CWLA Best Practice Guidelines, supra note 5.

6 health and related risks for LGBTQ youth, such as suicide, welfare community with tools, resources and support for substance abuse, HIV and homelessness by emphasizing the improving outcomes for LGBTQ youth in foster care.33 In need for familial support.30 Th e Family Acceptance Project has 2010, ABA Opening Doors for LGBTQ Youth in Foster Care delivered the fi rst major serial studies of parents’ and caregivers’ Project published It’s Your Life, a guide to help LGBTQ youth reactions and adjustment to adolescents’ coming out processes understand what to expect in the child welfare legal system.34 and LGBTQ identities, and is advancing a family-related intervention approach to help families increase support and NASW and Lambda Legal partnered in 2009 to create Moving promote the well-being of their LGBTQ children. Th e Family the Margins: Training Curriculum for Child Welfare Services with Acceptance Project’s intervention model uses a behavioral LGBTQ Youth in Out-of-Home Care.35 Th is train-the-trainer approach to help ethnically and religiously diverse families manual leads participants through a series of learning labs, reduce their LGBTQ children’s risk of suicide, depression, discussion sessions and role-playing activities to help them better substance abuse, HIV, homelessness and placement in custodial understand the challenges faced by LGBTQ youth in out-ofcare, while respecting each family’s individual values. Th is work home care systems and to learn strategies to provide services to is being conducted in English, Spanish and Chinese with families this population. from all ethnic backgrounds, including immigrant and very In 2009, the National Alliance low income families, and those to End Homelessness, Lambda whose children are in foster care Legal, the National Network for and juvenile justice facilities. Youth and NCLR co-authored the National Recommended Best In 2006, CWLA, with partner Practices for Serving LGBT Homeless organization Lambda Legal, Youth,36 a policy brief that provides released Out of the Margins: an overview of homelessness A Report on Regional Listening among LGBTQ youth and makes Forums Highlighting the recommendations to service Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, providers about how to improve Bisexual, Transgender and practice, organizational culture Questioning Youth in Care.31 and residential services. Th is report summarized the fi ndings of listening forums held In 2010, CWLA also released a around the nation, attended by new, revised edition of LGBTQ representatives from state and Youth Issues: A Practical Guide for private child welfare agencies, Youth Workers, bringing recent mental health experts, lawyers, research and clinical practice judges and LGBTQ youth in care, regarding LGBTQ youth into on the experiences of LGBTQ youth and gaps they experienced focus for all kinds of youth-serving professionals. Th is book, in care and services. Th at same year, CWLA and Lambda Legal by Gerald P. Mallon, provides a combination of practical also released Getting Down to Basics: Tools to Support LGBTQ Youth tips, research fi ndings and personal vignettes (where the in Care,32 a toolkit that off ers practical information and resources youth are able to speak for themselves) to guide workers for youth in care, foster and adoptive parents, professionals and who want to help LGBTQ youth confront challenges with agencies in child welfare and juvenile justice systems. their families, at school, in out-of-home care or in the wider

In 2008, the American Bar Association (ABA) Center on 33 Mimi Laver & Andrea Khoury, Am. Bar Ass’n. Ctr. on Children & the Law, Children and the Law: Opening Doors for LGBTQ Youth Opening Doors for LGBTQ Youth in Foster Care (Claire Chiamulera ed., 2008). in Foster Care Project published Opening Doors for LGBTQ 34 Krishna Desai, Mimi Laver & Andrea Khoury, Am. Bar Ass’n. Ctr. on Youth in Foster Care, intended to provide the legal and child Children & the Law, It’s Your Life (2010). 35 Diane Elze & Robin McHaelen, Nat’l Ass’n of Soc. Workers & Lambda Legal, Moving the Margins: Training Curriculum for Child Welfare Services with 30 Th e Family Acceptance Project, http://familyproject.sfsu.edu/ (last updated LGBTQ Youth in Out-of-Home Care (2009). Dec. 1, 2010). 36 Nat’l Alliance to End Homelessness, Lambda Legal, Nat’l Network for Youth 31 Out of the Margins, supra note 11. & Nat’l Ctr. for Lesbian Rights, National Recommended Best Practices for Serving 32 Getting Down to Basics, supra note 5. LGBT Homeless Youth (2009). Photo: Corbis. Models used for illustrative purposes only.

7 community. New in this edition in this area, off ering an array of are a chapter on transgender resources for LGBTQ youth and youth issues, a chapter on other those who work with them.39 special populations of LGBTQ Child welfare systems across youth and specially highlighted the country are encouraged to sections in each chapter that utilize these resources to assist answer the question, “What in permanency achievement, Can Youth Workers Do?” placement stability and a wide range of other foster care and Most recently, in 2011, the well-being issues. Sylvia Rivera Law Project and NCLR created A Place of A growing number of state and Respect: A Guide for Group Care local agencies have adopted Facilities Serving Transgender and comprehensive policies to Gender Non-Conforming Youth.37 address appropriate delivery Th is compilation provides of services to LGBTQ youth comprehensive guidance and in care.40 Th e Recommended model policies for the treatment Practices that follow consolidate of transgender and gender non- and summarize recommended conforming youth in detention practices developed by experts centers, correctional facilities, in the fi eld, off ering guidance group homes and other group to state and local agencies care facilities. nationwide on competently serving LGBTQ youth in the child welfare system. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the Children’s Bureau of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), established several Training and Technical Assistance Networks (T&TA Networks) to provide assistance to states and tribes in improving child welfare 39 Nat’l Res. Ctr. for Permanency & Family Connections, LGBTQ Issues & systems.38 Th ese T&TA Networks also work to ensure the Child Welfare, http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/socwork/nrcfcpp/info_services/ lgbtq-issues-and-child-welfare.html (last updated Aug. 24, 2011). safety, permanency and well-being of children and families by 40 City of New Orleans, Human Servs. Dep’t, Youth Study Ctr., Policy No. off ering training, technical assistance, research and consultation. 12.3, Non-Discriminatory, Developmentally-Sound Treatment of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Youth (2011); N.Y.C. Admin. for Children’s Th e National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Servs., Policy No. 2011/05, Promoting a Safe and Respectable Environment for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning (LGBTQ) Youth and their Connections (NRCPFC) off ers onsite technical assistance and Families Involved in the Child Welfare System; and Guidelines Promoting a Safe and in-depth information services in collaboration with family Respectable Environment for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning partners to assist in the implementation of new strategies, (LGBTQ) Youth and their Families Involved with DYFJ (2011); State of Cal. Health & Human Servs. Agency, Dep’t of Social Servs., All County Information expanding knowledge, increasing competencies and expanding Notice I-81-10, Serving Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning commitment to family-centered practice by child welfare (LGBTQ) Youth, LGBTQ Caregivers and LGBT Prospective Foster and Adoptive professionals at all levels. Th e NRCPFC has incorporated LGBTQ Parents (2010); State of Ill., Dep’t of Children & Family Servs., Procedures 302. Appendix K, Support and Well-Being of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and issues into the core of its work as it strives to increase the capacity Questioning (LGBTQ) Youths (2009); State of N.Y., Offi ce of Children & Family of child welfare systems to enhance child and family outcomes Servs., PPM 3442.00, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning Youth (2008); S.B. 518, 2007 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Cal. 2007); State of Haw., Dep’t of Human Servs., Offi ce of Youth Servs., Haw. Youth Correctional Facility, Policy 37 See A Place of Respect, supra note 17. No. 1.43.03, Non-Discriminatory, Developmentally-Sound Treatment of Lesbian, 38 U.S. Dep’t of Health & Human Servs., Admin. for Children & Families, Gay, Bi-Sexual and Transgender (LGBT) Youth (2007); State of Conn., Dep’t of Training and Technical Assistance, http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/tta/ (last Children & Families, Policy No. 30-9, Non-Discrimination of LGBTQI Individuals updated July 29, 2011). (2004); A.B. 458, 2003 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Cal. 2003). Photo: Corbis. Models used for illustrative purposes only.

8 RECOMMENDED PRACTICES TO PROMOTE THE SAFETY AND WELL-BEING OF LGBTQ YOUTH AND YOUTH AT RISK OF OR LIVING WITH HIV IN CHILD WELFARE SETTINGS

The primary goal of these Recommended Federally funded state and local child welfare Practices is to improve the safety, permanency agencies should ensure that state-run child and well-being of LGBTQ youth and their welfare programs and contracting direct service families who receive services through the child private providers adhere to the following welfare system. standards.

Adopt and Implement Written Policies Prohibiting Discrimination on the Basis of Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Gender Expression and HIV Status • All child welfare agencies should adopt and implement • Th e nondiscrimination policies should be included in agency written policies that prohibit discrimination against and manuals and posted prominently and distributed to all staff , harassment of youth, staff and foster and adoptive families, foster families and youth in the system. Contracting agencies ranging from physical violence to denial of services to the use should be required to adhere to them as well. Every agency of slurs, on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation, should off er a formal grievance procedure for confi dential gender identity, gender expression or HIV status. reporting of violations of the nondiscrimination policy, and should provide prompt, neutral third-party investigations.

Treat LGBTQ Youth with Respect and Competence

• Child welfare staff should not assume that all children in care • Child welfare staff should be aware of their language and eliminate are heterosexual, non-transgender or gender-conforming. anti-LGBTQ slurs. Th ey should understand the diff erence Th ey should examine their own beliefs and attitudes that between the concepts “sexual orientation” and “gender identity,”

only. might negatively impact their professional responsibilities to and use such terms as “gay,” “lesbian,” “bisexual,” “transgender” LGBTQ youth. Child welfare staff owe a professional duty and “questioning” in appropriate contexts. of competent care to LGBTQ youth. purposes • Child welfare staff should not assume that LGBTQ people • State child welfare agencies and direct service providers are identifi able by stereotypical mannerisms or characteristics. should use intake forms that include questions about a youth’s Th ey should also avoid the assumption that all LGBTQ

illustrative sexual orientation and gender identity in demographic people have similar life experiences or share a common sense

for sections, but should not make it a requirement that youth of community. answer these questions. Th is recommendation is directed to used agencies that already have some competence with LGBTQ • Child welfare staff should create a positive environment in youth. Th e information must be kept private, should not be their work spaces that welcomes and affi rms LGBTQ people. Models shared with anyone without the youth’s express consent and Displaying recognizable symbols of support, such as rainbow should be updated appropriately. fl ags, lets LGBTQ young people know that they are in a safe, Corbis.

welcoming setting. • Child welfare staff should not characterize an LGBTQ or gender non-conforming identity as deviant or pathological. Photo:

9 • If a youth discloses that he or she is LGBTQ, child welfare by allowing them to dress, groom and express mannerisms staff should use the disclosure as an opportunity to show consistent with their gender identities. unconditional support for the youth, fi nd the resources that the youth and his or her caregivers need and assist the youth • LGBTQ youth should have the same rights and privileges as in deciding to whom, where, when and how to come out in other youth who receive child welfare services. Th ey should order to ensure safety while maintaining privacy. not be subjected to harsher or more restrictive standards of behavior because of their sexual orientation or gender • Child welfare staff should be prepared to work eff ectively identity. Child welfare staff should establish ground rules for with transgender youth and affi rm their gender identities the behavior of all youth, including standards for acceptable in ways that are most appropriate for the youth, including sexual behavior that are the same for all youth regardless of referring to them by the names and pronouns they prefer and sexual orientation or gender identity.

Ensure Effective Child Protection Practices that Correctly Identify Abuse and Neglect of LGBTQ Youth

• When performing initial assessments of the safety of and risks be “straight” as a condition of remaining in the home; being for youth who may identify as or be perceived to be LGBTQ, forbidden from dressing or grooming consistent with the child protection staff should assess whether the parents’ or youth’s gender identity; being subjected to psychologically- caregivers’ attitudes towards the child’s sexual orientation and damaging reparative therapy or religious conversions designed gender identity are impacting the immediate safety of the youth to change sexual orientation or gender identity; or pressure to or putting the youth at risk of emotional or physical harm. be more masculine or feminine.41

• Child protection staff should be trained and prepared to • Caseworkers should continue to assess the risk to and perform family assessments that promote an understanding safety of LGBTQ youth once placed in foster or kinship of the eff ects of family rejection and acceptance on the care settings. well-being of LGBTQ youth. 41 See Caitlin Ryan et al., Supportive Families, Healthy Children: Helping Families with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Children (Family Acceptance Project, • Child protection staff should consider whether the youth is at San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA) (2009) (for information risk of maltreatment and rejecting behaviors, such as physical on empirically derived family rejecting and accepting behaviors). See generally punishment because of the youth’s sexual orientation or gender Family Acceptance Project, FAPrisk Screener for Assessing Family Rejection & Related Health Risks in LGBT Youth, http://familyproject.sfsu.edu/ (for identity or expression; verbal harassment or name-calling research-derived risk assessment tools to identify levels of family rejection for because of the youth’s LGBTQ identity; being required to LGBT youth).

Ensure Effective Services That Address Family Rejection of LGBTQ Youth and Help Reuniﬁ cation • Child welfare agencies should engage families of LGBTQ connections between their specifi c reactions to a youth’s youth in identifying and achieving family-level outcomes actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity that reduce parents’ and caregivers’ rejecting behaviors and the youth’s emotional and physical well-being. toward youth who may identify as or be perceived to be LGBTQ. • For those families of LGBTQ youth who are already affi rming and accepting, child welfare agencies should provide eff ective • Child welfare agencies should provide families with services services to alleviate the circumstances that led to the removal and support to help parents and caregivers make the of the child.

Provide Mandatory LGBTQ Competency Training to All Agency Employees and Volunteers

• Child welfare agencies should mandate that all staff , medical health providers with whom the agency contracts, including administrators, managers, supervisors, social receive mandatory initial and ongoing comprehensive workers, case workers, direct service staff , support staff , LGBTQ competency training. facilities maintenance personnel, volunteers and mental and

10 Photo: Corbis. Models used for illustrative purposes only. • Child welfare staff Childwelfare agenciesshouldrequire trainingfor mandatory • LGBTQ Child Require MandatoryTraining forStaff andFosterAdoptiveParents inCaring foran Ensure SafeandSupportiveFoster orAdoptivePlacementsforLGBTQYouth • Child welfare agenciesshouldnotdiscriminate against Childwelfare agenciesshouldengageinoutreach toLGBTQ • All fosterandadoptive parents should receive trainingon • When seekingafosteroradoptive homeplacementfor an • identity andnot achoiceorsomethingthe foster oradoptive understand thatbeingLGBT isacore ofsomeone’s part transmitted infections. health, includingprevention ofHIVandothersexually educating LGBTQ youth abouttheirsexuality andsexual ayouthyouth; comingoutasLGBTQ; supporting and and genderidentitythechallengesfacingLGBTQ expression andHIVstatus;sensitivitytosexualorientation policies regarding sexualorientation,genderidentityand staff nurturing forLGBTQnurturing youth. to beableprovide arangeofhomesthatare safeand adults andnon-LGBTQ adultswhoare inorder supportive, be LGBTQ. caring foranLGBTQ young person,asanychildmay that thehomeisacceptingofLGBTQ people. LGBTQ young person,childwelfare staff andfoster adoptive parents onnondiscrimination “CHILD WELFARE STAFF PARENTS UNDERSTAND SOMEONE’S IDENTITY.” SHOULD HELP FOSTER SHOULD HELPFOSTER THAT BEINGLGBTQ IS ACOREPART OF shouldhelp fosterandadoptive parents AND ADOPTIVE AND ADOPTIVE shouldbesure 11 • Child welfare staff • Child welfare agenciesshouldactively recruit and support • staff welfare • Child being oftheLGBTQ youth intheircare. orientation andgenderidentity aff that theiracceptanceor rejection ofayouth’s sexual ofone’spart self thatisdeep-seatedandunchangeable. orientation. Similarly, gender identity isaninnate,immutable no more susceptibletochangethanaheterosexual sexual orientation isanormalvariation ofhumansexualityand associations have longrecognized thata same-sexsexual in theircare. Th parents tochangeinayoung person are permitted to try people canbegoodfosterandadoptive parents. Child welfare staff to thesamestandards appliedtonon-LGBTQ applicants. licensing LGBTQ fosterandadoptive parents according professional childwelfare organizationstrongly supports prospective LGBTQ fosterparents. Every national unsafe orunsupported. schoolsorprograms where theywillbe placements, services, their sexualorientationorgenderidentity. prospective orpresent fosterandadoptive parents basedon eleadingmentalhealthandchildwelfare shouldensure thatcaregivers understand awareness shouldsupport thatLGBTQ shouldnotputLGBTQ youth into ects thehealthandwell- • When LGBTQ youth express typicalage-appropriate • Child welfare agenciesshouldensure thatLGBTQ • Child welfare agenciesshouldensure thathealthcare Youth atRiskof orLivingwithHIV Support AccesstoAppropriate Medical andMentalHealthCare ServicesforLGBTQYouth and staff welfare • Child Ensure theSafetyandEmotionalDevelopmentofLGBTQYouth inCongregate Care is unacceptable. worthy. Selective forLGBTQ enforcement ofrules youth appropriate romantic behaviorandtofeelvalidated and relationships. LGBTQ youth shouldbeabletoexpress age- have regarding dating,displaysofaff the samerightsandprivilegesthatnon-LGBTQ youth settings. LGBTQ youth incongregate care shouldbeaff LGBTQ youth are required tofollow incongregate care thatnon- inadheringtothesamerules should besupported romantic behaviors,suchashand-holdingorkissing,they or violence. their identitieswhenotherssubjectthemtoharassment they shouldnotblameLGBTQ youth whoare openabout that anti-LGBTQ harassmentwillnotbetolerated,and their facilities.Childwelfare staff immediate stepstoaddress anti-LGBTQ harassmentwithin those placements.Congregate care providers shouldtake care facilities,aswell asintheschoolsassociatedwith homes, residential treatment centersorothercongregate their care, whethertheseyoung peopleare placedingroup physical andpsychological well-being ofLGBTQ youth in HIV status,with disclosure only onaneed-to-know basis. staff parental orguardian consentornotifi children accesstofree andconfi welfare agencies shouldadoptwrittenpoliciesproviding sexually transmittedinfections. If notalready inplace,child LGBTQ issues andprevention ofHIVandAIDS other all young peopleaboutsexualityandsexualhealth,including developmentally appropriate informationandresources to Childwelfare staff education andservices. youth receive developmentally appropriate sexualhealth identity andsexualbehaviorsopenlycomfortably. providers shouldbeabletodiscusssexualorientation, gender on theheightenedriskstheseyouth mayface.Health care providers whotreat LGBTQ youth are trainedandeducated shouldalwaysprotect theprivacy ofayoung person’s have anobligationtoprotect the dential HIVtestingwithout shouldsendaclearmessage cation. Child welfare ection andromantic shouldprovide orded 12 • Child welfare staff staff welfare • Child • Childwelfare staff • At each stageofHIV-related illness,youth livingwith in developing them. youth are notavailable locally, childwelfare staff andsocialgroupsdynamics. If forLGBTQ peersupport developing communicationskillsandhandlinginterpersonal of lifeskills,includingcreating andmaintainingfriendships, experiences. Such helpfoster thedevelopment opportunities peers andtoseethatotherpeopletheirageshare their tointeractpositively withtheirLGBTQthem opportunities isolation oftenexperiencedby LGBTQ youth by providing or genderidentityandexpression. made tofeelmore isolated becauseoftheirsexualorientation tointeractwiththeirpeersor be deprived ofopportunities nondiscrimination requirements. LGBTQ youth shouldnot staff roommates asameansofensuringtheirsafety, childwelfare LGBTQ young peopleorprohibiting themfrom having non-LGBTQ peers.Ratherthanisolatingorsegregating no more likelytoengageinsexualbehaviorsthantheir on mythsandstereotypes aboutLGBTQ people,whoare decisions. Th appropriate, individualized classifi or AIDS. to combatfearandprejudice aboutpeople livingwithHIV towards youth intheircare aff should beencouragedtodevelop attitudes supportive asymptomatic. Group homes,fosterparents andcaregivers counseling shouldbeavailable foryouth withHIVwhoare and psychosocial treatment. Medical follow-up and HIV whoare incare shouldreceive appropriate medical harmful. against useofsuchtherapies, whichare unsubstantiatedand identity. Th purpose ofchangingtheyouth’s sexualorientationorgender to besubjectconversion orreparative therapyforthe shouldwork withallyouth toensure thattheyadhere to emajornationalprofessional associationscaution ey shouldnotmakehousingdecisionsbased shouldhelpreduce thealienationand shouldnever allow anLGBTQ youth incongregate settingsshouldmake ected by HIVorAIDSinorder cation andhousing shouldassist

hSkdldfll l Photo: iStock. Models used for illustrative purposes only. Support AccesstoSafeEducationalServices • Child welfare staff • It isessentialthattransgenderyouth have accesstosafe • • Child welfare staff It isessential thatLGBTQ youth have accesstoeducational • action orremedy. attorney where thesituation callsforlegal to fi meet withtheschoolboard andlocalpolice their advocacy, childwelfare staff appropriate actionsare nottakenasaresult of investigation andsubsequent prosecution. If and toadvocate forfairtreatment withinan law enforcement authoritiestofi staff with seriousbodilyharm,childwelfare the youth hasbeeninjured orthreatened to respond totheoff ensuring thatremedial stepsare taken administration oftheharassmentand Th harassment ordiscriminationatschool. action toprotect anLGBTQ youth facing identity, privacy, dignityandsafetyneeds. facilities available, honoringthechild’s gender make appropriate restroom andlockerroom Child welfare staff and convenient restroom andlockerroom facilities. identity. age-appropriate attire thatmatchesthe youth’s gender name andgenderpronouns andrespecting thechoiceof is respected. Th youth’s schooltoensure thattheyouth’s genderidentity toward improving schoolclimate. develop positive self-esteem,copewithbiasandwork staff If LGBTQ students are school abletoidentifysupportive Zone” symbols. stickersorpostersandothersupportive show ofLGBTQ theirsupport studentsby displaying“Safe an LGBTQ focus.Schoolstaff nondiscrimination thatspecifi Schools shouldhave policiesandtrainingonbullying to implementschoolsafetytrainingonLGBTQ issues. should work togethertomakeschoolssaferby helping harassment orassault.Schoolandchildwelfare staff environments where theycanlearnwithoutfearof ismayincludeinformingtheschool , theyare more likelytofeelasenseofbelonging, shouldbeprepared tocontactlocal le anoffi cial complaint,orconsultan isincludesuseoftheyouth’s preferred shouldmakesure thatschools shouldtakeimmediate shouldwork withatransgender ending behavior. If cally enumerateandinclude shouldbeencouragedto mayneedto le areport

13 SHOULD BE AFFORDED SHOULD BEAFFORDED CONGREGATE CARE “LGBTQ YOUTH IN “LGBTQ YOUTHIN THAT NON-LGBTQ THE SAME AND PRIVILEGES AND PRIVILEGES YOUTH HAVE.” RIGHTS RIGHTS • Child welfare staff • Child welfare staff • Child welfare staff • Child welfare staff Child welfare staff • • Child welfare staff staff welfare • Child • In order andsafeguard tocompetentlyserve transgender Support Transgender andGender-Nonconforming Youth staff and gender-nonconformingyouth, whetherperpetrated by end anyformofharassmentorbullyingagainsttransgender youth. Childwelfare staff emotional safetyoftransgenderandgender-nonconforming not determinedby, one’s genderidentityandexpression. heterosexual, etc. Sexual orientationisseparatefrom, and may identifyasgay, lesbian,bisexual,questioning,queer, youth. Transgender andgender-nonconformingyouth sexual orientationoftransgender andgender-nonconforming any otherstobesexuallyaggressive. gender-nonconforming. Th sexually aggressive simplybecausetheyare transgender or out” inappropriately whenexpressing theirgender identity. that transgenderandgender-nonconformingyouth are “acting punishment orridicule.Childwelfare staff through preferred attire, grooming andmannerismswithout nonconforming youth toexpress their genderidentity that bestrefl nonconforming youth’s preferred nameandgendered pronouns fi disclose informationaboutayouth’s genderidentitywithout to treat suchinformationconfi ming youth intheircare andbeaware oflegalobligations the genderidentityoftransgenderandgender-nonconfor- transgender youth diagnosedwithGID. including educationregarding medicaltreatment for competency trainingongenderidentityandexpression, appropriate terminology. gender-nonconforming andshouldbefamiliarwithuse understand whatitmeansforayouth tobetransgenderor and gender-nonconformingyouth, childwelfare staff rst obtainingtheyouth’s permission. , fosterparents orpeers. ect theyoung person’s genderidentity. shouldavoid makingassumptions aboutthe have alegaldutytoprotect thephysicaland shouldmaintainconfi shouldrespect atransgenderorgender- shouldnotconsiderorclassifyyouth as shouldallow transgenderandgender- cultural shouldreceive mandatory shouldtakeimmediateactionto eseyouth are nomore likelythan dnily Staff dentially. dentiality regarding should not assume shouldnotassume shouldnot should 14 • Child welfare staff Transgender• youth shouldbepermitteduseofbathrooms • In sex-segregated facilities,transgenderyouth shouldnot • Child welfare staff action toprotect transgenderyouth facing harassment or gender identities.Childwelfare staff it more diffi and violenceatschool.Some schooldress policiesmake more visible, andtherefore more vulnerable,toharassment transgender andgender-nonconforming youth makethem that theyare safeinschools.Th of transgenderandgender-nonconformingyouth andensure bathrooms. people allowed touseorrouted toprivate single-person Transgender youth shouldnotbesingledoutastheonly available private single-personbathrooms asanoption. corresponding totheyouth’s genderidentity, andcanmake counsel othersthattheyouth isentitledtousethebathroom that correspond totheirgenderidentity. Th segregated facilities. identity, are oftenappropriate fortransgenderyouth insex- in unitsthatcorrespond withtheyoung person’s gender population. However, singleoccupancyrooms, ifavailable to isolatingorsegregating theyouth from thegeneral nonconforming youth shouldbeprotected withoutresorting medical professionals. Th available andtherecommendations of mental healthand safety, thedegree ofprivacy aff account theyoung person’s and wishes, thelevel ofcomfort physical andemotionalwell-being oftheyouth, takinginto staff Instead,the sexassignedtothematbirth. childwelfare be assignedtothegirls’ orboys’ unitsstrictlybasedon arrives atanagencyorfacility. existing transition-related treatment isprovided afterayouth the genderidentityofyouth. Staff toalignthephysicalbodywith hormone therapyandsurgery suchasindividualandfamilycounseling, include services notchangingaperson’ssupport, genderidentity, andmay appropriate. Treatment ofGIDisfocusedonproviding including accesstotreatment forGID,ifdeemedmedically and LGBTQ-affi ensure thattransgenderyouth have accesstocompetent for medicaltreatment fortransgenderindividualsandshould should makeindividualized decisionsbasedonthe cult foryouth todress consistentlywiththeir rming mentalandmedicalhealthservices, should support theacademicachievements shouldsupport shouldbeaware ofhealthcare protocols esafetyoftransgenderandgender- orded, thetypesofhousing e gender expressions of shouldtakeimmediate shouldensure that efacility should

hSkdldfll l discrimination at school, either on-site or off -site, including • Child welfare staff should locate and develop resources to protection from being disciplined for expressing their gender help transgender youth with their legal issues. Transgender identity or being denied access to locker rooms, showers and youth may need assistance and advocacy to obtain proper bathrooms that match their gender identity. legal identity documents refl ecting gender identifi cation and preferred names, such as birth certifi cates, state identifi cation cards, driver’s licenses, health insurance cards, social security cards, passports and school identifi cation cards.

“TREATMENT OF GID IS FOCUSED ON PROVIDING SUPPORT, NOT CHANGING A PERSON’S GENDER IDENTITY.”

Provide Access to LGBTQ Community Programs and Services • Child welfare agencies should help LGBTQ youth access throughout the child welfare agency, including to youth who LGBTQ community services and supportive adult mentors. may wish to contact community resources on their own.

• Child welfare agencies should develop an up-to-date list of LGBTQ resources in their local community and distribute it Photo: iStock. Models used for illustrative purposes only.

15 • LGBTQ youth shouldbeplacedinhomesandfacilities State childwelfare agenciesshouldrespect federalandstate • Obligations Ensure thatFaith-BasedProviders Working withLGBTQYouth Fulﬁ • Child welfare agenciesshouldadoptstrictpoliciesfor Adopt Conﬁ • State childwelfare agenciesshouldincludeparticipants’ Collect andEvaluateData examine anyanti-LGBTQ biasesthey welfare staff and culturalbeliefsrelated totheirLGBTQ identity. Child condemnation basedoncaregivers’ orproviders’ religious them.Th that willsupport to LGBTQ youth andfosteradoptive parents. nondiscriminatory, competentandnonjudgmentalservices to professional andlegalstandards ofcare, providing for orthatcare forchildrenservices instatecustodymustadhere agencies thatreceive government fundstoprovide social Faith-basedof governmentally-supported socialservices. prohibitions againstreligious discrimination intheprovision child’s permission.Information related tothepast,present about sexualorientationorgenderidentitywithoutthe person’s privacy andnever discloseconfi staff sensitive information,suchasHIVstatus.Childwelfare sexual orientationandgenderidentity, inadditiontoother managing confi their own personalbeliefs. arrangements. Th and make alternative care should seekoutsidesupport to anLGBTQ young person,thepractitionerorfosterparent personal beliefsmightprevent off and outcomesspecifi data elementsandevaluation toolstodetermineaccessibility sexual orientationandgenderidentitystatusindemographic shouldalwaysrespect andmaintainanLGBTQ young andfosterparents shouldacknowledge and dentialityPolicies dential informationaboutayoung person’s eymustputthe needsofyoung peopleabove c toLGBTQ youth. Th ey shouldbeprotected from ering nonjudgmental care dential information dential might have.If eyshouldensure these these 16 • Prior toplacinganLGBTQ youth, childwelfare staff • Staff • Child welfare staff Workers Nat’l Ass’n ofSoc. Workers,42 their sexualorientationorgenderidentity. prospective orpresent fosterandadoptive parents basedon in care inreligious whowishtoparticipate activities. provide communityforLGBTQ asupportive young people people. LGBTQ-affi foster andadoptive familiesandmentorsforLGBTQ young communities thatcanbearesource for fi risk. religious andculturalbeliefsmightplaceLGBTQ youth at youth shouldnotbeplacedinsettingswhere caregivers’ caregivers andtheirreligious andculturalbeliefs.LGBTQ guidance tounderstandthelinebetween theirobligations as outside ofthechild’s best interests. Foster familiesmayneed of aprospective caregiver couldcausetheplacementtobe should considerwhetherthereligious orculturalbeliefs consent before therelease ofconfi bound by acodeofethicsrequiring ayoung person’s express and federalprivacy laws.Moreover, membersofNASWare private medicalinformationthatmaybeprotected by state or future physicalormentalconditionofanindividualis aggregated anonymouslyandupdatedregularly. and thatconfi ask questionsaboutsexualorientationandgenderidentity, that dataiscollectedby individualstrainedtorespectfully offaith-basedagenciesshouldnotdiscriminateagainst (approved 1996,rev. 2008). dentiality isrespected. Th shouldlocateLGBTQ-affi rming religious communitiescanalso ll theirProfessional andLegal Code ofEthics oftheNational ofSocial Association dential information. e datashouldbe nding nurturing nurturing nding rming religious 42 1

hSkdldfll l Photo: iStock. Models used for illustrative purposes only. C profi and Program Improvement Plans, tomaximize LGBTQ-related mandated activities,suchasChildandFamily Reviews Services LGBTQ culturalcompetencyobjectives intofederally Finally, statechildwelfare agenciesmayalsoincorporate eff forLGBTQ-competentand support thatwillmore services agencies canpromote increased publicinterest, understanding and staff hiring practices;anddeveloping contentfortraining,in-service and accreditation requirements; developing recruiting and establishingstateandlocallicensing administering services; LGBTQ competencestandards inplanning,organizingand In addition,statechildwelfare agenciescanusethese young peopleincare. provided standardsperformance fortheservices toLGBTQ ectively promote thewell-being ofLGBTQ youth incare. ciency, values, principles,policiesandpractices. development programs. In thisway, statechildwelfare and priorities,sethigherexpectations issues, infl to increase theirbaselineknowledge ofLGBTQ agencies willusetheseRecommended Practices andco-authorshopethatstatechildwelfareWLA CONCLUSION uence theirprogrammatic decisions 17 To order free copies of the Recommended Practices, contact: Child Welfare League of America Lambda Legal 1726 M Street NW, Suite 500 120 Wall Street, 19th ﬂ oor Washington, DC 20036 New York, NY 10005 866-LGBTeen (866-542-8336) 202-688-4200 or 212-809-8585 www.cwla.org www.lambdalegal.org

CO-AUTHORS Gerald P. Mallon, DSW, Julia Lathrop Professor of Child Child Welfare League of America Welfare 1726 M Street NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20036 Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College 202-688-4200, www.cwla.org The City University of New York 2180 Third Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10035 American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law: 212-396-7562, www.garymallon.com Opening Doors for LGBTQ Youth in Foster Care Project 740 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005 Robin McHaelen, MSW, Executive Director 202-662-1720, www.americanbar.org/groups/child_law/what_we_do/ True Colors projects/openingdoors.html 576 Farmington Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105 860-232-0050, www.ourtruecolors.org Diane E. Elze, PhD, MSW, Associate Professor and Director of the MSW Program National Alliance to End Homelessness University at Buffalo School of Social Work 1518 K Street NW, Suite 410, Washington, DC 20005 The State University of New York 202-638-1526, www.endhomelessness.org 628 Baldy Hall, Buffalo, NY 14260 716-645-1228, www.socialwork.buffalo.edu/research/staff/detail_page. National Center for Lesbian Rights asp?DCE=deelze 870 Market Street, Suite 370, San Francisco, CA 94102 415-392-6257, www.nclrights.org Family Acceptance Project San Francisco State University National Center for Transgender Equality 3004 16th Street, # 201, San Francisco, CA 94103 1325 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20005 [email protected], http://familyproject.sfsu.edu 202-903-0112, www.transequality.org

Lambda Legal National Network for Youth 120 Wall Street, 19th Floor, New York, NY 10005 741 8th Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003 866-LGBTeen (866-542-8336) or 212-809-8585, www.lambdalegal.org 202-783-7949, www.nn4youth.org

Legal Services for Children Sylvia Rivera Law Project 1254 Market Street, 3rd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94102 147 W 24th St, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10011 415-863-3762, www.lsc-sf.org 212-337-8550, www.srlp.org

Publication Date: 2012