THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS COMMISSION ON LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER, QUEER & QUESTIONING YOUTH REPORT & RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2022 July 1, 2021 - June 30, 2022 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Recommended citation: Massachusetts Commission on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Questioning Youth. (2021). Massachusetts Commission on LGBTQ Youth: Report and Recommendations for Fiscal Year 2022. Retrieved from https://www.mass.gov/annual- recommendations Contributors: Jo Trigilio, Executive Director and lead editor; Sasha Goodfriend, Commission Chair and co-author of Introduction Letter; Mary Morrissey, lead researcher and author of “Special Report on Covid-19 and LGBTQ Youth,” “Advancing Justice,” and “Sexual Victimization”; Jordan Meehan, Legislative and Policy Manager, and lead author of core recommendations and agency recommendations; Amanda Weber, lead researcher and author of “Ending Homelessness”; Damian Lima, lead researcher and author of “Improving Health”; Kimm Topping, Safe Schools Program Director, and lead author of “Increasing Inclusion” and “Safe Schools Program for LGBTQ Students Annual Report”; Rayna Danis, proofreader, editor, data presentation; Val Leiter, data consultant; Anastasia Owen, proofreader; Molly Wexler-Romig, proofreader Acknowledgements: The authors thank the Commission members (listed in Appendix C), youth, consultants, agency liaisons, community partners, and others who offered their feedback and opinions that contributed to this report. About Us: The Massachusetts Commission on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Questioning (LGBTQ) Youth is established by law as an independent agency of the Commonwealth to recommend to all branches of state government effective policies, programs, and resources for LGBTQ youth to thrive. Per its legislative authority, the Commission works closely with the agencies to which it issues non-binding recommendations to receive their input and assist them in achieving the goals that the Commission has set. The Commission was originally founded as the Governor’s Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth in 1992 in response to high suicide rates among gay and lesbian young people, and was reestablished by the legislature as an independent commission in 2006 (Act of Jul. 1, 2006, Ch. 139 §4, codified in Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 3 §67). Twenty-eight years after the creation of the original Governor’s Commission, it remains the first and only such statewide commission in the country. Contact Us: For print copies, permissions, and other inquiries, contact us at (617) 624-5495 or [email protected]. Facebook.com/masslgbtqyouth Twitter @masslgbtqyouth Instagram @masslgbtqyouth http://mass.gov/cgly TABLE OF CONTENTS A. SUMMARY & SPECIAL REPORTS Executive Summary…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..……….1 Fact Sheet……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………8 Special Report on COVID-19 and LGBTQ Youth………………………………………………………………………….10 New Data on Transgender Youth in Massachusetts…………………………………………………………..………33 Safe Schools Program for LGBTQ Students………………………………………………………………………..………40 ___________________________________________________________________ B. CORE RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUPPORTING RESEARCH: INCLUSION, HOMELESSNESS, JUVENILE JUSTICE, HEALTH, AND SEXUAL VICTIMIZATION I. Increasing Inclusion………………………………………………………………………………………………………….57 A. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………57 B. Recommendations to the Governor and Legislature on Increasing Inclusion…………………57 C. Latest Research on Inclusion in Schools…………………………………………………………………………59 II. Ending Homelessness……………………………………………………………………………………………………..74 A. Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….74 B. Recommendations to the Governor and Legislature on Ending Homelessness………………74 C. Understanding Youth Homelessness…………………………………………………………………………….78 D. Progress in Massachusetts Towards Ending Homelessness…………………………………………..85 III. Advancing Justice…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..92 A. Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….92 B. Recommendations to the Governor and Legislature on Advancing Justice.…………………..92 C. Latest Research on Advancing Justice…………………………………………………………………………..95 IV. Improving Health…………………………………………………………………………………………………………105 A. Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 105 B. Recommendations to the Governor and Legislature on Improving Health…………………..105 C. Latest research on Improving Health………………………………………………………………………….108 V. Sexual Victimization………………………………………………………………………………………….………….126 A. Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……..126 B. Recommendations to the Governor and Legislature on Sexual Victimization………………..127 C. Latest Research on Sexual Victimization……………………………………………………………………….127 ______________________________________________________________________________ C. AGENCY RECOMMENDATIONS Executive Office of Education Recommendations………………................................................135 Department of Early Education and Care………………………………………………………….………………135 Department of Elementary and Secondary Education……………………………………………….……..138 Department of Higher Education……………………………………………………………………………..………144 Executive Office of Health and Human Services Recommendations…………………………….……..147 Department of Children and Families………………………………………………………………………………148 Massachusetts Commission for the Blind…………………………………………………………………………155 Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing…………………………………………157 Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission………………………………………………………………………159 Department of Mental Health………………………………………………………………………………………….162 Department of Public Health……………………………………………………………………………………………165 MassHealth………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………171 Office for Refugees and Immigrants………………………………………………………………………………...175 Department of Transitional Assistance…………………………………………………………………………….178 Department of Youth Services………………………………………………………………………………………….180 Additional State Entities…………………………………………………………………………………………………….184 Executive Office of Public Safety and Security………………………………………………………………….184 Registry of Motor Vehicles……………………………………………………………………………………………….187 Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners………………………………………………………………191 Department of Housing and Community Development……………………………………………………194 MassHire Department of Career Services…………………………………………………………………………197 ___________________________________________________________________ D. APPENDICES Appendix A: Glossary of Terms……………………………………………………………………………………………..204 Appendix B: Commission Membership…………………………….……………………………………………………209 LETTER FROM COMMISSION LEADERSHIP June 15, 2021 Between the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the events leading up to the January 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol Insurrection by Trump supporters, the past year has tested our spirits, governing bodies, and communities. The pandemic and its associated “shutdown” transformed daily life for almost everyone, but disproportionately for those at the intersections of multiple oppressions; LBGTQ youth, youth of color and trans youth. In the face of test after test, the members of the MA Commission on LGBTQ Youth and our partners have stayed strong in our mission to build a Commonwealth where all youth thrive. The last year has also been unprecedented in terms of attacks on LGBTQ people and their rights. In 2020, 44 trans and gender nonconforming people were killed, making it the worst year for transphobic violence since the Human Rights Campaign began recording transphobic hate crimes. As of June 1, 2021, the number has already reached 28, potentially making 2021 more deadly than 2020 for trans and gender nonconforming people. On May 2, 2021, this hit close to home as the Boston LGBTQ community experienced the loss of Jahaira DeAlto, one of the founding members of Trans Resistance, an organization created to support and uplift the lives of trans people of color. In the first six months of 2021, seventeen anti-LGBTQ bills have been enacted into law across the US. This breaks the 2015 record when fifteen anti-LGBTQ bills were enacted into law. An additional eleven anti-LGBTQ bills have made it to governors’ desks, awaiting signature or veto. Eight states have passed legislation prohibiting transgender girls and women from competing on women’s school and college sports teams. And we are only half way through 2021. As our special report on COVID reveals, this year has been particularly challenging for LGBTQ youth. LGBTQ youth, especially LGBTQ youth of color, experience disproportionate disparities on almost every factor. The COVID pandemic has only served to exacerbate these disparities, resulting in significant challenges to the welfare of LGBTQ youth. According to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health COVID-19 Community Impact Survey, LGBTQ people were among those who reported the highest rates of poor mental health and job loss. The COVID crisis has had significant compounding impacts on youth, particularly on youth mental health. 83% of Nonbinary and 78% of Transgender youth reported feeling sad or hopeless every day for more than two weeks compared to 46% of cisgender youth. 84% of Queer, 68% of Bisexual/Pansexual, and 66% of Gay or Lesbian youth reported feeling sad or hopeless every day for more than two weeks compared to 39 % of Heterosexual youth. In addition to experiencing mental challenges, a disproportionate number of LGBTQ youth, particularly LGBTQ youth of color, faced housing instability, unsupportive home environments, and economic instability. The Commission