MEET THE YOUTH CONTRIBUTORS
Emilio (they/them), lives in San Diego, California, where they grew up most of their life in addition to time spent in Tijuana, Mexico. They identify as Latiné, trans nonbinary, neurodivergent, disabled, and had experience in the child welfare, homelessness, and juvenile dependency systems. While entering the foster system at 14, Emilio came out as trans nonbinary; this was a pivotal moment that heavily impacted their time in the foster system and created new obstacles and opportunities for work to be done toward acceptance with their biological family. They shared, “To me being honored and affirmed is really being recognized and holding space for my perspective and identity.” The local LGBT center in San Diego was key to Emilio’s development, to feeling seen, and to being supported. Failures by the system responsible for their welfare are also part of their journey: grievance processes after they were harmed that didn’t bring accountability, and, sadly, adults who never took the time to ask them, “what do you need?” When their judge granted the order for them to start testosterone, it was one of the biggest, most beneficial things that could have happened for them. A Court Appointed Special Advocates (“CASA”) worker also made a difference advocating for them even though the CASA acknowledged she did not fully understand Emilio’s identity. Emilio recommends standing up for TNGD foster youth and making sure they have the crucial supports necessary to survive and thrive when exiting the system: “let[ting] youth have a say in their care, in their lives, and in their existence is just such a vital part of what I would push for.”
Gina (she/they) takes us to New York City where she currently resides, though she is originally from Southeast Los Angeles, and her home country is Mexico. Gina is 26, undocumented, and immigrated to the U.S. at the age of two. A queer Latina who identifies as a transgender female and has lived experience with homelessness, she is an advocate for immigrant rights, LGBTQ+ rights, environmental justice, social justice, and mental health care. Gina’s family was not really involved with her during her transition, but in the last five years she has created her community and chosen family that affirms her. Gina has navigated systems with very few resources, and it has impacted her development. The onslaught of anti-LGBTQ+ policies and legislation has led to her own advocacy work. The loss of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”) also meant additional challenges in New York’s homeless system. Such obstacles can take their toll, so she focuses on her mental health and access to supportive resources. Finding community in marches around Pride has helped her feel alive, welcomed, and connected. Gina recommends that trans and nonbinary youth (i) “travel light,” as the transition from one place to another such as coast to coast or state to state can be challenging and (ii) be sure to bring all documentation, as well as confidence and high intuition about safety. She also recommends making connections, seeking out the services you need for your mental and physical health, and having shelter spaces you can go to for food and necessities. Gina also notes that youth can join advocacy efforts at any time, and she has found community through her advocacy
Jaxsyn (he/him), a 19-year-old Two Spirited man, takes us to South Dakota to share his experience as a Lakota youth in the child welfare system and as someone who has also experienced homelessness at different points in his life. Jaxsyn also identifies as biromantic asexual and is a poet, artist in beadwork, drawing, embroidery, and loves anything else artistic. He enjoys his role as an after-school program teacher. Jaxsyn was raised traditionally by his grandparents. Initially, when he shared his identity with his family, it was not received well or taken seriously. A key person for Jaxsyn was Baylee, a social worker with the local youth task force, who became a safe and supportive adult for Jaxsyn and who showed up for him, advocated for him, and celebrated him. She helped him get information and education for his family and obtain housing. For Jaxsyn, his Lakota way of life and his indigenous identity are central to his being; he didn’t want his Two-Spirit identity to impact that negatively. Fortunately, members of his community made sure to let him know Two-Spirit people have held similar roles in society as he does and that he could still be part of his culture and way of life. Jaxsyn recommends that adults be educated about LGBTQ+ youth so they are able to support them, ensure access to health care, and increase the options for supportive services.
Kayden (he/they), 20, grew up in a small, conservative Texas town as a trans youth in the foster system. He is passionate about politics, as well as how mental health and child welfare systems in Texas have impacted him. He describes himself as a gender fluid trans masc demi boy. Kayden shares how staff can support trans and nonbinary youth in meaningful and individualized ways and even advocate with them, which was crucial to his experience in residential settings. Sometimes adults may be the barrier for youth by inserting their subjective idea about what is best for them. In Kayden’s case, that meant caseworkers and advocates basing their opinion on his medical care on their own ideas and not on the recommendations of qualified medical professionals. As a result, Kayden had to wait until he was almost 18 to fully receive the medical care he had every right to access and that had been recommended a full year before. Also, Kayden reminds us that more policy guidance around the limits on religious placements to impose their beliefs on youth is needed. Kayden recommends clear policy guidance on support for TNGD youth so workers and others can look to policy, rather than try to figure it out in the moment.
Shawn (he/him), 23, who is Black, trans masc, and gay, brings us to Florida to learn about the impact of the social and political climate during his time there. Having experienced the foster system and adoption, Shawn has seen many sides of the child welfare experience. He was in the foster system in Florida and now lives in California, where he is studying sociology in college, but still leaves time for fun with his dog, Cleo.
As a teen, Shawn experienced so-called “conversion therapy” via his church community and their lack of support for celebrating who he is. During this time, he found safety and hope in the school GLBT and Straight Alliance (“GSA”). It was a lot to hold multiple identities and find community support. This has made him think he needs to show up as a tough and strong male. He did receive unconditional support from Florida Youth Shine, Florida’s foster youth alumni group, which made him feel welcome, connected, and supported — highlighting the importance of spaces and groups like this for youth.
Paris (she/her), 23, grew up in Georgia in a Christian family and, while in the foster system in Georgia, spent time in the Methodist Home for Children and Youth. Paris identifies as a Black trans female and is a licensed hair stylist. Coming into her own identity as she grew up presented a challenge for Paris’s family to be comfortable with who she is. Fortunately for Paris, entering the child welfare system meant connecting with folks who were supportive, even if they didn’t fully understand her identity. Regardless, she persisted in being herself, wearing what she felt best in, and acting authentically. Had the child welfare system offered services for her family to help them better understand her, she believes they would have accepted them, but they weren’t offered. Paris has felt that, coming from the South, no one was rooting for her, and no one took time to find out what she needed, at least not until a residential staff member and a counselor at the Methodist home did. As an adult, Paris has found support in her peers with shared identity. She recommends that the foster system ensure youth are connected to people like them, allow youth to be themselves, and, when it comes to housing and even shared housing, don’t assume and — ask youth what living arrangements they want or feel comfortable with.
Tyler (he/they), 18, lives in Oregon, where he experienced government system-involvement as a trans male. Tyler is in high school and working on his diploma in hopes of going to college to support others’ mental health as a gender therapist. Tyler loves nature, abstract art, and anything artistic that inspires him. He was involved with the juvenile legal system and did not experience full support for who he is. Both residents and staff in juvenile detention settings would say disrespectful things and when he reported mistreatment, staff wouldn’t do anything about it — they claimed if they didn’t see it happen, they couldn’t help, even when they were in the same room. Fortunately, detention staff did let Tyler reside in the male-only unit and would check with Tyler on whom he felt most comfortable with during pat-down searches. Even though staff misgendered him and got upset about being corrected, Tyler explains he knows who he is, and staff couldn’t take that away from him, which is what mattered. Tyler also had a very supportive attorney who made a difference in his care and getting access to the gender-affirming medical treatment he needed. Without question, Tyler has found support in his friends, who continue to be a source of support. Tyler recommends having units specific to LGBTQ+ or trans people in detention facilities, having access to a supportive therapist and staff while involved with the juvenile legal system, and asking youth their preferences and how they are doing, something that he always appreciated.
- Elliott Hinkle, a trans masculine nonbinary person with experience in Wyoming’s foster care system, conducted telephonic and Zoom interviews with our seven TNGD youth contributors over the course of 2023 and asked all youth contributors the same series of questions around their identity, experiences in care they felt comfortable sharing, whether they had an adult in their lives who was supportive of their identity, whether they were able to define their social and medical transition, and what recommendations they had for systemic improvement. Each youth contributor was compensated for their time participating in interviews with Elliott and reviewing their contributions to this report.
- TNGD—transgender (or trans), nonbinary, gender diverse. Used throughout the report, except where cited research uses other terms such as TGNC (transgender, gender nonconforming). Since cultural norms around gender still negatively impact youth who express themselves outside of those norms, the authors emphasize that every individual is unique and there is no one “correct” way to identify or express oneself.
- LGBTQ+ emphasizes that there are a variety of ways people identify or describe themselves in addition to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning. For example, youth from some indigenous communities may identify as Two Spirit. For more information about the concepts of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression (“SOGIE”) or terms youth may use to describe or identify themselves, please see https://cssp.org/resource/key-equity-terms-concepts/. Because people use labels in different ways, or reject labels altogether, the authors recommend that best practice is to honor the language individuals use to describe themselves. Uses of other acronyms in the text are used to reflect research particular to that instance in the text.
- The authors use “juvenile legal” to refer to the system where youth are charged with delinquencies and may face a range of interventions, requirements, and restrictions on their behavior and liberty including short and long-term incarceration or informal conduct conditions or formal probation requirements. Youth under 18 may be treated within juvenile systems or adult criminal systems depending on the jurisdiction and type and severity of delinquency or crime alleged. The authors do not use “juvenile justice” due to the system being profoundly unjust for youth for a variety of reasons, including the overrepresentation and disparately harmful treatment of youth of color, LGBTQ+ youth, and LGBTQ+ youth of color.
A CALL TO ACTION FROM THE YOUTH CONTRIBUTORS
As Paris said, “Having an adult who’s letting you be yourself . . . builds up your confidence.” Our lived experience contributors’ experiences related to respect for their identity and expression informed their recommendations for system improvement. Recent anti-LGBTQ+1 laws and policies at the state level caused emotional harm, concern about accessing needed services, and anxiety and worry for their TNGD2 peers in impacted states.
- Finding affirmation of and respect for nonbinary identity in services, programs, and housing that often are sex-segregated and gender binary was challenging.
- For Shawn, Gina, and Jaxsyn, navigating discrimination and societal inequities around multiple aspects of their identity such as race, culture, and immigration status made feeling safe, finding support, or securing services more difficult.
- Emilio faced harm and discrimination in a group home setting, and staff did not help or hold other youth accountable for their actions that caused Emilio harm. Similarly, Tyler faced harassment in detention from other residents that staff did not address.
- Kayden and Emilio shared that religious messages condemning or pathologizing LGBTQ+ people cause harm;
- Conversely, policies and practices that allowed youth contributors to embrace their race, culture, sexual orientation, and gender identity simultaneously were welcome and positive.
Based on these experiences, they have the following recommendations:
- Kayden suggests child welfare agencies create clear policies, so staff have step-by-step instructions to follow on how to support LGBTQ+ youth.
- Kayden also wants agencies to uphold stricter guidelines around religious placements, so youth are not forced to attend church unwillingly and to provide youth with alternative options that support their identity and culture.
- Paris wants youth to have access to gender inclusive restrooms, facilities, and placements consistent with their preference and where they feel most safe.
To support youth contributors’ recommendations, federal policymakers should take the following actions:
- The White House should issue an update on progress made towards mandates set out in President Biden’s January 20213 and June 20224 LGBTQ+ executive orders and set a timeline for agencies to complete outstanding recommendations.
- Congress should pass the Equality Act5 and the John Lewis Every Child Deserves a Family Act.6
- The Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) and the Administration for Children and Families (“ACF”) should:
- Promulgate federal regulations that fully protect LGBTQ+ youth and families from discrimination and harm while interacting with the child welfare system, including requiring service providers to be competent, supportive, and affirming.
- Collect SOGI (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity) data for youth and families who chose to voluntarily disclose.
- Provide proactive technical assistance to child welfare systems to facilitate policy and practice guidance improvement, develop and provide training for agency staff and service providers, enact robust accountability measures, safely and respectfully collect SOGI data, and engage with TNGD youth with lived experience in development and implementation in all of these areas.
- Issue guidance that HHS is enforcing nondiscrimination protections in the Runaway and Homeless Youth Rule and offer developmentally appropriate information to youth in HHS-funded Runaway and Homeless Youth programs about their rights and how to file an HHS Office of Civil Rights complaint if they experience discrimination.
- The Office of Justice Programs (“OJP”) and Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (“OJJDP”) should:
- Promulgate a regulation protecting youth from discrimination on the basis of sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender stereotyping in programs funded under the Safe Streets Act and Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act.
- Continue to fund and support the Pride Justice Resource Center (for justice involved LGBTQ2S+ youth) for Justice Involved Youth to provide training and technical assistance to adults working with youth in the juvenile legal system.7
To support the youth contributors’ recommendations, state policymakers should:
- Repeal laws, agency policy, and rulemaking that harm TNGD youth;
- Enact laws and promulgate regulations that promote the well-being of TNGD youth and protect them from harm;
- Partner directly with TNGD systems-involved youth to develop strategies informed by their lived experience for how to affirm their identities to form the basis for system improvements to address their needs while in care;
- Fund and facilitate research on TNGD youth in out-of-home systems of care to inform empirically supported strategies to combat disproportionality and improve healthcare access; and
- Develop policies that support and affirm nonbinary youth in out-of-home systems.
Endnotes
1. LGBTQ+ emphasizes that there are a variety of ways people identify or describe themselves in addition to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning. For example, youth from some indigenous communities may identify as Two Spirit. For more information about the concepts of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression (“SOGIE”) or terms youth may use to describe or identify themselves, please see https://cssp.org/resource/key-equity-terms-concepts/. Because people use labels in different ways, or reject labels altogether, the authors recommend that best practice is to honor the language individuals use to describe themselves. Uses of other acronyms in the text are used to reflect research particular to that instance in the text.
2. TNGD—transgender (or trans), nonbinary, gender diverse. Used throughout the report, except where cited research uses other terms such as TGNC (transgender, gender nonconforming). Since, cultural norms around gender still negatively impact youth who express themselves outside of those norms, the authors emphasize that every individual is unique and there is no one “correct” way to identify or express oneself.
3. Exec. Order No. 13988 Executive Order on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation, 86 Fed. Reg. 7023 (Jan. 20, 2021), https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/01/25/2021-01761/preventing-and-combating-discrimination-on-the-basis-of-gender-identity-or-sexual-orientation.
4. Exec. Order No. 14075 Executive Order on Advancing Equality for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Individuals, 87 Fed. Reg. 37189 (June 15, 2022), https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/FR-2022-06-21/2022-13391.
5. The Equality Act, Human Rights Committee, https://www.hrc.org/resources/equality
6. About the John Lewis Every Child Deserves a Family Act, Every Child Deserves a Family, https://everychilddeservesafamily.com/about-ecdf-act.
7. The authors use “juvenile legal” to refer to the system where youth are charged with delinquencies and may face a range of interventions, requirements, and restrictions on their behavior and liberty including short and long-term incarceration or informal conduct conditions or formal probation requirements. Youth under 18 may be treated within juvenile systems or adult criminal systems depending on the jurisdiction and type and severity of delinquency or crime alleged. The authors do not use “juvenile justice” due to the system being profoundly unjust for youth for a variety or reason, including, the overrepresentation and disparately harmful treatment of youth of color, LGBTQ+ youth, and LGBTQ+ youth of color.
As Shawn said, “My family was not accepting of me being LGBTQ at all. I feel like all foster families, or families in general should accept any services that could help their child. If there [were] services available, and [my family] were more accepting, I definitely would have appreciated guidance on all that.” Our lived experience contributors’ experiences related to respect and affirmation by their families and caregivers informed their recommendations for system improvement. They shared the following:
- They would have welcomed, but often did not receive, services that may have helped family members and foster and adoptive families accept them for who they are.
- Offer families, including kin, and foster and adoptive families support and services to help them reduce rejecting behaviors and promote acceptance of all aspects of a youth’s identity.
To support youth contributors’ recommendations, both federal and state policymakers should:
- Promote family health, including culturally responsive, community-based programs designed to promote acceptance of LGBTQ+ youth by their families and caretakers and reduce rejecting behaviors.
- Allocate resources to and provide training in youth acceptance programs and training to avoid out-of-home placement.
- Allocate resources to provide social education on nonbinary identities.
To support youth contributors’ recommendations, at the federal level:
- ACF should ensure that state child welfare agency plans and resulting work required by the Family First Prevention Services Act is inclusive of LGBTQ+ children and youth.
- ACF, OJJDP, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) should coordinate with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (“SAMHSA”) to fund additional community-based, culturally informed mental health services, including those that support families in reducing rejecting behaviors and supporting their LGBTQ+ children, and provide funding at a level that meets the need.
- OJP and OJJDP should fund additional research regarding programs that are effective in reducing system-involvement for LGBTQ+ youth of color and their outcomes and experiences once system-involved and additional research regarding the experiences of LGBTQ+ youth engaging in survival sex.8
To support youth contributors’ recommendations state policymakers should:
- Promulgate regulations that require culturally inclusive prevention efforts specific to LGBTQ+ youth, including programs designed to reducing rejecting behaviors by family members and promote acceptance of youth by family and in community.
- Enact laws and policies that require implementation of services and programs to promote acceptance of youth by their parents in the context of child welfare, juvenile legal, and youth homelessness services.
- Ensure efforts to reduce racial disproportionality in child welfare and juvenile legal systems are sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression (“SOGIE”) inclusive.
Endnotes
8. The authors of Surviving the Streets of New York describe the terms “youth engaged in survival sex” and “youth who exchange sex for money and/or material goods (e.g., shelter, food, and drugs)” to “reflect young people’s experiences of involvement in the commercial sex market in their own terms. These terms describe a behavior as opposed to labeling the youth themselves.” See Meredith Dank et al., Surviving the Streets of New York: Experiences of LGBTQ Youth, YMSM, and YWSW Engaged in Survival Sex, Urban Institute (Feb. 2015), https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/42186/2000119-Surviving-the-Streets-of-New-York.pdf.
As Emilio said, “[T]he biggest thing that helped me was being around other people like me or around other people who understood what it was like to walk around like me, to exist like me.” Our lived experience contributors’ experiences related to support from adults who affirmed their identities and connection to peers and mentors in the LGBTQ+ community informed their recommendations for system improvement. They shared the following:
- Emilio, Jaxsyn, Paris, and Tyler all had at least one adult in their lives who listened, learned, and supported them and advocated with them to get additional services or support they needed.
- Shawn found support in organizations that advocate for youth in foster care and Gina in organizations that advocate for youth and young adults experiencing homelessness in their states.
- Kayden was in a group home where staff were supportive of his identity and allowed him to have input around his placement.
- Emilio found community when connected to their local LGBTQ+ center, and Gina’s participation in Pride events helped her find support from peers.
- Paris was not connected to other transgender girls or women while system-involved but has found support in her community as an adult.
As a result of these experiences, they have the following recommendations:
- Youth should receive support from all adults while involved in public systems.
- Adults working with system-involved TNGD youth should ensure that youth are connected to TNGD peers and mentors and to LGBTQ+ community organizations that are also supportive of their gender identity and expression, race, culture, immigration status, ability, and other aspects of their identity.
To support the youth contributors’ recommendations, at the federal level:
- ACF should promulgate federal regulation to ensure child welfare agencies connect youth to supportive services and establish meaningful measures to monitor whether youth are connected to adults who are supportive of their identity and expression.
- OJJDP should work through the Pride Justice Center to work with state agencies and probation offices to connect with LGBTQ+ community resources and LGBTQ+-affirming service providers.
To support the youth contributors’ recommendations, state policymakers should:
- Require through regulation or agency policy that youth be connected to adults and community groups that are supportive of their identity.
- Provide training to agency staff, case managers and other providers about the importance to TNGD youth of being connected to an adult who is supportive of their identity and expression.
Tyler said, “I had a therapist that was very supportive . . . and very helpful. When I was [on the detention unit” I couldn’t’ really express my needs . . . and [the therapist] was like, ‘Hey, talk with me first, and we’ll help you get your needs across.” Our lived experience contributors’ experiences related to physical and mental health care while in intervening public systems informed their recommendations for system improvement. Our lived experience contributors shared the following:
- Kayden shared that he faced challenges accessing gender-affirming medical care and that adults who were not mental health care practitioners or doctors substituted their own judgment about his needs rather than following guidance from qualified professionals.
- Tyler also faced barriers accessing gender-affirming medical care while involved in the juvenile legal system, but his attorney was helpful in navigating the legal process required for parent or legal guardian consent and court approval.
- For Emilio, going through the court process to get approval to begin gender-affirming medical care was one of the best things that happened for them because they were listened to and got what they really needed.
- Gina faced challenges accessing supportive mental health care as an undocumented person.
To support the youth contributors’ recommendations:
- ACF, OJJDP, and HUD should offer guidance to child welfare and juvenile legal agencies and providers serving youth experiencing homelessness on how to navigate state-based bans on gender-affirming medical care while upholding obligations under federal law and, where applicable, the constitutional rights of children in state custody.
- ACF should promulgate a regulation requiring child welfare agencies to connect youth to support services and to ensure youth receive recommended mental and medical health care from qualified providers.
To support the youth contributors’ recommendations, state policymakers should:
- Repeal laws that bar access to gender-affirming medical care consistent with recommendations from qualified providers.
- Monitor litigation and evaluate existing laws to ensure youth can access care in other states if doing so is not prohibited by law in the state where youth currently live.
- Inventory existing mental health and medical care providers to ensure youth do not face harm and discrimination and require contract mental and medical health care providers be trained and competent.
Endnotes
- LGBTQ+ emphasizes that there are a variety of ways people identify or describe themselves in addition to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning. For example, youth from some indigenous communities may identify as Two Spirit. For more information about the concepts of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression (“SOGIE”) or terms youth may use to describe or identify themselves, please see https://cssp.org/resource/key-equity-terms-concepts/. Because people use labels in different ways, or reject labels altogether, the authors recommend that best practice is to honor the language individuals use to describe themselves. Uses of other acronyms in the text are used to reflect research particular to that instance in the text.
- TNGD—transgender (or trans), nonbinary, gender diverse. Used throughout the report, except where cited research uses other terms such as TGNC (transgender, gender nonconforming). Since, cultural norms around gender still negatively impact youth who express themselves outside of those norms, the authors emphasize that every individual is unique and there is no one “correct” way to identify or express oneself.
- Exec. Order No. 13988 Executive Order on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation, 86 Fed. Reg. 7023 (Jan. 20, 2021), https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/01/25/2021-01761/preventing-and-combating-discrimination-on-the-basis-of-gender-identity-or-sexual-orientation.
- Exec. Order No. 14075 Executive Order on Advancing Equality for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Individuals, 87 Fed. Reg. 37189 (June 15, 2022), https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/FR-2022-06-21/2022-13391.
- The Equality Act, Human Rights Committee, https://www.hrc.org/resources/equality
- About the John Lewis Every Child Deserves a Family Act, Every Child Deserves a Family, https://everychilddeservesafamily.com/about-ecdf-act.
- The authors use “juvenile legal” to refer to the system where youth are charged with delinquencies and may face a range of interventions, requirements, and restrictions on their behavior and liberty including short and long-term incarceration or informal conduct conditions or formal probation requirements. Youth under 18 may be treated within juvenile systems or adult criminal systems depending on the jurisdiction and type and severity of delinquency or crime alleged. The authors do not use “juvenile justice” due to the system being profoundly unjust for youth for a variety or reason, including, the overrepresentation and disparately harmful treatment of youth of color, LGBTQ+ youth, and LGBTQ+ youth of color.
- The authors of Surviving the Streets of New York describe the terms “youth engaged in survival sex” and “youth who exchange sex for money and/or material goods (e.g., shelter, food, and drugs)” to “reflect young people’s experiences of involvement in the commercial sex market in their own terms. These terms describe a behavior as opposed to labeling the youth themselves.” See Meredith Dank et al., Surviving the Streets of New York: Experiences of LGBTQ Youth, YMSM, and YWSW Engaged in Survival Sex, Urban Institute (Feb. 2015), https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/42186/2000119-Surviving-the-Streets-of-New-York.pdf.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
“People who impacted me the most were the people who took that extra little step to just … show me that I mattered to them. I’m not just a youth in system, but I’m a youth in system that was really handling all sorts of things that they really shouldn’t have had to endure in the first place. Understanding, empathizing and advocating for these kiddos is just what makes the biggest impact and what made the biggest impact for me was just people who wanted, who genuinely, genuinely wanted to fight for me. And to listen to what I needed to fight for myself.”
– Emilio (they/them), Youth Contributor
As a nation, we owe all youth, including transgender, nonbinary, and gender diverse (“TNGD”)1 youth, the opportunity to thrive and exist in homes, schools, and communities, that support their healthy development. We must implement policies that reflect this commitment to youth and ensure it is not conditional on race, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, immigration status, or any other element of identity
The research is clear: lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+)2 youth thrive when their identities are respected, they are safe from emotional and physical victimization, they have access to programs and physical spaces consistent with their identity, and they receive love and support from their families and communities. Yet, recent federal and state attacks have threatened LGBTQ+ youth’s well-being, and data clearly highlights that as a nation we are failing TNGD youth in particular. In 2022 and 2023, state legislatures set records for pursuing anti-LGBTQ+ legislation3 and are on track to do the same in 2024;4 in 28 states, a majority of these attacks include laws and policies specifically targeting TNGD youth.5 TNGD youth face extreme barriers to their safety and well-being and in some places, daily assaults on their health – for example, with some states restricting access to affirming health care, including banning gender-affirming care. While in some communities, there may not be an explicit attack on the health, well-being, and safety of TNGD youth, data clearly highlights the gap in community-based supports for these youth and their families, seen through the significant overrepresentation of TNGD in child welfare, juvenile legal,6 and homeless systems.
When they become involved in these out-of-home systems, these youth experience physical and mental harm, exclusion from services, and instability that lead to poor outcomes when they leave these systems. Importantly, TNGD and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (“LGBQ+”) youth do not experience worse outcomes or more system-involvement because they identify as TNGD or LGBQ+, but due to the compounding impact of stigma and societal inequities, racism, and misogyny.
We owe TNGD youth better. We owe youth and their families community-based supports that address dynamics that may lead to out-of-home systems; and when youth are in out-of-home systems, we have a responsibility – including a legal responsibility – to promote their safety, health, and well-being. Policymakers and system administrators must take action. They must work to create and implement policies and resources that support TNGD youth in their communities and eliminate harm for youth who are currently system-involved. These policies must center equity, reflect the experiences of TNGD youth, be based on research and science, and include structures that hold systems accountable to youth, thereby creating conditions for TNGD youth to thrive.
Public Systems Are Failing TNGD Youth
Too many youth and families are separated, experiencing homelessness, or involved with juvenile and criminal legal systems due to lack of affordable housing, living wages, and community supports. Much of the research since Safe Havens I confirms prior findings that LGBTQ+ youth are over-represented in child welfare, juvenile legal, and homeless systems compared to their non-LGBTQ+ peers; are predominately youth of color; and have worse experiences while in out-of-home systems. These experiences and outcomes are not inherent in being TNGD but are a result of systemic and societal failure to support TNGD youth. These failures demonstrate that TNGD youth need more supportive policies in place.
Once in these systems, TNGD youth are often failed yet again, and face enormous barriers to accessing support, care, and having their identities affirmed, despite systems’ legal requirements to support the well-being of the youth in their custody, promote their rehabilitation, or provide safe and supportive housing. Youth and families do not get the support they need and experience harm from the system itself. TNGD youth must navigate complex, underfunded, and disjointed social and economic support systems as they try to find family and community acceptance, secure safe and affordable housing, pursue their education, find employment, and access health care – all in the context of public policies that often deny their identities.
These systems and services, which should be robust and affirm and support TNGD youth, too often fail to meet their needs. Discriminatory policies not only marginalize TNGD youth and keep them from crucial supports, but also stigmatize and criminalize their identities and actions. Further, TNGD youth are also impacted by ongoing bias, prejudice, and discrimination in society, which causes elevated rates of suicidal ideation and substance use, among other negative health outcomes. For TNGD youth of color, these barriers are exacerbated by discrimination and systemic racism in public programs.7
Policy Must Affirm Youth Identities and Center Their Experiences
Latest research confirms what countless prior studies have found: for transgender, nonbinary, and gender diverse youth to thrive, they need more than safety from overt bigotry and exclusion; they need explicit affirmation. This means respect, love, and support from their families and communities, physical and emotional safety, and access to programs and facilities, such as restrooms and housing, consistent with their identity. For law and policy to meaningfully affirm and protect TNGD youth, policymakers and administrators must rely on the experiences of TNGD youth who have been in out-of-home systems. To support those youth who are currently in juvenile legal, child welfare, and youth homelessness systems, we must implement policies and practices that promote and affirm the identities of TNGD youth, meet young people where they are and in ways that are responsive to their needs, including by letting them define their own identities, address chronic challenges by aligning practice with professional standards, and support youth to thrive in today’s hostile political environment.
New and Continuing Challenges For TNGD Youth: An Update
During the last 20 years, research and information shared in our work with youth has documented overrepresentation of LGBQ+ and TNGD youth in out-of-home systems, but little concentrated effort has been made to safely prevent system-involvement and provide supports to families, who may be struggling, to accept youth. Policymakers should focus efforts on preventing system-involvement and supporting youth in their communities by 1) following the recommendations of TNGD youth with lived experience in these systems, 2) basing policies on science and research rather than stigma, 3) eliminating harm within public systems, and 4) implementing laws and policies that are supportive to TNGD youth.
As highlighted by Safe Havens II youth contributors, who share their lived experience and a call to action for systemic improvement in this report, since the publication of Safe Havens I in 2017, TNGD youth in particular face new challenges as a result of an onslaught of political attacks on their identities and well-being. In the wake of advances in the law for LGBTQ+ people and U.S. Supreme Court decisions establishing marriage equality for same-sex couples, the Trump Administration made multiple attempts to limit or erase LGBTQ+ rights, with many focused on TNGD people.8 In 2022 and 2023, state legislatures increased their attacks on LGBTQ+ youth. Specifically, 2023 eclipsed the record set in 2022 for most anti-LGBTQ+ bills, with over 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced in state legislatures and 84 becoming law.9 The first quarter of 2024 saw over 400 anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced across the country.10 Tyler, a youth contributor, said, “It mentally affects me because . . . my community isn’t being protected. Other trans people . . . can’t get the support they need and . . . it makes me sad[.]”
Twenty-eight states now have harmful laws or policies in place specifically targeting TNGD youth11 in health care access, school curricula, parental notification requirements, restroom and facility access, and sports participation. This government sanctioned discrimination harms not only TNGD youth, but also all youth who also face the systemic consequences of such hatred. For system-involved TNGD youth, these new laws and policies layer additional harm when youth are not able, for example, to travel to another state for necessary medical care without agency permission or lack the financial resources to do so. Rhetoric and misinformation have created a chilling effect on affirmation of youth. Professionals, including teachers, doctors, and social workers, are now fearful of being reported and having their licenses revoked.
Efforts To Affirm, Support, And Protect TNGD Youth: An Update
Despite these setbacks, efforts are underway to improve the circumstances for TNGD youth who are involved with child welfare, juvenile legal, and homeless systems. Since the release of Safe Havens I, nondiscrimination protections and affirming agency policy or practice guidance in these systems have increased. For example, 26 additional states have gender identity and sexual orientation nondiscrimination protections in statute, regulation, or agency policy;12 across the child welfare and juvenile legal systems. 44 states now have gender identity nondiscrimination protections in statute, regulation, or agency policy;13 more LGBTQ+ specific practice guidance for agency staff has been developed by child welfare and juvenile legal agencies in collaboration with community stakeholders; more agencies require training for detention staff, probation officers, and child welfare caseworkers; and some states have mandates for prevention efforts and services that promote acceptance of youth by families.
These efforts are a result of strong advocacy and education, and the leadership and increased visibility of, and partnership with, TNGD youth. TNGD youth are engaging in advocacy and systemic improvement efforts, sharing their recommendations and experiences, and asserting their rights in the legislative process, litigation, and agency policymaking. As a result, since 2017:
- Twenty-six states have added gender identity as a protected class in law or policy related to youth in out-of-home systems,14 making the total number of states with nondiscrimination protections for youth on the basis of gender identity 34 in child welfare15 and 37 in the juvenile legal system.16
- Sixteen states and Washington, D.C. are providing additional affirmative protection for LGBTQ+ youth in a variety of ways, including protecting the right of transgender and nonbinary youth to access gender-affirming medical care.17
- Twenty states have statewide protections for school-aged TNGD youth.18
- Twenty-three states now allow people to choose an “X” gender marker to reflect nonbinary and/or intersex identities on their identity documents.19
While there has been some progress in law, policy, and practice guidance within child welfare, juvenile legal, and youth homeless systems, there is still more to do:
- Child welfare systems in 16 states20 and juvenile legal systems in 13 states21 still do not have explicit protections from discrimination based on gender identity.
- A staggering 46 states have no explicit sexual orientation and gender identity (“SOGI”)-inclusive nondiscrimination law or policy protecting youth experiencing homelessness.22
- Twenty-eight states have laws or policies in place that treat TNGD people differently under the law than their cisgender peers.23
- Nineteen of the 28 states with harmful laws or policies are also states with no explicit protection from gender identity-based discrimination in child welfare or juvenile legal systems.24
- Only four states have any requirement in law and policy to provide services that help prevent system-involvement or to provide services that promote acceptance of TNGD and LGBQ+ youth by their families.25
- Only two states acknowledge the existence of nonbinary youth in child welfare or juvenile legal system law, policy, or practice guidance.26
- Only 16 states have LGBTQ+-specific policy or practice guidance for agency and facility staff and contractors in their child welfare systems27 and only 20 states in their juvenile legal systems.28
As Kayden, one of the youth contributors, shared, agencies need clear policies so staff have step-by-step instructions to follow on how to support LGBTQ+ youth. Without explicit protection, clear policies, and a multi-faceted framework of support, TNGD youth remain at risk of serious physical and mental harm, including death – a risk that has grown even greater due to a marked increase in anti-LGBTQ+ laws and policies, which fuel the dehumanization of transgender, nonbinary, and gender diverse people.
Conclusion
Although some progress has been made, it is clear that we have a long way to go. Some states have taken active steps to dehumanize TNGD young people, while other states lack protections that could emphasize universal affirming values such as love, respect, and bodily autonomy. Safe Havens II: We Must Affirm and Protect Trans, Nonbinary, and Gender Diverse Youth in Out-of-Home Systems, includes a call to action from the youth contributors with lived experience; an update of current research about LGBQ+ and TNGD youth; a summary of supportive and harmful federal and state law and policy developments; a description of efforts to prevent system-involvement; and information on the needs of system-involved nonbinary youth. Additionally, we focus on ensuring that accessible, understandable, and safe accountability measures are in place; they are essential for the safety and well-being of TNGD youth.
Endnotes
- TNGD is used throughout the report, except where cited research uses other terms such as TGNC (transgender, gender nonconforming). Since cultural norms around gender still negatively impact youth who express themselves outside of those norms, the authors emphasize that every individual is unique and there is no one “correct” way to identify or express oneself.
- LGBTQ+ emphasizes that there are a variety of ways people identify or describe themselves in addition to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning. For example, youth from some indigenous communities may identify as Two Spirit.For more information about the concepts of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression (“SOGIE”) or terms youth may use to describe or identify themselves, please see https://cssp.org/resource/key-equity-terms-concepts/. Because people use labels in different ways, or reject labels altogether, the authors recommend that best practice is to honor the language individuals use to describe themselves. Uses of other acronyms in the text are used to reflect research particular to that instance in the text.
- Brooke Migdon, ACLU says states saw record number of anti-LGBTQ bills in 2023, The Hill (Dec. 2023) https://thehill.com/homenews/lgbtq/4380719-aclu-states-record-anti-lgbtq-bills-2023/; Mapping Attacks on LGBTQ Rights in U.S. State Legislatures in 2023, ACLU (Dec. 21, 2023), https://www.aclu.org/legislative-attacks-on-lgbtq-rights-2023.
- Mapping Attacks on LGBTQ Rights in U.S. State Legislatures in 2024, ACLU (Updated June 28, 2024), https://www.aclu.org/legislative-attacks-on-lgbtq-rights-2024.
- Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming; LGBTQ Curricular Laws, Movement Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/curricular_laws; Forced Outing of Transgender Youth in Schools, Movement Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/youth/forced_outing; Bans on Transgender People using Bathrooms and Facilities According to their Gender Identity, Movement Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/youth/school_bathroom_bans; Bans on Transgender Youth Participation in Sports, Movement Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/youth/sports_participation_bans; Bans on Best Practice Medical Care for Transgender Youth, Movement Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/healthcare/youth_medical_care_bans.
- The authors use “juvenile legal” to refer to the system where youth are charged with delinquencies and may face a range of interventions, requirements, and restrictions on their behavior and liberty including short and long-term incarceration or informal conduct conditions or formal probation requirements. Youth under 18 may be treated within juvenile systems or adult criminal systems depending on the jurisdiction and type and severity of delinquency or crime alleged. The authors do not use “juvenile justice” due to the system being profoundly unjust for youth for a variety or reason, including, the overrepresentation and disparately harmful treatment of youth of color, LGBTQ+ youth, and LGBTQ+ youth of color.
- Alan J. Dettlaff and Reiko Boyd, Racial Disproportionality and Disparities in the Child Welfare System: Why Do They Exist, and What Can Be Done to Address Them? 692 The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 1, https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716220980329; Racial and Ethnic Disparity in Juvenile Justice Processing, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, March 2022, https://ojjdp.ojp.gov/model-programs-guide/literature-reviews/racial-and-ethnic-disparity.
- The Discrimination Administration: Anti-Transgender and Anti-LGBTQ Actions, National Center for Transgender Equality, https://transequality.org/the-discrimination-administration; HRC Staff, The Real List of Trump’s “Unprecedented Steps” for the LGBTQ Community, Human Rights Campaign (June 11, 2020), https://www.hrc.org/news/the-list-of-trumps-unprecedented-steps-for-the-lgbtq-community.
- See note 3.
- See note 4.
- See note 5.
- CW 15 States: Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia JL 16 States: Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, West Virginia. YH 2 States: Connecticut, Maine.
- CW 34 States: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia JL 37 States: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia.
- See note 12.
- Arizona, California, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia.
- Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia.
- 17 States with ‘shield’ or ‘refuge’ legislation protecting access to transgender health care”: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and D.C.”States with ‘shield’ or ‘refuge’ executive order only protecting access to transgender health care”: Arizona, New Jersey; Transgender Healthcare “Shield” Laws, Movement Advancement Project (MAP), http://www.mapresearch.org/equality-maps/healthcare/trans_shield_laws.
- California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and DC. Safe Schools Law, Movement Advancement Project (MAP), https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/safe_school_laws/discrimination.
- Driver’s License 22 States: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington Birth Certificate 16 States: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Washington. Identity Document Laws and Policies, Movement Advancement Project (MAP), https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/identity_documents/.
- Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.
- Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.
- Only California, Connecticut, Maine, New York, and the District of Columbia have protections against discrimination on the basis of gender identity for youth served by runaway and homeless youth programs and shelters.
- See note 5.
- CW 13 States: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Texas, Utah, Wyoming JL 10 States: Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Wyoming.
- Connecticut, Michigan, Rhode Island, Utah.
- “Gender” or “gender identity” means a person’s internal identification or self-image as male or female. Gender identity may or may not correspond to the gender that is listed on the person’s birth certificate. The terms “male,” “female,” or “nonbinary” describe how a person identifies.” Fla. Admin. Code Ann. r. 65C-46.001 (2001); “W. “Gender” or “gender identity” means a person’s internal identification as male, female, or nonbinary. Gender identity may or may not correspond to the sex or gender marker that is listed on the person’s birth certificate.” N.M. Admin. Code 8.26.4.7 (2020).
- Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.
- Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, and Washington.
LATEST RESEARCH
“There was this one staff at the Methodist Home . . . she just made me feel comfortable with being myself. And that was like a turning point. Having an adult who’s letting you be yourself and things like that. It builds up your confidence. So, I feel like she was a very big part of me being comfortable in who I am now.”
— Paris (she/her), Youth Contributor
The youth contributors to this report stressed that although they experienced challenges related to others’ lack of acceptance of their identities, building relationships with adults who affirmed their identities and connecting to peers and mentors in the LGBTQ+ community was absolutely critical for them. Research about transgender, nonbinary, and gender diverse (“TNGD”)1 youth confirms the youth contributors’ experiences that finding acceptance, building relationships with supportive adults, and connecting with LGBTQ+ peers and mentors improves youth’s well-being. In addition to summarizing select research that has been published since 2017 on the prevalence of TNGD and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (“LGBQ+”)2 youth in child welfare, juvenile legal,3 and homeless systems and their experiences and outcomes, the authors provide an in-depth look at available research regarding nonbinary youth. Still, no statewide or nationwide data exist regarding prevalence of LGBTQ+ youth4 in these systems and their outcomes and experiences—systems simply do not collect sexual orientation and gender identity (“SOGI”) data in a way that can be disaggregated and reported for a complete picture nationwide.
TNGD and LGBQ+ Youth are Over-Represented in Systems, are Predominantly Youth of Color, and Have Worse Experiences and Outcomes Than Their Cisgender and Heterosexual Peers.
Child Welfare. Two significant municipal studies confirmed the over-representation of LGBTQ+ youth in child welfare systems compared to the general population:
- New York City’s child welfare agency found 34.1% of youth in its custody identified as LGBTQ+ and 13.2% as transgender.5 A similar study in Cuyahoga County (inclusive of Cleveland), Ohio, found LGBTQ+ youth represent over 32% of youth in its child welfare system; 10.4% of respondents indicated they might have a diverse gender identity; and 67.6% of LGBTQ+ youth reported that they had generally “not been treated very well” by the foster system compared to 44.7% of non-LGBTQ+ youth.6 The New York City study found LGBTQ+ youth in the foster system more likely to be youth of color and to have poorer outcomes than their LGBTQ+ peers, including more frequent placements in congregate placements, more negative encounters with police, and experiencing homelessness.7
- The Trevor Project, which provides support for LGBTQ+ youth contemplating self-harm or suicide, released a 2021 research brief finding that LGBTQ+ youth who had been in the foster system “had three times greater odds of reporting a past-year suicide attempt” compared to LGBTQ+ youth not in the foster system.8 Transgender and nonbinary youth with foster system experience had a 40% chance of being kicked out, being abandoned, or running away due to treatment related to their identity, compared to only 14% of trans and nonbinary youth with no foster system experience.9
Juvenile Legal. A study of first-time offenders in the juvenile legal system showed that nearly one-third self-identified as non-heterosexual.12 Among this group, youth indicated more severe mental health difficulties, more recent post-traumatic symptoms, and higher rates of high-risk sexual behavior and drug and alcohol use compared to their heterosexual peers.13 A study found that for LGBTQ+ youth of color, “marginalization based on SOGIE intersects with racial/ethnic identity-based discrimination to potentiate risk for justice involvement” and that “[t]he overcriminalization of LGBTQ youth—principally LGBTQ youth of color—reflects unaddressed structural racism and chronic, pervasive socially based stigma, discrimination, and victimization based on gender and sexual identity.”14 Promisingly, the authors noted child and adolescent mental health professionals were uniquely positioned and able to change the trajectory of LGBTQ+ youth and reduce system-involvement through “advocacy, education, clinical care, and research” in spite of the “cascade of risk factors for incarceration across [a LGBTQ+ youth’s] life span, including school dropout, homelessness, and high-risk survival behavior.”15
Youth Homelessness. The risk of homelessness is more than double for LGBTQ+ youth compared to their non-LGBTQ+ peers.19 According to Chapin Hall, youth who identify as “both LGBTQ and Black or multiracial had some of the highest rates of homelessness.”20 LGBTQ+ youth also reported higher rates of exposure to “discrimination or stigma within the family . . . and outside of the family” and were more likely “to report exchanging sex for basic needs . . . and having been forced to have sex.”21 In a 2022 survey, 28% of LGBTQ youth reported experiencing homelessness or housing instability at some point in their lives—and those who did had two to four times the odds of reporting depression, anxiety, or self-harm, considering suicide, and attempting suicide compared to those with stable housing.22 Research continues to demonstrate that TNGD and LGBQ+ youth who are involved with the foster system experience higher rates of homelessness than their heterosexual and cisgender peers.
Affirmation, Visibility, and Positive Representation Improve Well-Being Outcomes for All Youth, Especially TNGD and LGBQ+ Youth
Research continues to demonstrate how important identity affirmation is for youth to thrive. For example, use of chosen name and pronouns in four areas of a youth’s life (school, community, family, and among friends) dramatically improves well-being outcomes.23 Even if use of chosen name and pronouns occurs in only one of those contexts, youths’ well-being increases.24
Since 2017, TNGD people are more represented in areas of society like politics and entertainment. At least 45 transgender people hold elected office.25 In 2021, Admiral Rachel Levine, Assistant Secretary of Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) became the highest ranking openly transgender government agency official.26 In 2022, across broadcast, cable, and streaming television, there are more than 595 LGBTQ+ characters.27 For example, 2018 saw the first openly transgender superhero in a network television series, Supergirl .28 In 2023, Kim Petras became the first openly transgender singer to win a Grammy.29 Seeing LGBTQ+ representation in TV and movies made LGBQ and TNGD youth feel good about being LGBTQ+.30
Further, major social science and medical organizations have reaffirmed their positions that affirmation of identity, access to facilities consistent with identity, and individualized, gender-affirming care when medically indicated after careful evaluation by qualified providers improve the well-being of TNGD youth.31
Negative Depictions in Media and Anti-LGBTQ+ Political Rhetoric is Harmful to Well-Being
A Fenway Institute and Brown University 2020 study found that “frequent exposure to negative depictions of transgender people in the media was significantly associated with clinical symptoms of depression, anxiety, global psychological distress, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in this population.”32 In the 12 months prior to the survey, over 97% of the study participants reported having seen such depictions.33 In The Trevor Project’s 2023 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ Young People, “nearly 1 in 3 LGBTQ young people said their mental health was poor most of the time or always due to anti-LGBTQ policies and legislation” and “nearly 2 in 3 LGBTQ young people said that hearing about potential state or local laws banning people from discussing LGBTQ people at school made their mental health a lot worse.”34 In February 2024, Nex Benedict, a 16-year-old, nonbinary youth with Choctaw heritage, was severely beaten by other students in the school bathroom and died the next day.35 Oklahoma had recently enacted a series of anti-LGBTQ+ laws targeting trans and nonbinary youth and adults.36
Nonbinary Youth Face Unique Challenges
Although in one study, one in four of the LGBTQ+ youth surveyed identified as nonbinary, little research has focused specifically on nonbinary youth in government systems.37 There is, however, increasing recognition of the need to distinguish between binary transgender, nonbinary transgender, and LGBQ+ youth when conducting studies of LGBTQ+ youth.38
The few studies specific to nonbinary youth have focused on their mental and physical health and present mixed findings, but there are indications of unique and worse health outcomes within the nonbinary transgender community when compared to their binary transgender and cisgender peers.39 These disparities reflect minority stress40 generally experienced by marginalized populations, but also speak to the specific challenges nonbinary youth face that cause increased stress, depression, and other negative mental health outcomes. These include the absence of social and family support, a lack of representation, and societal structures that force youth to navigate systems that conform to the gender binary, erasing nonbinary identities entirely.
Studies have found that nonbinary youth are more likely to experience negative mental health41 outcomes, including higher levels of anxiety42 and depression,43 lower self-esteem,44 higher instances of self-harm,45 and more frequent suicide attempts46 when compared to binary transgender peers, and higher levels of suicidality,47 a higher risk of cyberbullying, and receiving the least amount of support from family and friends when compared to both cisgender and binary transgender peers.48 While not all nonbinary youth want to pursue a medical transition, those that do are more likely to report facing barriers to accessing hormone therapy49 and receiving less trans-affirming medical care50 than binary transgender youth. Additionally, when compared to binary youth, nonbinary youth reported more truancy and frequency of failing a subject.51 Studies of college students found that, when compared to binary transgender and binary cisgender students, nonbinary youth were more likely to suffer from an eating disorder,52 were more likely to be harassed, sexually abused, and subjected to traumatic events at higher rates,53 and more likely to be misgendered by therapists and health providers than binary transgender students.54
Studies of both nonbinary youth and adults discussed the challenge of navigating their identities within “institutional binaries,” specifically in schools, that cause both hypervisibility and render them invisible: “they are invisible because they are erased by the binary system and its assumptions, while being hypervisible due to [being uncategorizable] within a binary system.”55 While youth are expanding their understanding of gender,56 the widespread lack of knowledge surrounding nonbinary identity and the prevalence of binary gender in society presents numerous challenges for nonbinary youth navigating simple yet critical life steps, such as accessing identity documents that reflect their gender identity, finding safe housing, and showing up as their authentic selves in school and workplace settings. For example, in school settings, “[nonbinary youth] noted that society did not recognize identities outside the gender binary, resulting in a lack of intelligibility and awareness of nonbinary identities in particular, … students were aware they would face an ‘uphill battle’ in terms of gaining recognition and acceptance of their gender[.]”57 Intersecting identities create additional context for youth when navigating acceptance of their identities. In interviews, “Nonbinary Students of Color [are] especially likely to underscore fears of coming out to family.”58
Practices That Support Nonbinary Youth
For nonbinary youth in government systems, having access to affirming placements is not guaranteed, as these systems are often gender segregated and do not provide options for those who do not identify with the gender binary. For system-involved LGBTQ+ youth broadly, “incidents of gender segregation, stigmatization, isolation, and institutionalization in child welfare systems that they linked to their gender expression and sexuality … contribut[ed] to multiple placements and shap[ed] why they experienced homelessness.”59 Studies have recognized that sex-segregated bathroom and placement policies in institutions specifically “render invisible transgender and gender-nonconforming youth.”60 This data reveals a vital need for affirming placement options to ensure better well-being outcomes and interrupt further system involvement for nonbinary youth.
While literature on placement in foster and juvenile legal systems for nonbinary youth is limited, research from other settings demonstrates that schools’ efforts to reduce reliance on gender segregated spaces and instead create inclusive, gender-expansive environments can be a model for innovative approaches. Through implementing Gender Support Plans,61 schools and their staff establish affirming practices and collect information to ensure chosen name and pronouns are respected, maintain youth’s confidentiality and safety, and provide access to bathrooms, facilities, and extra-curricular activities that align with their gender identity. Schools have taken steps to reduce the usage of gender-designated bathrooms, whether through building more single stall bathrooms or creating all gender multi-stall bathrooms.62
While there are many struggles facing nonbinary youth, there are also findings that display the resilience of the community and the positive impacts of affirmation on well-being.63 A study that included both binary and nonbinary transgender youth in the Midwest explored strategies of resistance in three contexts: “at an intrapersonal level, strategies included resisting oppressive narratives, affirming one’s own gender, maintaining authenticity, and finding hope[; a]t an interpersonal level, strategies were standing up for self and others, educating others, and avoiding hostility[;] at a community-level, TGD youth were engaging in activism and organizing and enhancing visibility and representation.”64
Social supports for nonbinary youth were found to be very impactful, including providing a safe space for youth to come out to themselves and others, to explore their gender, and to “challeng[e] misgendering or stand[] up to transphobic bullying.”65 This reflects broader studies of protective factors for transgender youth, which have found that even when young transgender people are exposed to high levels of stigma and discrimination, “being strongly connected to their family or their school” lead to “greatly reduced likelihood of negative mental health outcomes.”66
TNGD Youth are Working For Change
As research and data have heightened visibility for TNGD youth, their participation in litigation and systemic improvement efforts has also increased. A transgender girl was a plaintiff in an Oregon lawsuit alleging harm she suffered while in the foster system.67 In a separate lawsuit, J.H., an Alaska Native and Latina transgender girl, submitted a declaration describing her experiences of discrimination in the foster system based on her identity, expression, and culture in support of a motion to stay an attempt by the Trump Administration to gut sexual orientation and gender identity-nondiscrimination protections from federal law.68 J.H.’s declaration was part of a lawsuit filed by Facing Foster Care in Alaska, Alaska’s foster youth and alumni membership organization.69 Many foster youth and alumni groups, such as Facing Foster Care in Alaska, Foster Club, Florida YouthSHINE, and Foster Advocates Arizona, have active LGBTQ+ members or leadership. LGBTQ+ youth have participated in trainings and education for caseworkers, juvenile and family court judges, child advocates, and service providers in record numbers and are sharing their lived experience regarding improving law, policy, and practice guidance with government agencies at the state and federal level.
Endnotes
- TNGD—transgender (or trans), nonbinary, gender diverse. Used throughout the report, except where cited research uses other terms such as TGNC (transgender, gender nonconforming). Since cultural norms around gender still negatively impact youth who express themselves outside of those norms, the authors emphasize that every individual is unique and there is no one “correct” way to identify or express oneself.
- We reflect the abbreviation used by a study’s authors. For example, some authors may use LGBTQ without a “+” or only focus on lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth and use “LGB.”
- The authors use “juvenile legal” to refer to the system where youth are charged with delinquencies and may face a range of interventions, requirements, and restrictions on their behavior and liberty including short and long-term incarceration or informal conduct conditions or formal probation requirements. Youth under 18 may be treated within juvenile systems or adult criminal systems depending on the jurisdiction and type and severity of delinquency or crime alleged. The authors do not use “juvenile justice” due to the system being profoundly unjust for youth for a variety of reasons, including the overrepresentation and disparately harmful treatment of youth of color, LGBTQ+ youth, and LGBTQ+ youth of color.
- LGBTQ+ emphasizes that there are a variety of ways people identify or describe themselves in addition to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning. For example, youth from some indigenous communities may identify as Two Spirit. For more information about the concepts of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression (“SOGIE”) or terms youth may use to describe or identify themselves, please see https://cssp.org/resource/key-equity-terms-concepts/. Because people use labels in different ways, or reject labels altogether, the authors recommend that best practice is to honor the language individuals use to describe themselves. Uses of other acronyms in the text are used to reflect research particular to that instance in the text.
- T.G.M Sandfort, Experiences and Well-Being of Sexual and Gender Diverse Youth in Foster Care in New York City Disproportionality and Disparities, New York City Administration for Children’s Services, 5, 7 (2020), https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/acs/pdf/about/2020/WellBeingStudyLGBTQ.pdf.
- Marlene Matarese et al., The Cuyahoga Youth Count: A Report on LGBTQ+ Youth Experience in Foster Care, The Institute for Innovation & Implementation, University of Maryland School of Social Work, 5-6 (2021), https://theinstitute.umaryland.edu/media/ssw/institute/Cuyahoga-Youth-Count.6.8.1.pdf.
- Sandfort, Experiences and Well-Being of Sexual and Gender Diverse Youth in Foster Care in New York City Disproportionality and Disparities, 5.
- The Trevor Project Research Brief: LGBTQ Youth with a History of Foster Care, The Trevor Project, 1 (May 2021), https://www.thetrevorproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/LGBTQ-Youth-with-a-History-of-Foster-Care_-May-2021.pdf.
- The Trevor Project Research Brief, 2.
- The National Quality Improvement Center on Tailored Services, Placement Stability, and Permanency for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Two-Spirit Children and Youth in Foster Care (QIC-LGBTQ2S), https://qiclgbtq2s.org/about-the-qic/.
- National SOGIE Center, https://sogiecenter.org/.
- Matthew E. Hirschtritt et al., Sexual Minority, Justice-Involved Youth: A Hidden Population in Need of Integrated Mental Health, Substance Use, and Sexual Health Services, 63 Journal of Adolescent Health 4 (Oct. 2018), https://www.jahonline.org/article/S1054-139X(18)30203-9/abstract.
- Hirschtritt et al., Sexual Minority, Justice-Involved Youth: A Hidden Population in Need of Integrated Mental Health, Substance Use, and Sexual Health Services.
- Natalia Ramos et al., Addressing the Mental Health Needs of LGBTQ Youth in the Juvenile Justice System, 61 Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 2 (Feb. 2022), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8963705/#.
- Ramos et al., Addressing the Mental Health Needs of LGBTQ Youth in the Juvenile Justice System.
- Kerith J. Conron and Bianca D.M. Wilson, LGBTQ Youth of Color Impacted by the Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice Systems, Williams Institute, 4 (July 2019), https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications/lgbtq-yoc-social-services/.
- Conron & Wilson, LGBTQ Youth of Color Impacted by the Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice, 4-5.
- Conron & Wilson, LGBTQ Youth of Color Impacted by the Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice, 4-6.
- Matthew Morton et al., Missed Opportunities: LGBTQ Youth Homelessness in America, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, 3 (2018), https://www.chapinhall.org/wp-content/uploads/VoYC-LGBTQ-Brief-FINAL.pdf.
- Morton et al., Missed Opportunities: LGBTQ Youth Homelessness in America, 3.
- Morton et al., Missed Opportunities: LGBTQ Youth Homelessness in America, 9.
- Jonah DeChants et al., Homelessness and Housing Instability Among LGBTQ Youth, The Trevor Project, 4 (2021), https://www.thetrevorproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Trevor-Project-Homelessness-Report.pdf.
- Stephen T. Russell et al., Chosen Name Use is Linked to Reduced Depressive Symptoms, Suicidal Ideation and Behavior among Transgender Youth, 63 Journal of Adolescent Health 4 (Oct. 2018), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6165713/.
- Russell et al., Chosen Name Use is Linked to Reduced Depressive Symptoms, Suicidal Ideation and Behavior among Transgender Youth.
- Out for America 2022: A Census of Out LGBTQ Elected Officials Nationwide, Victory Institute, 3 (2022), https://victoryinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Out-for-America-Report-2022-web.pdf.
- Laurel Wamsley, Rachel Levine Makes History As 1st Openly Trans Federal Official Confirmed By Senate, NPR (March 24, 2021), https://www.npr.org/2021/03/24/980788146/senate-confirms-rachel-levine-a-transgender-woman-as-assistant-health-secretary.
- Where We Are on TV 2022-2023, GLAAD Media Institute, 8 (2023), https://assets.glaad.org/m/114d72edf8a779a6/original/GLAAD-2022-23-Where-We-Are-on-TV.pdf.
- Vanessa Romo, ‘Supergirl’ Cast First Transgender Superhero on Television, NPR (July 23, 2018), https://www.npr.org/2018/07/23/631693257/supergirl-casts-first-transgender-superhero-on-television.
- Jessica Nicholson, Kim Petras Makes History As First Out Trans Artist to Win a Major-Category Grammy, Billboard (February 5, 2023), https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/kim-petras-2023-grammy-win-makes-history-sam-smith-1235213081/.
- The Trevor Project, 2022 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health, 22 (2022), https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2022/assets/static/trevor01_2022survey_final.pdf.
- Brief of Amici Curiae Medical, Public Health, and Mental Health Organizations in Support of Plaintiff-Appellee, Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board, 972 F.3d 586 (4th Cir. 2020) (No.19-1952), https://www.aclu.org/cases/grimm-v-gloucester-county-school-board?document=grimm-v-gloucester-county-brief-medical-public-health-and-mental-health-organizations; Brief of Amici Curiae American Academy of Pediatrics and Additional National and State Medical and Mental Health Organizations in Support of Plaintiffs-Appellees and Affirmance, Brandt v. Rutledge, (8th Circ, 2023) (No. 23-2681) https://www.aclu.org/cases/brandt-et-al-v-rutledge-et-al?document=Amicus-Brief-of-American-Academy-of-Pediatrics-et-al-in-Support-of-Plaintiffs-Appellees; Medical Organization Statements, TLDEF, https://transhealthproject.org/resources/medical-organization-statements/; Farnan M. Clarke et al., Gender-Affirming Care Is Trauma-Informed Care, National Center for Child Traumatic Stress (2022), https://www.nctsn.org/sites/default/files/resources/fact-sheet/gender-affirming-care-is-trauma-informed-care.pdf; American Academy of Pediatrics et al., Major Health, Education, and Child Welfare Organizations Oppose Anti-LGBTQ State-Based Legislation (March 5, 2021), https://www.aap.org/en/news-room/news-releases/aap/2021/major-health-education-and-child-welfare-organizations-oppose-anti-lgbtq-state-based-legislation/; Medical Organization Statements, TLDF’s Trans Health Project, https://transhealthproject.org/resources/medical-organization-statements/; Susan D. Boulware et al, Biased Science: The Texas and Alabama Measures Criminalizing Medical Treatment for Transgender Children and Adolescents Rely on Inaccurate and Misleading Scientific Claims, Yale School of Medicine (April 28, 2022), https://medicine.yale.edu/lgbtqi/research/gender-affirming-care/report on the science of gender-affirming care final april 28 2022_442952_55174_v1.pdf; AMA strengthens its policy on protecting access to gender-affirming care, Endocrine Society (June 12, 2023), https://www.endocrine.org/news-and-advocacy/news-room/2023/ama-gender-affirming-care.
- Jaclyn M.W. Hughto et al., Negative Transgender-Related Media Messages Are Associated with Adverse Mental Health Outcomes in a Multistate Study of Transgender Adults, 8 LGBT Health 1, (Jan 2021), https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/lgbt.2020.0279?journalCode=lgbt; New Study Shows Association Between Negative Media Portrayals of Transgender People And Adverse Mental Health Outcomes, Fenway Health (Nov. 23, 2020), https://fenwayhealth.org/new-study-shows-association-between-negative-media-portrayals-of-transgender-people-and-adverse-mental-health-outcomes/.
- Hughto et al., Negative Transgender-Related Media Messages Are Associated with Adverse Mental Health Outcomes in a Multistate Study of Transgender Adults; New Study Shows Association Between Negative Media Portrayals of Transgender People And Adverse Mental Health Outcomes.
- Trevor Project, 2023 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ Young People, 4, https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2023/.
- Jose Soto, Honoring Nex Benedict, a 16-Year-Old Non-Binary Oklahoma High School Student Who Tragically Died One Day After Being Beaten Unconscious in a School Bathroom, Human Rights Campaign (Feb. 21, 2024), https://www.hrc.org/news/honoring-nex-benedict-16-year-old-non-binary-high-school-student-who-tragically-died-after-school-beating.
- Soto, Honoring Nex Benedict, a 16-Year-Old Non-Binary Oklahoma High School Student Who Tragically Died One Day After Being Beaten Unconscious in a School Bathroom.
- Trevor Project Research Brief: Diversity of Nonbinary Youth, The Trevor Project, 1 (July 2021), https://www.thetrevorproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Diversity-of-Nonbinary-Youth_-July-Research-Brief.pdf.
- E.B. Gross et al., Intricate Realities: Mental Health among Trans, Nonbinary, and Gender Diverse College Students, 2 Youth 733, 735 (2022), https://doi.org/10.3390/youth2040052; Shanna K. Kattari et al., One Size Does Not Fit All: Differential Transgender Health Experiences. 58 Soc. Work Health Care 899, (2019), https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00981389.2019.1677279; Brittanie Atteberry-Ash et al., Differential Experiences of Mental Health among Transgender and Gender-Diverse Youth in Colorado, 11 Behav. Sci. 48 (2021), https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/11/4/48; Nat Thorne et al., A comparison of mental health symptomatology and levels of social support in young treatment seeking transgender individuals who identify as binary and non-binary, 20 International Journal of Transgenderism 241 (2018), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6830974/; Ankur Srivastava et al., Differential Risks for Suicidality and Mental Health Symptoms Among Transgender, Nonbinary, and Cisgender Sexual Minority Youth Accessing Crisis Services, 6 Transgender Health 51 (2020), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7906236/.
- Gross et al., Intricate Realities: Mental Health among Trans, Nonbinary, and Gender Diverse College Students, 740-743; Thorne et al., A comparison of mental health symptomatology and levels of social support in young treatment seeking transgender individuals who identify as binary and non-binary, 248; Srivastava et al., Differential Risks for Suicidality and Mental Health Symptoms Among Transgender, Nonbinary, and Cisgender Sexual Minority Youth Accessing Crisis Services, 52 (citing Thorne); G.T. Lefevor et al., Health disparities between genderqueer, transgender, and cisgender individuals: An extension of minority stress theory, 66 Journal of Counseling Psychology 385–395 (2019), https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fcou0000339; Jaimie F. Veale et al., Mental Health Disparities Among Canadian Transgender Youth, 60 Journal of Adolescent Health 44, (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2016.09.014; Atteberry-Ash et al., Differential Experiences of Mental Health among Transgender and Gender-Diverse Youth in Colorado; Arnold H. Grossman et al., Transgender Youth and Suicidal Behaviors: Applying the Interpersonal Psychological Theory of Suicide, 20 Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health 329 (2016), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5363722/.
- Ilan H. Meyer, Prejudice, Social Stress, and Mental Health in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Populations: Conceptual Issues and Research Evidence, 129 Psychological Bulletin 5 (Sept. 2003), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2072932/; Lisa M. Diamond, Chapter 11 – Sexual-Minority, Gender-Nonconforming, and Transgender Youths, in Handbook of Child and Adolescent Sexuality (Daniel S. Bromberg & William T. O’Donohue eds., Academic Press, 2013), https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780123877598000118.
- Gross et al., Intricate Realities: Mental Health among Trans, Nonbinary, and Gender Diverse College Students, 740-743 (note this study sample is college students); Thorne et al., A comparison of mental health symptomatology and levels of social support in young treatment seeking transgender individuals who identify as binary and non-binary, 248 (note this study was conducted in the UK).
- Thorne et al., A comparison of mental health symptomatology and levels of social support in young treatment seeking transgender individuals who identify as binary and non-binary, 241 (note this study was conducted in the UK); Srivastava et al., Differential Risks for Suicidality and Mental Health Symptoms Among Transgender, Nonbinary, and Cisgender Sexual Minority Youth Accessing Crisis Services, 52 (citing Thorne); Lefevor et al., Health disparities between genderqueer, transgender, and cisgender individuals: An extension of minority stress theory, (note this study sample is college students, specific finding is elevated levels of anxiety for genderqueer youth when compared to both binary transgender and cisgender peers).
- Thorne et al., A comparison of mental health symptomatology and levels of social support in young treatment seeking transgender individuals who identify as binary and non-binary, 241 (note this study was conducted in the UK); Lefevor et al., Health disparities between genderqueer, transgender, and cisgender individuals: An extension of minority stress theory (specific finding is elevated levels of depression for genderqueer youth in college when compared to both binary transgender and cisgender peers).
- Thorne et al., A comparison of mental health symptomatology and levels of social support in young treatment seeking transgender individuals who identify as binary and non-binary, 241 (note this study was conducted in the UK).
- Jaimie F. Veale et al., Mental Health Disparities Among Canadian Transgender Youth, (specific finding is that transgender boys and nonbinary youth reported highest levels of self-harm in a survey of transgender youth in Canada); Lefevor et al., Health disparities between genderqueer, transgender, and cisgender individuals: An extension of minority stress theory (specific finding is elevated levels of self-harm for genderqueer youth in college when compared to both binary transgender and cisgender peers); Atteberry-Ash et al., Differential Experiences of Mental Health among Transgender and Gender-Diverse Youth in Colorado, 7 (specific finding is “students who stated they did not know if they were transgender had the highest rates of NSSI [non-suicidal self-injury] (35.0%), followed by those who identified as transgender and outside the binary of man/woman (26.5%), transmasculine (23.5%), with transfeminine participants reporting the lowest rate of NSSI (17.1%)”).
- Grossman et al., Transgender Youth and Suicidal Behaviors: Applying the Interpersonal Psychological Theory of Suicide (“Youth were categorized according to their gender identities: female to male (FTM), male to female (MTF), FTDG (female to different gender) and MTDG (male to different gender… higher percentages of suicide attempts [were reported] by FTDG [female to different gender] and MTDG [male to different gender] youth”); Lefevor et al., Health disparities between genderqueer, transgender, and cisgender individuals: An extension of minority stress theory (specific finding is elevated levels of suicide attempts for genderqueer youth in college when compared to both binary transgender and cisgender peers); Attebury-Ash et al., Differential Experiences of Mental Health among Transgender and Gender-Diverse Youth in Colorado, 8 (found that “compared to students who indicated they did not know if they were transgender or not, transfeminine students (AOR = 2.97, 95% CI [1.44, 6.10]), transmasculine students (AOR = 2.78, 95% CI [1.46, 5.29]) were almost three times as likely to report suicide attempt. Students who identified as transgender but not as transmasculine or transfeminine (AOR = 3.42, 95% CI [1.78, 6.57]) were more than three times as likely to report suicide attempt.”).
- Lefevor et al., Health disparities between genderqueer, transgender, and cisgender individuals: An extension of minority stress theory (specific finding is elevated levels of suicidality for genderqueer youth in college when compared to both binary transgender and cisgender peers).
- Marta Evelia Aparicio-Garcia et al., Health and Well-Being of Cisgender, Transgender and Non-Binary Young People, 15 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2133 (2018), https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/10/2133 (note this study was conducted in Spain).
- Beth A. Clark et al., Non-binary youth: Access to gender-affirming primary health care, 19 International Journal of Transgenderism 158, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15532739.2017.1394954?journalCode=wijt20 (note this study was conducted in Canada), also see Em Matsuno et al., “The Default Is Just Going to Be Getting Misgendered”: Minority Stress Experiences Among Nonbinary Adults, Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity (2022), http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000607 (Note this study is of adults, but provides helpful context).
- Clark et al., Non-binary youth: Access to gender-affirming primary health care; Matsuno et al., “The Default Is Just Going to Be Getting Misgendered”: Minority Stress Experiences Among Nonbinary Adults (note this study is of adults, but provides helpful context); Abbie E. Goldberg et al., Health Care Experiences of Transgender Binary and Nonbinary University Students, 47 The Counseling Psychologist 59 (2019), https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000019827568 (note this is a survey of university students).
- Natalie Durbeej et al., Outside the norm: Mental health, school adjustment and community engagement in non-binary youth, 49 Scandinavian Journal Public Health 529, (2021) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31868564/ (note this study was conducted in Sweden).
- Lefevor et al., Health disparities between genderqueer, transgender, and cisgender individuals: An extension of minority stress theory (specific finding is elevated levels of eating concerns for genderqueer youth in college when compared to both binary transgender and cisgender peers); Goldberg et al., Health Care Experiences of Transgender Binary and Nonbinary University Students, 72.
- Lefevor et al., Health disparities between genderqueer, transgender, and cisgender individuals: An extension of minority stress theory (specific finding is elevated levels of eating concerns for genderqueer youth in college when compared to both binary transgender and cisgender peers).
- Goldberg et al., Health Care Experiences of Transgender Binary and Nonbinary University Students, 59 (note this is a survey of university students); Matsuno et al., “The Default Is Just Going to Be Getting Misgendered”: Minority Stress Experiences Among Nonbinary Adults (citing Goldberg and others, note this study is of adults, but provides helpful context).
- Carrie Paechter et al., Non-binary young people and schools: pedagogical insights from a small-scale interview study, 29 Pedagogy, Culture & Society 695, 696 (2021), https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14681366.2021.1912160 (note this study was conducted in the UK); Cristiano Scandurra et al., Health of Non-binary and Genderqueer People: A Systematic Review, 10 Frontiers in Psychology (2019), https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01453 (cites various studies of both young people and adults); Matsuno et al., The Default Is Just Going to Be Getting Misgendered”: Minority Stress Experiences Among Nonbinary Adults (note this study is of adults, but provides helpful context).
- Sara Bragg et al., ‘More than boy, girl, male, female’: exploring young people’s views on gender diversity within and beyond school contexts, 18 Sex Education 420 (2018), https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14681811.2018.1439373.
- Goldberg et al., Health Care Experiences of Transgender Binary and Nonbinary University Students, 74 (note this is a survey of university students).
- Goldberg et al., Health Care Experiences of Transgender Binary and Nonbinary University Students, 87 (note this is a survey of university students); Scandurra et al., Health of Non-binary and Genderqueer People: A Systematic Review (cites various studies of both youth and adults); Matsuno et al., “The Default Is Just Going to Be Getting Misgendered”: Minority Stress Experiences Among Nonbinary Adults (note this study is of adults, but provides helpful context).
- Brandon Andrew Robinson, Child Welfare Systems and LGBTQ Youth Homelessness, 96 CWLA, Child Welfare, Special Issue: Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity/Expression, and Child Welfare 29 (2018), https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/48624543.
- Dana M. Prince et al., Sexual and Gender Minority Youth in Foster Care: An Evidence-Based Theoretical Conceptual Model of Disproportionality and Psychological Comorbidities, 23 Trauma, Violence, & Abuse 1643, 7 (2021), https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351333369_Sexual_and_Gender_Minority_Youth_in_Foster_Care_An_Evidence-Based_Theoretical_Conceptual_Model_of_Disproportionality_and_Psychological_Comorbidities.
- Gender Spectrum, Using the Gender Support Plan, https://genderspectrum.org/articles/using-the-gsp.
- Ryan Thoreson et al., Shut Out: Restrictions on Bathroom and Locker Room Access for Transgender Youth in US Schools, Human Rights Watch (Sept 14, 2016), https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/09/14/shut-out/restrictions-bathroom-and-locker-room-access-transgender-youth-us.
- Amelia P. Tankersley et al., Risk and Resilience Factors for Mental Health among Transgender and Gender Nonconforming (TGNC) Youth: A Systematic Review, 24 Clinical Child Family Psychology Review 183 (2021), https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-021-00344-6; Megan S. Paceley et al., “I Didn’t Come Here to Make Trouble”: Resistance Strategies Utilized by Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth in the Midwestern U.S., 1 Youth 29, https://www.mdpi.com/2673-995X/1/1/5; The Trevor Project Research Brief: LGBTQ & Gender-Affirming Spaces, The Trevor Project (Dec. 2020), https://www.thetrevorproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/LGBTQ-Affirming-Spaces_-December-2020.pdf.
- Paceley et al., “I Didn’t Come Here to Make Trouble”: Resistance Strategies Utilized by Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth in the Midwestern U.S., 29.
- Paechter et al., Non-binary young people and schools: pedagogical insights from a small-scale interview study, 703.
- Jaimie Veale et al., Enacted Stigma, Mental Health, and Protective Factors Among Transgender Youth in Canada, 2Transgender Health 207, 214 (2017), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5734137/pdf/trgh.2017.0031.pdf.
- Class Action Complaint, Wyatt B. v. Brown, No. 19-cv-000556 ¶ 129 (D. Or. 2019), ECF 1 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6387d767fc8a755e41aa5844/t/646d921abacf84295ff7109d/1684902427391/DKT-001-Class-Action-Complaint-1.pdf.
- Facing Foster Care in Alaska v. HHS, 21-cv-00308-JMC (D.D.C. 2021), https://lambdalegal.org/case/facing-foster-care-in-alaska-v-hhs/.
- Id.
LAW AND POLICY - UPDATES AND FINDINGS
“[Anti-LGBTQ+ policy is] very draining. It’s something that I’m staying on top of as part of my own identity and as far as, like my passion of, you know, combating the injustice there. I feel so bad for, like, the people who are, you know, experiencing it in such states such as like Florida. Where it’s ridiculous legislation and policy that’s going on. That dehumanizes a person and is literally taking away services from a person.”
— Gina (she/they), Youth Contributor
“[States should] have some more strict rules on placements that are explicitly religious . . . Or at least find a way for, you to, if you are religious, to be able to go to those, but if you are not religious [you should] not be forced to go to those. And another thing . . . I think, have policy. Have something in policy on LGBTQ youth. So that then case workers are like “I have this situation with this youth. I don’t know what to do,” they can go and look at a policy that says—here is what you should be doing. Here are the things to help this youth. And, here are things you should talk to this youth about.”
— Kayden (he/they), Youth Contributor
Safe Havens I chronicled significant advances in federal law and policy for transgender, nonbinary, and gender diverse (“TNGD”)1 youth and adults, including federal civil rights jurisprudence. Other federal law and policy advances prior to April 2017 included the addition of gender identity and sexual orientation as protected classes in federal nondiscrimination law applicable to state child welfare system funding and to programs for youth experiencing homelessness, and the first ever recommendations from the Department of Justice on how best to support LGBTQ+2 youth in juvenile legal3 systems.4
Safe Havens I summarized case law establishing that under the U.S. Constitution, youth in state custody, including TNGD youth, must be protected from unreasonable risk of harm and unequal treatment and have the right to freedom of speech and expression.5 Since then, these rights have been affirmed in decisions by the Fifth and Ninth Circuits.6 Specific to the juvenile legal system, R.G. v. Koller remains the only federal civil rights case brought on behalf of LGBTQ+ youth in a juvenile detention facility.7 Constitutional protections for these youth outlined in Safe Havens I remain in effect.8 As we also described in 2017, LGBTQ+ youth experiencing homelessness have Equal Protection rights to be treated the same way as their non-LGBTQ+ peers, First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and expression, and the right to be free from religious indoctrination under the Establishment Clause.9
Below we provide an update on major federal jurisprudence and federal agency action since 2017 specific to youth in child welfare and juvenile legal systems, and youth experiencing homelessness.
TNGD People and Federal Jurisprudence
In June 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, held that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”) prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and transgender status as unlawful sex discrimination in the context of federal employment law.10 Title VII protects workers from discrimination “on the basis of sex.” The Court, relying on a textual reading of the statute, found that “it is impossible to discriminate against a person for being homosexual or transgender without discriminating against that individual based on sex.”11 Because a textual reading applies with equal force to other statutory prohibitions of sex discrimination, federal courts have routinely relied on the scope of sex discrimination protection provided by Title VII to inform decisions regarding sex discrimination coverage under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act,12 the Fair Labor Standards Act,13 the Fair Housing Act,14 Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972,15 and many other statutes.
In the last five years, many lower federal courts have held that transgender individuals “meet the criteria for being deemed a suspect or quasi-suspect class, and thus discrimination against them must be subject to heightened scrutiny” under an Equal Protection analysis.16 Several Circuit Courts of Appeals have taken the stance that cases involving transgender individuals are subject to heightened scrutiny, “either because the community as a class warrants heightened scrutiny on its own, or because discrimination against the transgender community is sex discrimination.”17
Unfortunately, two Circuit Courts that heard cases about the rights of transgender students came down on opposite sides. In Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board, the Fourth Circuit found, in a case brought by a transgender boy who was denied access to facilities consistent with his gender identity, that discrimination based on transgender status is discrimination “on the basis of sex” under Title IX.18 The court explained that a transgender boy who was excluded from using the boys’ restrooms “was treated worse than students with whom he was similarly situated because he alone could not use the restroom corresponding with his gender.”19 The court also found that Grimm suffered harm as a result of this discrimination because being excluded from the same restrooms as other boys made him feel “stigmatized and isolated” and “invite[s] more scrutiny and attention from other students, ‘very publicly brand[ing] all transgender students with a scarlet ‘T’.”20 By contrast, the en banc Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the St. Johns County Florida School Board, reversing its own panel and the district court, which relied heavily on facts established at trial, finding that the county’s policy of excluding transgender students from restrooms consistent with their identity did not violate the U.S. Constitution and Title IX.21
In other significant cases involving TNGD people, federal courts uniformly rejected attempts to exclude transgender people from military service,22 enjoined some states’ attempts to limit or ban gender-affirming medical care for minors,23 permitted transgender students to participate in school sports,24 and recognized nonbinary identity.25
In B.P.J. v. West Virginia State Board of Education, a federal court granted a preliminary injunction and ruled that an 11-year-old transgender girl must be allowed to try out for the girls’ cross-country and track teams at her school, blocking West Virginia from enforcing a law that bans transgender girls and women from participating in school sports in violation of Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.26 The same judge who, in issuing a preliminary injunction, found he had “been provided with scant evidence that [H.B. 3293] addresses any problem at all, let alone an important problem,”27 then reversed course and granted West Virginia’s motion for summary judgment and dismissed the case.28 B.P.J. appealed and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals granted a stay permitting her to continue playing on the girls’ track team; the U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene. In April 2024, the Fourth Circuit granted B.P.J.’s motion for summary judgment on her Title IX claim and held that H.B. 3293 is unconstitutional as applied to her.29 Similar bans in other states have been enjoined by federal courts.30
Relying on prior successful rulings on behalf of LGBTQ+ individuals, advocates have challenged recent discriminatory state laws against TNGD people in both state and federal courts under the Constitution’s Equal Protection and Due Process clauses, and under Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 (“Title IX”). For example, in Brandt v. Rutledge, a challenge to an Arkansas ban on gender-affirming medical for minors, a federal court ruled that the ban is unconstitutional and found that “[g]ender-affirming treatment is supported by medical evidence that has been subject to rigorous study,” and that “[p]arent plaintiffs have a fundamental right to seek medical care for their children and, in conjunction with their adolescent child’s consent and their doctor’s recommendation, make a judgment that medical care is necessary.”31
Similarly, a federal court blocked the majority of Alabama’s law prohibiting gender-affirming medical care for minors in Boe v. Marshall, finding that the law seeks to ban established, effective medical care and that doing so would cause severe harm.32 The court found that Alabama presented no credible evidence to contradict testimony from doctors and medical experts on the safety and efficacy of medical care for transgender youth who experience gender dysphoria, including that over 22 major medical organizations recognize the established standard of care for transgender youth.33 Despite these findings, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals allowed Alabama’s ban to take effect.34 A majority of district courts that have heard evidence in support of requests to enjoin gender-affirming medical care bans have done so, but some appellate courts have overturned those decisions and let bans take effect.35 The U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether to hear an appeal of Tennessee’s and Kentucky’s bans after plaintiffs appealed a decision by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals overturning a district court decision enjoining Tennessee’s ban and allowing it and another one in neighboring Kentucky to proceed.36 As of May 2024, bans on gender-affirming care are in effect in 19 of 24 states.37
In 2021, Dana Zzyym, an intersex and nonbinary U.S. Navy veteran, became the first U.S. citizen to receive an official U.S. passport with an “X” sex/gender marker, the culmination of their six-year legal battle to get an accurate passport that did not force them to identify as male or female.38 The U.S. State Department announced it would change its policy to add a gender marker on U.S. passports for nonbinary, intersex, and gender nonconforming persons.39 That announcement came thirteen months after the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the Department to reconsider its prior decisions denying Zzyym an accurate passport.40 The court noted that forcing intersex individuals to pick a male or female sex/gender marker in the passport application “injects inaccuracy into the data.”41
While these cases do not involve TNGD youth in government systems, most federal court rulings show that despite political rhetoric and attacks associated with anti-TNGD bills and policies, courts regard government actions that exclude TNGD people or treat them differently than non-TNGD people under the law as unconstitutional or contrary to statutory prohibitions against sex discrimination. These principles should also apply to TNGD youth in government custody or who benefit from or participate in government programs.
In addition to cases about laws or policies directly targeting youth, in 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, decided a case about the ability of same-sex couples to be protected from discrimination when seeking to become foster parents.42 The Court found that Catholic Social Services (“CSS,”) a child placing agency with a government contract to provide child welfare services, including foster parent recruitment and screening, for the City of Philadelphia) could use religious criteria to refuse to work with married, same-sex couples seeking to foster. 43 The Court held that because Philadelphia’s contracts allowed some exemptions to nondiscrimination requirements and so its fair practice ordinance that forbade sexual orientation discrimination was not “generally applicable” or “neutrally applied.”44 On a positive note, the Court rejected CSS’s request to grant agencies a broad religious exemption from nondiscrimination requirements like Philadelphia’s and to overturn the court’s decision in Employment Division v. Smith. 45
Federal Agency Action
From 2017 to early 2021, the Trump Administration took numerous steps to eliminate nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people, limit their participation in and equal access to government or government-funded programs, and to keep them statistically invisible. Most of these actions were blocked by courts, but some harmful policies remain in place with litigation pending. These developments specific to TNGD youth in government systems are summarized below.
1. Child Welfare
A. Statutory and Regulatory Law
In Safe Havens I, the authors collected various federal laws and regulations that provide protection applicable to all children, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (“LGBQ+”) and TNGD youth in care, and those that provide explicit protection from sexual orientation and gender identity-based discrimination. Summarized below is existing federal law and, where applicable, attempts by the Trump Administration to remove protections and subsequent steps by the Biden Administration to reverse some of those changes, promulgate new protective regulations, and provide additional policy guidance and resources.
Family First Prevention Services Act (“FFPSA”) was signed into law in 2018.46 States and tribes now have the option of using Title IV-E funding for time-limited, “evidence-based” prevention services for mental health, substance abuse, and in-home parent skill-based programs for children who are considered at risk of removal into the foster system, pregnant or parenting youth in the foster system, and the parents or kin caregivers of those children. These services and programs are focused on preventing the removal of children so they may safely remain at home and do not enter the foster system, supporting placement with kin if remaining at home is not possible, and reducing congregate placement for children who have been removed. However, funding is only available for services that have been approved by the Title IV-E Clearinghouse and, despite overrepresentation of LGBTQ+ youth and youth of color in the child welfare system, approved services do not need to address needs related to either SOGIE or race and cultural identity.47 Moreover, the Clearinghouse’s restrictive evidence requirements continue to create barriers for affirming services to receive funding.48 There are currently no approved services developed by and/or for LGBTQ+ youth. These limitations are cause for concern, as research shows that services that affirm youth SOGIE49 and racial identity are protective, while non-affirming services can cause harm.50 Forty-six states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have submitted Title IV-E prevention plans to the Children’s Bureau for approval.51 As of February 2024, 42 plans have been approved and four are awaiting approval.52
Titles IV-E and IV-B of the Social Security Act require agencies receiving federal child welfare dollars to place children in a safe, least restrictive setting close to the children’s homes and consistent with their best interest and needs; show that their foster family homes and childcare institutions meet national standards, including standards related to admission policies, safety, and protection of civil rights; and ensure case plans require that children receive safe and proper care.53
The Foster Care Independence Act (John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program) provides services and support to youth aging out of the foster system to make the transition to self-sufficiency.54 States and tribes must ensure beneficiaries receive equitable treatment, but does not explicitly include or reference sexual orientation or gender identity, and must use federal training funds to help foster and adoptive parents, group home workers, and case managers understand and address the issues confronting adolescents.55 The requirements of these federal statutes remain unchanged since 2017.
Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Grants (Final Rule). As we summarized in Safe Havens I, regulation 45 CFR Part 75, the 2016 HHS Grants Rule required state child welfare agencies that receive federal funds through the Administration for Children and Families (“ACF”) to ensure beneficiaries of and participants in grant-funded programs are not discriminated against based on sexual orientation and gender identity, among other protected classes.56 In 2019, the Trump Administration announced it would not enforce the HHS Grants Rule (the “Nonenforcement Decision”).57 In 2020, the Trump Administration proposed a new HHS Grants Rule (“2020 Grants Rule”) removing sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, sex, and other protected classes from the Rule and reverted to only those protections explicitly delineated in each program’s underlying statutory authority.58
In January 2021, Facing Foster Care in Alaska, Alaska’s foster youth and alumni member organization, along with three other plaintiffs, challenged the 2020 Grants Rule and requested a stay of the effective date.59 The Biden Administration agreed to a stay and, in 2022, HHS conceded error.60 The court vacated the 2020 Rule, which thanks to the stay never became law.61 The 2019 Nonenforcement Decision was challenged in Family Equality v. Beccera; 62 the federal district court found the plaintiffs lacked standing and dismissed the case.63 Inexplicably, the Biden Administration did not pull the Nonenforcement Decision.64 In May 2024, the Biden Administration finalized a new HHS Grants Rule that includes sexual orientation and gender identity nondiscrimination protections only where underlying federal statute included sex as a protected class.65 Sex does not appear as a protected class in federal child welfare statute so the reasoning in the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County that Title VII’s prohibition on sex discrimination includes discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation could not be applied in the child welfare system context.
Safe and Appropriate Foster Care Placements for Title IV-E and Title IV-B (Proposed Rule) and Designated Placement Requirements Under Titles I-E and I-B for LGBTQI+ Children (Final Rule). In September 2023, ACF issued a notice of proposed rulemaking for a new rule establishing protections for LGBTQI+ youth from harm in the context of placement while in the foster system.66 The rule summarized much of the existing research on the prevalence, experiences, and outcomes of LGBTQI+ youth in the child welfare system.67 The proposed rule did not cover all aspects of the child welfare system, including involvement with child welfare systems prior to removal or while at home under supervision and does not protect families, including prospective foster and adoptive families.68 In addition, the proposed rule only required a certain subset of providers to meet criteria to be consider safe and appropriate placements and set out a process for faith-based providers to be granted an exemption to the rule’s requirement.69 The rule also only provides notice to LGBTQI+ youth who are out or those known to the agency and places the burden on youth to notify the agency if they want a safe and appropriate placement.70 In April 2024, ACF finalized the rule under a new name, “Designated Placement Requirements Under Titles IV-E and IV-B for LGBTQI+ Children” and included some changes, but does not include comprehensive protection from discrimination for children and families. 71 The new rule clarified that Title IV-E/IV-B agencies must ensure that placements for all children, including LGBTQI+ children, must be “free from harassment, mistreatment, or abuse” and that LGBTQI+ must have a “Designated Placement” if they “request or would benefit” from one.72 While the rule does not require any provider to become or offer a “Designated Placement,” such placements must receive training and support the child’s access to services that “are supportive of their sexual orientation and gender identity or expression, including clinically appropriate mental and behavioral health supports.”73 The rule requires notice of the right to a “Designated Placement” for youth 14 and over, to youth who have disclosed their identity to the agency, and to youth or were removed from home “in whole or part” to familial conflict related to their sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression or sex characteristics.74 The agency must give substantial weight to an LGBTQI+ child’s concerns or requests regarding placement or service decisions or changes and before initiating placement changes, “consider whether additional services and training would allow the current provider to meet the conditions for a Designated Placement.”75
Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) (Final Rule) prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex and other protected classes by health programs and activities76 that receive federal financial assistance or are administered by an executive agency, including many child welfare programs, such as those involving therapeutic foster care or residential treatment. In 2020, the HHS Office for Civil Rights issued a final rule removing “gender identity” from the group of protections covered under the umbrella of “on the basis of sex” from a 2016 regulation implementing Section 1557 that prohibited discrimination on account of gender identity or sex stereotyping.77 Only three days later, the Supreme Court issued the Bostock78 decision. Considering the decision, a federal district court temporarily prevented the 2020 rule from removing “gender identity” from the definition of “on the basis of sex” from Section 1557 of the ACA.79 In April 2024, HHS issued a final rule for Section 1557 solidifying that protection against discrimination based on sex include sexual orientation and gender identity, consistent with the U.S. Supreme Court’s holding in Bostock and apply to all federally-funded health programs.80
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Final Rule) protects people from discrimination based on sex, among other protected classes, in education programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance.81 In response to the Bostock decision, the U.S. Department of Education (“DoEd”) issued guidance interpreting Title IX’s “prohibition ‘on discrimination on the basis of sex’ to encompass discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.”82 This guidance was enjoined by a federal district court.83 In April 2023, DoEd issued an updated Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) focused on transgender students’ rights to play on sports teams consistent with their gender identity.84 At the time of publication, DoEd has yet to issue final rule regarding sports participation, but in April 2024, issued a final rule clarifying that the rule protects students form discrimination based on sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, and gender identity, mirroring prior guidance and the language from the Bostock opinion.85
The Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) (Final and Proposed Rule). States are required by the Social Security Act to collect demographic information about the youth in their care.86 In 2016, the Obama Administration promulgated an updated Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (“AFCARS”) Rule, which set out the type of demographic information states must collect.87 The 2016 AFCARS Rule required states to include sexual orientation data elements for youth 14 and over and for foster and adoptive parents and guardians, and to capture whether conflict at the time of a child’s removal from home was related to the child’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.88 The Trump Administration delayed implementation of that rule and, in 2020 issued a new rule eliminating the sexual orientation data elements along with host of others, including numerous elements related to implementation of the Indian Child Welfare Act (“ICWA”).89 A group of tribes, tribal advocates, LGBTQ+ youth serving organizations, and a foster youth and alumni group sued HHS in California Tribal Families Coalition v. Beccera for violations of the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”).90 The federal district court found HHS did not violate the APA. 91 In the context of an appeal by plaintiffs, ACF stated its intent to engage in new rulemaking and in February 2024 ACF issued an NPRM restoring many of the ICWA-related data elements, including, among others, requirements to document how and when inquiries were made about whether the child is an Indian child, whether the court determined ICWA applies, whether placement preference under ICWA were followed, and whether active efforts were made to keep the children with their parents.92 A separate rule restoring sexual orientation elements and proposing the addition of gender identity is expected.93
B. Policy Memoranda and Information
On March 2, 2022, the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (“ACYF”) published Administration for Children and Families Information Memorandum 22-01 (“IM 22-01”) to state child welfare agencies regarding LGBTQI+ youth in the foster system.94 IM 22-01 provides additional guidance and information to states and builds off ACYF’s first LGBTQI+-focused 2011 memo, confirming that “[r]esearch and best child welfare practices clearly demonstrate that every child and youth in foster care should be affirmed and supported, including children and youth who are LGBTQI+ or who have a non-conforming gender identity or expression.”95 ACYF noted that transgender youth are often unable to access necessary medical care due in part to “intentionally erected systemic barriers,” such as polices that limit or ban access to gender-affirming care and attempt to characterize such care falsely.96 Importantly, the agency clarified that HHS and “all leading national medical and pediatric associations confirm that providing gender-affirming medical care is in the best interest of children and youth who need it.”97 Title IV-B and IV-E agencies must comply with IV-B and IV-E plan as well as all applicable federal law, including considering and addressing the needs of children in their care, “placing them in safe, permanent placements that support the whole of each child and youth’s well-being” and addressing needs that a child may have because of their SOGIE.98 In addition, youth age 14 and older must be consulted about their case plans and receive services appropriate for older youth and young adults.99
In February 2023, ACYF’s Children’s Bureau issued a Program Instruction with specific guidance on how state child welfare systems could use federal funding from the John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood to meet the needs of LGBTQI+ youth.100 For example, Chafee funding can be used to “to facilitate a young person’s participation in a community-based support group for LGBTQI+ youth and . . . to purchase items related to supporting a youth’s expression of their gender identity and/or sexual orientation.”101 The Children’s Bureau also stated “agencies, facilities and caregivers should not condition or restrict access to support groups or provision of gender identify-affirming items as part of a reward and punishment system for LGBTQI+ youth/young adults. Removing or denying access to such activities and personal items as a form of punishment can negatively affect their mental health, safety, and well-being.”102
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (“SAMHSA”) released a 2023 report “Moving Beyond Change Efforts: Evidence and Action to Support and Affirm LGBTQI+ Youth” detailing “helpful and harmful interventions . . . in clinical, community, family, and school settings” and “evidence-informed policy options that could improve the overall health and well-being of LGBTQI+ youth.”103 The report also summarizes professional consensus that “attempts to change an individual’s sexual orientation and gender identity . . . are harmful and should not be provided[,]” echoing similar reminder from the Children’s Bureau to child welfare agencies and providers in its 2023 publication, “Protecting the Rights and Providing Appropriate Services to LGBTQIA2S+ Youth in Out-of-Home Care.”104
2. Juvenile Legal
A. Statutory and Regulatory Law
As set out in Safe Havens I, two critical statutes include “sex” as a protected class in their nondiscrimination provisions. The Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (“Safe Streets Act”) was designed to assist state and local governments in reducing crime and improving law enforcement and criminal legal systems.105 The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (“JJDPA”) is the principal federal statute governing functioning of state juvenile legal systems.106 In March 2022, in the wake of the Bostock decision, the Department of Justice, Office of Civil Rights, issued guidance that in the context of the Safe Streets Act and the JJDPA, sex as a protected class includes protection from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.107 This prohibition protects LGBTQ+ youth from discrimination in connection with any programs or activity funded in whole or in part through these federal programs, including grants to state juvenile agencies, mentoring programs, prevention initiatives, and a host of other grants administered by the Office of Justice Programs (“OJP”) and Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (“OJJDP”).
B. Policy
In addition to the Bostock guidance, in June 2022, OJJDP released a Pride Month statement announcing it had “developed a new framework to guide its approach to [LGBTQI+ or Two Spirit youth], including a policy statement with recommendations for their treatment within the juvenile justice system.”108 OJJDP “has also committed to incorporating the voices of LGBTQI+ and Two-Spirit youth in presentations and webinars; building relationships with advocates and organizations that serve youth; expanding research on issues such as sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression; and sharing best practices, such as providing gender-affirming care in youth facilities and community-based programs.”109 Administrator Liz Ryan stated, “OJJDP programs are tackling urgent issues encountered by youth in the juvenile justice system, schools, and communities nationwide … We envision a country where all youth feel safe to be themselves.”110
a. Training and Technical Assistance
In 2023, OJJDP awarded a one-million-dollar grant to the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (“NCJFCJ”) for a “36-month collaborative project to provide training and technical assistance [] to juvenile justice system practitioners to support the identification, promotion, and implementation of system reforms that address the needs of justice-involved LGBTQ+ and Two-Spirit youth.”111 NCJFCJ will collaborate with the University of Connecticut National SOGIE Center, the Coalition for Juvenile Justice, the Gault Center, and the Tribal Law and Policy Institute.112 The project will promote policies, programs, services, and practices that serve the needs of LGBTQ+ and Two-Spirit youth so that the juvenile legal and child welfare systems that affect them do so in ways that produce equitable outcomes, promote positive youth development, empower youth to have productive lives, and create safer and inclusive communities.113 The Pride Center is accepting requests for training and technical assistance, including, for example SOGIE-inclusive nondiscrimination policy and LGBTQ+-specific practice guidance.114
In 2019, the Prison Rape Elimination Act (“PREA”) Resource Center published a first-of-its kind model policy outlining how detention facilities and other treatment facilities subject to PREA should support and affirming transgender and gender nonconforming youth.115 The model policy was informed by transgender youth with lived experience in the juvenile legal system as well as juvenile defenders, LGBTQ+ civil rights lawyers, detention facility administrators, and probation officers.116 The guidance accompanying the model policy is designed to assist policymakers with creating policy that augments the legal requirements of PREA to ensure transgender and gender nonconforming youth are affirmed and supported.117
3. Systems Serving Runaway and Youth Experiencing Homelessness
A. Statutory and Regulatory Law
The Runaway and Homeless Youth Act authorizes community-based projects to provide temporary shelter and care to runaway or otherwise homeless youth in need of temporary shelter, counseling, and aftercare services.118 The Act requires that services be provided using a “positive youth development approach” and should ensure youth have a sense of “safety and structure[,] belonging and membership[,] self-worth and social contribution[,] independence and control over their life[, as well as] closeness in interpersonal relationships.119 The Runaway and Homeless Youth Rule,120 which explicitly prohibits discrimination on account of sexual orientation and gender identity by runaway and homeless youth programs receiving federal funds, remains in effect.121
Equal Access to Housing in the Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) Programs Regardless of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity. The HUD Equal Access Rule ensures that its core programs, including runaway and homeless youth shelters, are open to all eligible individuals and families regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status.122 The rule prohibits discrimination on account of sexual orientation or gender identity in all programs receiving federal assistance through HUD, including all providers who operate shelters for runaway and homeless youth across the country.123 Subsequent to the Equal Access Rule, HUD issued the Equal Access in Accordance with an Individual’s Gender Identity in Community Planning and Development Programs Rule to clarify that gender identity should be affirmed in all programs, including housing.124 The Gender Identity Rule also applies to all programs receiving federal financial assistance from HUD.125
B. Information
Information and resources regarding affirming programs and services for LGBTQ+ youth experiencing homelessness may be found on ACF’s and HUD’s websites, including the Family and Youth Services Bureau’s Runaway and Homeless Youth Training and Technical Assistance Center’s “Supporting and Affirming LGBTQIA2S+ Youth and Young Adults: Tip Sheet”126 and HUD’s guide “Equal Access for Transgender People: Supporting Inclusive Housing and Shelters.127
Endnotes
- TNGD—transgender (or trans), nonbinary, gender diverse. Used throughout the report, except where cited research uses other terms such as TGNC (transgender, gender nonconforming). Since, cultural norms around gender still negatively impact youth who express themselves outside of those norms, the authors emphasize that every individual is unique and there is no one “correct” way to identify or express oneself.
- LGBTQ+ emphasizes that there are a variety of ways people identify or describe themselves in addition to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning. For example, youth from some indigenous communities may identify as Two Spirit. For more information about the concepts of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression (“SOGIE”) or terms youth may use to describe or identify themselves, please see https://cssp.org/resource/key-equity-terms-concepts/. Because people use labels in different ways, or reject labels altogether, the authors recommend that best practice is to honor the language individuals use to describe themselves. Uses of other acronyms in the text are used to reflect research particular to that instance in the text.
- The authors use “juvenile legal” to refer to the system where youth are charged with delinquencies and may face a range of interventions, requirements, and restrictions on their behavior and liberty including short and long-term incarceration or informal conduct conditions or formal probation requirements. Youth under 18 may be treated within juvenile systems or adult criminal systems depending on the jurisdiction and type and severity of delinquency or crime alleged. The authors do not use “juvenile justice” due to the system being profoundly unjust for youth for a variety or reason, including, the overrepresentation and disparately harmful treatment of youth of color, LGBTQ+ youth, and LGBTQ+ youth of color.
- Christina Wilson Remlin et al., Safe Havens: Closing the Gap Between Recommended Practice and Reality for Transgender and Gender-Expansive Youth in Out-of-Home Care, Children’s Rights, Lambda Legal, and Center for Social Policy, 7-11 (April 2017), https://legacy.lambdalegal.org/sites/default/files/publications/downloads/tgnc-policy-report_2017_final-web_05-02-17.pdf.
- Remlin et al., Safe Havens, 7, 9, 11.
- M.D. by Stukenberg v. Abbott, 907 F.3d 237 (5th Cir. 2018); B.K. by next friend Tinsley v. Snyder, 922 F.3d 957 (9th Cir. 2019).
- R.G. v. Koller, 415 F. Supp. 2d 1129 (D. Haw. 2006).
- Remlin et al., Safe Havens, 7-11.
- Remlin et al., Safe Havens, 11.
- Bostock v. Clayton Cnty., Georgia, 140 S.Ct. 1731 (2020).
- Bostock, 140 S.Ct. at 1741.
- Rosa v. Park W. Bank & Tr. Co., 214 F.3d 213, 215-16 (1st Cir. 2000).
- Hall v. BNSF Ry. Co., Case No. C13-2160 RSM, 2014 WL 4719007 (W.D. Wash. Sept. 22, 2014).
- Wetzel v. Glen St. Andrew Living Cmty., LLC, 901 F.3d 856 (7th Cir. 2018); Smith v. Avanti, 249 F. Supp. 3d 1194 (D. Colo. 2017).
- Whitaker by Whitaker v. Kenosha Unified Sch. Dist. No. 1 Bd. Of Educ., 858 F.3d 1034 (7th Cir. 2017); Videckis v. Pepperdine Univ., 150 F. Supp. 3d 1151 (C.D. Cal. 2015); Miles v. New York Univ., 979 F. Supp. 248, 250 n.4 (S.D.N.Y. 1997).
- Katie R. Eyer, Transgender Constitutional Law, 171 University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Rutgers Law School Research Paper 1405, 1408 (July 26, 2022), https://ssrn.com/abstract=4173202 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4173202.
- Eyer, Transgender Constitutional Law, 1415; See Whitaker, 858 F.3d at 1050-1054 (sex discrimination rationale); Karnoski v. Trump, 926 F.3d 1180, 1200-1201 (9th Cir. 2019) (transgender people as a class should receive heightened scrutiny); Grimm v. Gloucester Cnty. Sch. Bd., 972 F.3d 586, 610-613 (4th Cir. 2020), as amended (Aug. 28, 2020), cert denied 141 S. Ct. 2878 (2021) (transgender people should be deemed a quasi-suspect class, and discrimination against them is sex discrimination); Adams v. Sch. Bd. of St. Johns Cnty., Fla., 3 F.4th 1299 (11th Cir. 2021), reh’g en banc granted, opinion vacated, 9 F.4th 1369 (11th Cir. 2021), and on reh’g en banc sub nom. Adams by & through Kasper v. Sch. Bd. of St. Johns Cnty., 57 F.4th 791 (11th Cir. 2022) (sex discrimination rationale); Smith v. City of Salem, Ohio, 378 F.3d 566 (6th Cir.2004); Glenn v. Brumby, 663 F.3d 1312, 1315-1321 (11th Cir. 2011).
- Grimm, 972 F.3d at 616-617.
- Grimm, 972 F.3d at 618.
- Grimm, 972 F.3d at 617–18.
- Adams by & through Kasper v. Sch. Bd. of St. Johns Cnty., 57 F.4th 791 (11th Cir. 2022).
- Memorandum Opinion, Doe v. Trump, 275 F.Supp.3d 167, No. 17-cv-01587-CKK (D.D.C October 30, 2017), ECF 61, https://glad-org-wpom.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/doe-v-trump-memorandum-opinion-10-30-17.pdf; Memorandum and Order Re: Motions, Stone v. Trump, 280 F.Supp.3d 747, No. 17-cv-02459-MJG (D. Md. Nov. 21, 2017), ECF 85, https://www.aclu.org/cases/stone-v-trump?document=stone-v-trump-memorandum-and-order; Order Granting in Part and Denying in Part Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss, Order Granting Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction, Karnoski v. Trump, No. 2:17-cv-01297-MJP (W.D. Wa. Dec. 11, 2017), ECF 103, https://legacy.lambdalegal.org/sites/default/files/legal-docs/downloads/karnoski_pi_order.pdf; Proceedings: Order (1) DENYING Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss Pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Dkt. No. 36); and (2) GRANTING Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction (Dkt. No. 15), Stockman v. Trump, No. 17-cv-01799-JGB-KK (C.D. Ca Dec. 22, 2017), ECF 79, https://glad-org-wpom.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/stockman-order-granting-pi-12-22.pdf.
- Opinion & Order, Eknes-Tucker v. Marshall, 603 F.Supp3d 1131, No. 22-cv-184, (M.D. Ala. May 13, 2022), ECF 107, https://glad-org-wpom.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/eknes-tucker-ruling-on-pi-5-13-22.pdf; Order, Brandt v. Rutledge, 47 F.4th 661, No. 21-2875 (8th Cir. August 25, 2022), https://www.aclu.org/cases/brandt-et-al-v-rutledge-et-al?document=Order-Upholding-District-Courts-Preliminary-Injunction-Ruling; Preliminary Injunction, Doe v. Ladapo, No. 23-cv-00114-RH-MAF, (N.D. Fla. June 6, 2023), ECF 90, https://glad-org-wpom.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/doe-v-ladapo-order-granting-pi.pdf; Order, Koe v. Noggle, No. 23-cv-2904-SEG (N.D. Ga. August 20, 2023), ECF 106, https://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/documents/koe-v-noggle-injunction-order.pdf; Memorandum Decision and Order, Poe v. Labrador, No. 1:23-CV-00269-BLW (D. Idaho, Dec. 26, 2023), ECF 78, https://www.aclu.org/cases/poe-v-labrador?document=Order-Denying-Defendant-Bennetts-Motion-to-Dismiss-Granting-in-Part-and-Denying-in-Part-State-Defendants-Motion-to-Dismiss-and-Granting-Plaintiffs-Motion-for-Preliminary-Injunction; Order Granting in Part Plaintiffs’ Motion for a Preliminary Injunction, K.C. v. Individual Members of Medical Licensing Board of Indiana, 677 F.Supp3d 802, No . 23-cv-00595-JPH-KMB (S.D. Ind. June 16, 2023), ECF 67, https://www.aclu.org/cases/k-c-v-medical-licensing-board-of-indiana?document=Order-Granting-in-Part-Plaintiffs-Motion-for-Preliminary-Injunction–; Memorandum Opinion and Order, Doe v. Thornbury, No. 23-cv-00230-DJH (W.D. Ky June 28, 2023), ECF 61, https://www.aclu-ky.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/pi_opinion.pdf; Memorandum Opinion, L.W. v. Skrmetti, No. 23-cv-00376 (M.D. Tenn. June 28, 2023), https://lambdalegal.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/LI_20230629_PI.pdf
- Doe v. Horne, No. CV-23-00185-TUC-JGZ (D. Ariz. 2023); Hecox v. Little, 79 F.4th 1009 (9th Cir. 2023); A.M. v. Indianapolis Public Schools, 617 F. Supp. 3d 950 (S.D. Ind. 2022), appeal dismissed sub nom. A.M. by E.M. v. Indianapolis Pub. Schools and Superintendent, No. 22-2332 (7th Cir. 2023); L.E. v. Lee, No. 3:21-cv-00835 (M.D. Tenn. 2021); B.P.J. v. W. Virginia State Bd. of Educ., No. 23-1078 (4th Cir. Feb. 2023).
- Zzyym v. Pompeo, 958 F.3d 1014, 1018, 1024, No. 18-1453, (10th Cir. 2020), https://legacy.lambdalegal.org/sites/default/files/legal-docs/downloads/zzyym_co_20200512_opinion.pdf.
- Preliminary Injunction Ruling, B.P.J. v. W. Virginia State Bd. of Educ., 550 F. Supp. 3d 347 (S.D.W. Va. 2021) (No. 2:21-cv-00316), https://www.lambdalegal.org/sites/default/files/legal-docs/downloads/067._memorandum_opinion_order_2021-07-21.pdf.
- B.P.J., 550 F. Supp. 3d at 350
- B.P.J. v. W. Virginia State Bd. of Educ., 2023 WL 111875 (S.D.W. Va. Jan. 5, 2023) (No. 2:21-CV-00316).
- B.P.J. v. W. Virginia State Bd. of Educ., 2023 WL 2803113 (4th Cir. Feb. 22, 2023) (No. 23-1078); W. Virginia., v. B.P.J., 143 S. Ct. 889 (2023).
- See note 24.
- Brandt v. Rutledge, 551 F. Supp. 3d 882, 891, 892 (E.D. Ark. 2021), (No. 4:21CV00450JM), aff’d sub nom. Brandt by & through Brandt v. Rutledge, 47 F.4th 661 (8th Cir. 2022).
- Eknes-Tucker v. Marshall, 603 F. Supp. 3d 1131 (M.D. Ala. 2022).
- Eknes-Tucker v. Marshall, 603 F. Supp. 3d at 1141-1142 ,1145.
- Opinion of the Court, Eknes-Tucker v. Governor of Alabama, 80 F.4th 1205, No. 22-11707 (11th Cir. August 21, 2023), ECF 125-1, https://media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/files/202211707.pdf.
- Order, K.C. v. Individual Members of Medical Licensing Board of Indiana, No. 23-2366, (7th Cir. Feb 27, 2024), ECF 124, https://wp.api.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/KC-decsiion.pdf; Opinion, L.W. v. Skrmetti, 83 F.4th 460, No. 23-5600 (6th Cir. Sept. 28, 2023), ECF 166-2, https://lambdalegal.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/CA6-Opinion.pdf.
- U.S. v. Skrmetti, 83 F.4th 460 (6th Cir. 2023), cert. granted, No. 23-477 (June 24, 2024), https://www.supremecourt.gov/qp/23-00477qp.pdf.
- In effect: Alabama, Arizona (surgery only), Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wyoming;Permanently Blocked: Arkansas, Florida;Temporarily Blocked: Montana, Ohio (legislative ban is blocked, the executive order that bans surgical care still remains in effect);Passed, not in effect until 01/01/2025: New Hampshire (surgery only);Lindsey Dawson & Jennifer Kates, Policy Tracker: Youth Access to Gender Affirming Care and State Policy Restrictions, KFF (Apr. 22, 2024), https://www.kff.org/other/dashboard/gender-affirming-care-policy-tracker/; See also Bans on Best Practice Medical Care for Transgender Youth, Movement Advancement Project (MAP), https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/healthcare/youth_medical_care_bans.
- Lambda Legal, Lambda Legal Client Dana Zzyym Receives First ‘X’ U.S. Passport (Oct. 27, 2021), https://legacy.lambdalegal.org/blog/co_20211027_dana-zzyym-receives-first-us-passport-with-x-gender-marker.
- Anthony J. Blinken, Secretary of State, Press Release: Proposing Changes to the Department’s Policies on Gender on U.S. Passports and Consular Reports of Birth Abroad, U.S. Dept. of State (June 30, 2021), https://www.state.gov/proposing-changes-to-the-departments-policies-on-gender-on-u-s-passports-and-consular-reports-of-birth-abroad/
- Zzyym v. Pompeo, 958 F.3d 1014, No. 18-1453, (10th Cir. 2020), https://legacy.lambdalegal.org/sites/default/files/legal-docs/downloads/zzyym_co_20200512_opinion.pdf.
- Zzyym, 958 F.3d at 1024.
- Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 593 U.S. 522 (2021).
- Fulton, 593 U.S. at 523.
- Fulton, 593 U.S. at 523-526.
- Fulton, 593 U.S. at 523.
- Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, Pub. L. No. 115-123, 132 Stat 64 (2018), https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1892.
- Title IV-E Prevention Program, Children’s Bureau, https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/title-iv-e-prevention-program.
- Esi Hutchful, Culture is Healing: Removing the Barriers Facing Providers of Culturally Responsive Services, Center for the Study of Social Policy (Jan. 2024), https://cssp.org/resource/culture-is-healing/.
- Brief of Amici Curiae Medical, Public Health, and Mental Health Organizations in Support of Plaintiff-Appellee, Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board, 972 F.3d 586 (4th Cir. 2020) (No.19-1952), https://www.aclu.org/cases/grimm-v-gloucester-county-school-board?document=grimm-v-gloucester-county-brief-medical-public-health-and-mental-health-organizations; Brief of Amici Curiae American Academy of Pediatrics and Additional National and State Medical and Mental Health Organizations in Support of Plaintiffs-Appellees and Affirmance, Brandt v. Rutledge, (8th Circ, 2023) (No. 23-2681) https://www.aclu.org/cases/brandt-et-al-v-rutledge-et-al?document=Amicus-Brief-of-American-Academy-of-Pediatrics-et-al-in-Support-of-Plaintiffs-Appellees; Medical Organization Statements, TLDEF, https://transhealthproject.org/resources/medical-organization-statements/; Farnan M. Clarke et al., Gender-Affirming Care Is Trauma-Informed Care, National Center for Child Traumatic Stress (2022), https://www.nctsn.org/sites/default/files/resources/fact-sheet/gender-affirming-care-is-trauma-informed-care.pdf; American Academy of Pediatrics et al., Major Health, Education, and Child Welfare Organizations Oppose Anti-LGBTQ State-Based Legislation (March 5, 2021), https://www.aap.org/en/news-room/news-releases/aap/2021/major-health-education-and-child-welfare-organizations-oppose-anti-lgbtq-state-based-legislation/; Medical Organization Statements, TLDF’s Trans Health Project, https://transhealthproject.org/resources/medical-organization-statements/; Susan D. Boulware et al, Biased Science: The Texas and Alabama Measures Criminalizing Medical Treatment for Transgender Children and Adolescents Rely on Inaccurate and Misleading Scientific Claims, Yale School of Medicine (April 28, 2022), https://medicine.yale.edu/lgbtqi/research/gender-affirming-care/report%20on%20the%20science%20of%20gender-affirming%20care%20final%20april%2028%202022_442952_55174_v1.pdf; AMA strengthens its policy on protecting access to gender-affirming care, Endocrine Society (June 12, 2023), https://www.endocrine.org/news-and-advocacy/news-room/2023/ama-gender-affirming-care
- Aprile D. Benner et al., Racial/ethnic discrimination and well-being during adolescence: A meta-analytic review, 73 American Psychologist 7, 855 (2018), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6172152/; Deborah Rivas-Drake et al., Ethnic and racial identity in adolescence: Implications for psychosocial, academic, and health outcomes, 85 Child Development 1, 40-57 (2014), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6673646/; Karol L. Kumpfer et al., Impact of family structure, functioning, culture, and family-based interventions on children’s health, Health promotion for children and adolescents, 57-81 (2016), https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2016-42813-004; Center for Native Child and Family Resilience, Center for Native Child and Family Resilience: Literature Review, Children’s Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Oct. 2018), https://cncfr.jbsinternational.com/sites/default/files/downloads/CNCFR_Lit_Review.pdf
- Status of Submitted Title IV-E Prevention Program Five-Year Plans, Children’s Bureau, https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/data/status-submitted-title-iv-e-prevention-program-five-year-plans
- Status of Submitted Title IV-E Prevention Program Five-Year Plans.
- 42 U.S.C. § 675(5)(a); 42 U.S.C. § 671(a)(10).
- Foster Care Independence Act of 1999, 42 U.S.C.A. § 677, Pub. L. No. 106-169, 113 Stat. 1182 (1999).
- Foster Care Independence Act of 1999, 42 U.S.C.A. § 677 (b)(3)(D).
- Health and Human Services Grants Regulation, 45 C.F.R. § 75.300, 81 Fed. Reg. 89393 (Dec. 12, 2016), www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/12/12/2016-29752/healthand-human-services-grants-regulation.
- Notice of Nonenforcement of Health and Human Services Grants Regulation, 45 C.F.R. § 75, 84 Fed. Reg. 63809 (Nov. 19, 2019), www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/11/19/2019-24384/notification-of-nonenforcement-of-health-and-human-services-grants-regulation.
- Health and Human Services Grants Regulation, 45 C.F.R. § 75.300, 86 Fed. Reg. 2257 (Jan. 12, 2021). https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/01/12/2021-00207/health-and-human-services-grants-regulation.
- Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief, Facing Foster Care in Alaska v. U.S. Dept. of Health & Hum. Servs., No. 21-cv-00308, (D.D.C. Feb. 2, 2021), https://lambdalegal.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/ffca_v_hhs.pdf; Facing Foster Care in Alaska v. U.S. Dept. of Health & Hum. Servs., Lambda Legal, https://lambdalegal.org/case/facing-foster-care-in-alaska-v-hhs/#:~:text=Plaintiffs%20Facing%20Foster%20Care%20in,a%20regulation%20finalized%20in%202016%2C
- Order, Facing Foster Care in Alaska v. U.S. Dept. of Health & Hum. Servs., No. 21-cv-00308, (D.D.C. Feb. 9, 2022), https://lambdalegal.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/18_-_stay_order.pdf.
- Order, Facing Foster Care in Alaska v. U.S. Dept. of Health & Hum. Servs., No. 21-cv-00308, (D.D.C. June 29, 2022), https://lambdalegal.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/facing_foster_care_in_alaska_v_hhs_-_44_-_vacatur_order.pdf.
- Corrected Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief, Family Equality v. Azar, No. 20-cv-02403 (S.D.N.Y. April 1, 2020), https://lambdalegal.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/family_ny_20200319_complaint-corrected.pdf; Family Equality v. Becerra, Lambda Legal, https://lambdalegal.org/case/family-equality-v-azar/.
- Order and Opinion Granting Motion to Dismiss, Family Equality v. Becerra, No. 20-cv-02403 (S.D.N.Y. March 30, 2022).
- Notice of Nonenforcement of Health and Human Services Grants Regulation, 45 C.F.R. § 75, 84 Fed. Reg. 63809 (Nov. 19, 2019), https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/11/19/2019-24384/notification-of-nonenforcement-of-health-and-human-services-grants-regulation.
- Health and Human Services Grants Regulation, 45 C.F.R. § 75, 89 Fed. Reg. 36684 (May 3, 2024), https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/05/03/2024-08880/health-and-human-services-grants-regulation.
- ACYF-CB-IM-23-08 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on safe and appropriate foster care placement requirements under titles IV-E and IV-B for children who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, as well as children who are non-binary, or have non-conforming gender identity or expression (LGBTQI+), Administration for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau (Sept. 28, 2023), https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cb/ACYF-CB-IM-23-08.pdf.
- Safe and Appropriate Foster Care Placement Requirements for Titles IV-E and IV-B, 88 Fed. Reg. 66752 (proposed Sept. 28, 2023) (to be codified at 45 C.F.R. § 1355), https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/09/28/2023-21274/safe-and-appropriate-foster-care-placement-requirements-for-titles-iv-e-and-iv-b.
- Lambda Legal, Family Equality, et al., ACF-2023-0007-4397, Comment Letter Re: Safe and Appropriate Foster Care Placement Requirements for Titles IV–E and IV–B Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (RIN 0970–AD03), 2-3 (Nov. 27, 2013), https://www.regulations.gov/comment/ACF-2023-0007-4397.
- Lambda Legal, Family Equality, et al., ACF-2023-0007-4397, Comment Letter Re: Safe and Appropriate Foster Care Placement Requirements for Titles IV–E and IV–B Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (RIN 0970–AD03) 2-3; Center for the Study of Social Policy, ACF-2023-0007-2162, Comment Letter Re: Children’s Bureau (ACF/HHS) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (RIN-0970- AD03), 3, 9-10 (Nov. 20, 2023), https://www.regulations.gov/comment/ACF-2023-0007-2162.
- Lambda Legal, Family Equality, et al., ACF-2023-0007-4397, Comment Letter Re: Safe and Appropriate Foster Care Placement Requirements for Titles IV–E and IV–B Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (RIN 0970–AD03), 2; Center for the Study of Social Policy, ACF-2023-0007-2162, Comment Letter Re: Children’s Bureau (ACF/HHS) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (RIN-0970- AD03), 3.
- Designated Placement Requirements Under Titles IV-E and IV-B for LGBTQI+ Children, 45 C.F.R. § 1355, 89 Fed. Reg. 34818 (Apr. 30, 2024), https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/04/30/2024-08982/designated-placement-requirements-under-titles-iv-e-and-iv-b-for-lgbtqi-children#:~:text=This%20final%20rule%20specifies%20that,including%20related%20to%20a%20child’s.
- Designated Placement Requirements Under Titles IV-E and IV-B for LGBTQI+ Children, 45 C.F.R. § 1355.22(a), 1355.22(b)(1), https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2024-04-30/pdf/2024-08982.pdf.
- Designated Placement Requirements Under Titles IV-E and IV-B for LGBTQI+ Children, 45 C.F.R. § 1355.22(e).
- Designated Placement Requirements Under Titles IV-E and IV-B for LGBTQI+ Children, 45 C.F.R. § 1355.22(b)(2)(i)(A-B).
- Designated Placement Requirements Under Titles IV-E and IV-B for LGBTQI+ Children, 45 C.F.R. § 1355.22(b)(3).
- 42 U.S.C. § 18116 (2010); Section 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 45 C.F.R. § 92, 81 Fed. Reg. 31375 (August 18, 2020).
- Nondiscrimination in Health and Health Education Programs or Activities, Delegation of Authority, 85 Fed. Reg. 37160 (June 19, 2020), https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/06/19/2020-11758/nondiscrimination-in-health-and-health-education-programs-or-activities-delegation-of-authority.
- Bostock v. Clayton Cnty., Georgia, 140 S. Ct. 1731 (2020).
- Walker v. Azar, 480 F. Supp. 3d 417, 430 (E.D.N.Y. 2020).
- Nondiscrimination in Health Programs and Activities, 42 C.F.R. §§ 438, 440, 457, and 460, 45 C.F.R §§ 80, 84, 92, 147, 155, and 156, 89 Fed. Reg. 37522 (May 6, 2024), https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/05/06/2024-08711/nondiscrimination-in-health-programs-and-activities.
- Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. §§ 1681-1688.
- Enforcement of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 With Respect to Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in Light of Bostock v. Clayton County, 86 Fed. Reg. 32637 (June 22, 2021), https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/06/22/2021-13058/enforcement-of-title-ix-of-the-education-amendments-of-1972-with-respect-to-discrimination-based-on; Suzanne B. Goldberg, Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Letter to Educators on the Title IX’s 49th Anniversary, U.S. Department of Education (June 23, 2021), https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/correspondence/stakeholders/educator-202106-tix.pdf; U.S. Department of Justice & U.S. Department of Education, Confronting Anti-LGBTQI+ Harassment in Schools: A Resource for Students and Families (June 2021), https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/ocr-factsheet-tix-202106.pdf.
- Memorandum Opinion and Order, Tennessee v. U.S. Dept. of Educ., 615 F.Supp.3d 807, No. 21-cv-00308 (E.D. Tenn. July 15, 2022), https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/attorneygeneral/documents/pr/2022/pr22-23-order.pdf.
- Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, RIN 1870-AA19, Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance: Sex-Related Eligibility Criteria for Male and Female Athletic Teams, (April 6, 2023) (to be codified at 34 C.F.R. § 106), https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/t9-ath-nprm.pdf; see also Fact Sheet: U.S. Department of Education’s Proposed Change to its Title IX Regulations on Students’ Eligibility for Athletic Teams, U.S. Department of Education (April 6, 2023), https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/fact-sheet-us-department-educations-proposed-change-its-title-ix-regulations-students-eligibility-athletic-teams.
- Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance, 34 C.F.R. 106, 89 Fed. Reg. 33474 (April 29, 204), https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2024-04-29/pdf/2024-07915.pdf; See also U.S. Department of Education Releases Final Title IX Regulations, Providing Vital Protections Against Sex Discrimination, U.S. Department of Education (April 19, 2024), https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-department-education-releases-final-title-ix-regulations-providing-vital-protections-against-sex-discrimination.
- Social Security Act § 479, 42 U.S.C. 679 (1986).
- Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System, 45 C.F.R. § 1355, 81 Fed. Reg. 90524 (Dec.14, 2016), https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/12/14/2016-29366/adoption-and-foster-care-analysis-and-reporting-system.
- Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System, 45 C.F.R. §§ 1355.44(b)(2)(ii), 1355.44 (d)(6)(xxx), 1355.44(e)(19), 1355.44(e)(25), 81 Fed. Reg. 90524 (Dec. 14, 2016), https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2016-12-14/pdf/2016-29366.pdf.
- Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief at 36-38, California Tribal Families Coalition v. Azar, 20-cv-06018, 2020 WL 5074028 (N.D. Cal. August 27, 2020) https://lambdalegal.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/california_ca_20200827_complaint.pdf; Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System, 45 C.F.R. 1355, 85 Fed. Reg. 28,410 (May 12, 2020), https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/05/12/2020-09817/adoption-and-foster-care-analysis-and-reporting-system.
- California Tribal Families Coalition v. Becerra, 20-cv-06018 (N.D. Cal. 2020), https://lambdalegal.org/case/california-tribal-families-coalition-v-azar/.
- Order Denying Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgement; Granting Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgement; Denying as Moot Defendants’ Motion for Voluntary Remand, California Tribal Families Coalition v. Becerra, 20-cv-06018 (N.D. Cal. Nov. 4, 2022), ECF No. 117.
- ACYF-CB-IM-24-02 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS), Administration for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau (Feb. 2024), https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cb/IM-24-02.pdf; Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System, 89 Fed. Reg. 13652 (proposed April, 2024) (to be codified at 45 C.F.R. § 1355), https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/02/23/2024-03373/adoption-and-foster-care-analysis-and-reporting-system/.
- Status Report, California Tribal Families Coalition v. Becerra, No. 23-15010 (9th Cir. Jan. 17, 2024), ECF No. 18.
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, ACYF-CB-IM-22-01, Information Memorandum: Guidance for Title IV-B and IV-E Agencies When Serving LGBTQI+ Children and Youth (2022), https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cb/im2201.pdf
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, ACYF-CB-IM-22-01, 1.
- Id. at 2.
- Id.
- Id.
- Id.
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, ACYF-CB-PI-23-01 Program Instruction (Feb. 9, 2023), https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cb/pi2301.pdf
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, ACYF-CB-PI-23-01 Program Instruction, 30 -31.
- Id. at 31.
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Moving Beyond Change Efforts: Evidence and Action to Support and Affirm LGBTQI+ Youth, SAMHSA Publication No. PEP22 03-12-001, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, 7 (2023), https://store.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/pep22-03-12-001.pdf.
- SAMHSA, Moving Beyond Change Efforts, 7; Child Welfare Information Gateway, Protecting the Rights and Providing Appropriate Services to LGBTQIA2S+ Youth in out-of-Home Care, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau, 3 (Jan. 2023), https://www.childwelfare.gov/resources/protecting-rights-and-providing-appropriate-services-lgbtqia2s-youth-out-home-care/.
- Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, 34 U.S.C. § 10101 et seq., Pub. L. No. 90-351 (1968, effective 2017).
- Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA), 42 U.S.C. § 5601 et seq., Pub. L. No. 93-415 (1974); The Juvenile Justice Reform Act (JJRA) of 2018, 34 U.S.C. § 11101 et seq., Pub. L. No. 115-385 (2018), note in December 2018, JJRA was signed into law, reauthorizing and substantially amending the JJDPA while maintaining the OJJDP.
- Kristen Clarke, Assistant Attorney General, Memorandum: Interpretation of Bostock v. Clayton County regarding the nondiscrimination provisions of the Safe Streets Act, the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, the Victims of Crime Act, and the Violence Against Women Act, U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division (March 10, 2022), https://www.justice.gov/crt/page/file/1481776/download.
- Kristen Clarke, Assistant Attorney General, Memorandum: Interpretation of Bostock v. Clayton County regarding the nondiscrimination provisions of the Safe Streets Act, the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, the Victims of Crime Act, and the Violence Against Women Act, U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division (March 10, 2022), https://www.justice.gov/crt/page/file/1481776/download.
- OJJDP Expands Efforts To Protect Youth Who Identify as LGBTQI+ and Two Spirit, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
- Id.
- An Initiative to Develop a National Resource Center for Justice-Involved LGBTQ+ and Two-Spirit Youth, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (Sept. 27, 2022), https://ojjdp.ojp.gov/funding/awards/15pjdp-22-gk-03104-titl.
- An Initiative to Develop a National Resource Center for Justice-Involved LGBTQ+ and Two-Spirit Youth, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
- Id.
- Request Technical Assistance, Pride Justice Resource Center, https://pjrc.ncjfcj.org/contact/.
- Shannan Wilber & Jason Szanyi, Model Policy: Transgender, Gender Nonconforming, and Intersex Youth in Confinement Facilities, National PREA Resource Center, National Center for Lesbian Rights and Center for Children’s Law and Policy (2019), https://www.nclrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/TGNCI-Model-Policy.pdf.
- Wilber & Jason Szanyi, Model Policy: Transgender, Gender Nonconforming, and Intersex Youth in Confinement Facilities, 6.
- Id. at 5-6.
- The Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, 34 U.S.C. §§ 11201-11281 (1974, effective 2017).
- 34 U.S.C. § 11201 (1974, effective 2017).
- Runaway and Homeless Youth, 45 C.F.R. § 1351, 81 Fed. Reg. 93030 (Dec. 20, 2016), https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/12/20/2016-30241/runaway-and-homeless-youth.
- Runaway and Homeless Youth, 45 C.F.R. § 1351.22(a), 81 Fed. Reg. 93062 (Dec. 20, 2016), https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2016-12-20/pdf/2016-30241.pdf.
- Equal Access to Housing in HUD Programs Regardless of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity, 24 C.F.R. §§ 5, 200, 203, 236, 400, 570, 574, 882, 891, and 982, 77 Fed. Reg. 5661 (Feb. 3, 2012), https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2012/02/03/2012-2343/equal-access-to-housing-in-hud-programs-regardless-of-sexual-orientation-or-gender-identity.
- Equal Access to Housing in HUD Programs Regardless of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity, 24 C.F.R. §§ 5.105(a)(2), 200.300(a), 77 Fed. Reg. 5674, 5675 (Feb. 3, 2012), https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2012-02-03/pdf/2012-2343.pdf.
- Equal Access in Accordance with an Individual’s Gender Identity in Community Planning and Development Programs, 24 C.F.R. § 5, 81 Fed. Reg. 64763 (Sept. 21, 2016), https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/09/21/2016-22589/equal-access-in-accordance-with-an-individuals-gender-identity-in-community-planning-and-development.
- Equal Access in Accordance with an Individual’s Gender Identity in Community Planning and Development Programs, 24 C.F.R. § 5.106, 81 Fed. Reg. 64782, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2016-09-21/pdf/2016-22589.pdf.
- Family and Youth Services Bureau, Runaway and Homeless Youth Training and Technical Assistance Center, Supporting and Affirming LGBTQIA2S+ Youth and Young Adults: Tip Sheet (Feb. 2024), https://www.rhyttac.net/assets/docs/Resources/Supporting%20and%20Affirming%20LGBTQIA2S%2B%20Youth%20and%20Young%20Adults%20TIP%20SHEET.pdf.
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Equal Access for Transgender People: Supporting Inclusive Housing and Shelters (Apr. 2021), https://files.hudexchange.info/resources/documents/Equal-Access-for-Transgender-People-Supporting-Inclusive-Housing-and-Shelters.pdf.
As we noted in Safe Havens I, child welfare and juvenile legal1 systems and housing and services for youth experiencing homelessness are administered through a complicated array of state, county, and municipal government agencies and their contractors and grantees.2 In addition to federal law and policy protections that may apply to system administration, states have an array of system-specific statutes, regulations, and agency policy that guide care for youth, including, in most states, nondiscrimination requirements.3 Generally applicable laws, such as state and local public accommodation, human rights, and fair housing laws, may also offer protection from discrimination.4
For this report, the authors updated the child welfare and juvenile legal interactive maps contained in Safe Havens I that capture whether each state, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, or Guam includes gender identity, as well as sexual orientation and other protected classes, in its nondiscrimination statutes, regulations, or agency policies. In addition, we have updated the complete list of state regulations guiding care, including, for example, facility licensing and staff training requirements, provided to youth in child welfare and juvenile legal systems and to youth experiencing homelessness. The complete list can be found here and is linked with each state map entry. Implications of changes to state regulations for transgender, nonbinary, and gender diverse (“TNGD”)5 youth apart from nondiscrimination requirements are discussed fully in State-Based Licensing, Training and Other Requirements Section below.
In addition to information contained in the maps, in Safe Havens II we focus on notable changes in state law and policy since 2017 in child welfare, juvenile legal, and systems that serve homeless youth that support or harm TNGD youth. To do this, we separate states into three categories under each system based on: 1) Promising law, policy, and practice guidance, 2) Improvement in law, policy, and practice guidance; and 3) Lack of protections and/or actively harmful law and policy.
This categorization rests principally on whether gender identity is included as a protected class in nondiscrimination law or policy in each system, and whether the relevant state agency has LGBTQ+-6 specific practice guidance that provides more direction to practitioners on how to ensure TNGD youth are supported. In addition, we considered whether other mandates exist to place TNGD youth consistent with identity and provide medically necessary medical care, as well as whether there are measures that promote accountability, such as training requirements to support a youth’s whole identity, including race, culture, and spirituality. We also considered if a system-specific ombudsman exists.
State Law and Policy Findings Summary
The past five years have seen significant law and policy progress for TNGD youth in certain child welfare, juvenile legal, and homeless systems. There has been an increase in both explicit protection from discrimination based on gender identity, as well as related requirements, for example, that youth receive gender-affirming medical care when recommended by qualified medical professionals or can express their gender through clothing choices.
The marked progress within some systems stands in sharp contrast to the unprecedented rhetorical and legal assault on the lives and well-being of TNGD youth around the country and significant regression within other systems. These include attempts to legislate TNGD youth out of legal existence by narrowly and inaccurately defining the term sex,7 to deny them medically necessary care,8 to limit their ability to access facilities and participate in sports consistent with identity,9 to limit information they receive about identity and history,10 to investigate their parents for “child abuse,”11 and to inhibit their self-determination and freedom of expression.12 Many of these attempts, fortunately, have been blocked by courts.
Proponents of the recent wave of anti-LGBTQ+ laws and policies focused on youth have attempted to justify discrimination in the name of “protecting” children.13 This harmful and categorically incorrect mantra flies in the face of what every major medical, social science, and child welfare organization and association has found: family and community acceptance and support, access to facilities and activities consistent with identity, and affirming and supportive medical and mental health care are what truly promote the safety and well-being of LGBTQ+ youth.14 In addition to the psychological harm of laws that stigmatize youth by categorizing them as second-class citizens,15 laws banning care essential to the well-being of TNGD youth are diametrically opposed to state law and agency policy prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender identity,16 not to mention the core obligations of state governments to ensure the well-being and safety of youth placed in their care and custody.17
Fortunately, a significant number of states have, guided by professional standards set by the entities referenced above, improved their laws and policies specific to TNGD youth in out-of-home systems. The agencies and entities charged under state law with centering their policies and practices to promote youth’s well-being have, in significant measure, followed professionally recommended practices to prohibit discrimination. Political actors in other states, however, have not only ignored that guidance, but also proffered junk science and blatant misinformation to justify actively harmful laws and policies. In some states, like Texas and Florida, governors used their executive branch authority to promulgate harmful regulations, actively remove supportive resources, and weaponize youth-serving systems, like child welfare, for political advantage.18
While nearly all states provide publicly available information or mechanism to file a complaint or grievance, 17 states do not have a foster system or child welfare specific ombudsman19 office and 28 states do not have a youth specific ombudsman in juvenile legal systems.20 Because services for youth experiencing homelessness do not, at the state level, have a dedicated agency specific to those services in most states, it is challenging to categorize states in terms of options for youth to understand who to complain to or how if they are receiving temporary housing or services related to homelessness.
Improvement of Protection from Discrimination and Active Harm
Notwithstanding the ongoing assault on LGBTQ+ youth in some states, in the past five years, 23 states have added further nondiscrimination protections for youth in their child welfare systems.21 Eleven states added sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation to their nondiscrimination requirements in statutes or regulations22 and 15 added protections in agency policy.23 Fifteen states added nondiscrimination protection for youth on the basis of gender identity in their child welfare system in law or policy;24 there are now a total of 34 states with these protections.25 Seven states have added LGBTQ+ specific agency policy or practice guidance,26 making the total states with LGBTQ+ specific policies, 16.27 Sixteen states added supportive requirements around training, access to medical care, placement consistent with identity, or prevention efforts.28 In juvenile legal systems, 22 states added sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation to their nondiscrimination requirements.29 Nine of those states added nondiscrimination requirements in statute or regulation.30 Nineteen states added protected classes to agency policy.31 Nine states added LGBTQ+ specific policies;32 there are now a total of 20 states with LGBTQ+ specific policies.33 Sixteen states have added nondiscrimination protection for youth on the basis of gender identity in their juvenile legal systems;34 a total of 37 states now have these protections.35 Two states, Connecticut and Maine, added explicit nondiscrimination protection for youth experiencing homelessness.36
In a major victory since 2017, 18 states37 joined five others38 in banning so-called conversion therapy for minors.39
In 2023, in response to bans on gender-affirming care for minors, 14 states and D.C. passed “shield laws”40 creating safe havens for youth accessing medical necessary care and two others put in place such protection via executive order.41 26 states, Puerto Rico, and D.C. explicitly permit Medicaid coverage for transgender-related health care, including coverage for minors.42Ten states have clarified, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Bostock decision, that, in their employment, public accommodation, or fair housing statues, protection against discrimination on the basis of sex includes discrimination on the basis of gender identity.43 Some of these laws may also apply to youth in out-of-home systems, but, at the least, offer general protection in other aspects of daily life.44
Ongoing Lack of Protection from Discrimination and Active Harm
No Explicit Protection from Discrimination
Two states — Alabama and Alaska — still offer no express protection from discrimination based on gender identity, sex, or any other protected class in their child welfare statutes, regulations, or agency policy and in 2024 Utah has listed its LGBTQ+-specific policy as “being revised.”45 In the juvenile legal system, Oklahoma and Puerto Rico remain the only jurisdictions where no nondiscrimination provisions exist in law or agency policy. 16 states in the child welfare system still do not have gender identity as a protected class in nondiscrimination provisions46 and in the juvenile legal system, 13 states do not include gender identity in such requirements.47 Most states fail to provide explicit law or policy protection for youth experiencing homelessness as they access housing or services.48 This is largely due to (a) the small number of statutes and regulations specific to services and programming for youth experiencing homelessness and (b) such services and programming not falling squarely under the purview of a single agency as they do for youth in the child welfare and juvenile legal systems.
Actively Harmful
Health Care. Since 2017, 26 states have enacted statutes that prohibit medical providers from providing gender-affirming medical care to minors to varying degrees.49 Twelve of these states also prohibit Medicaid or other state funds to be used towards medical care or otherwise have language that may limit state action that assists youth obtain medically necessary care.50 As noted above, in addition to harmful legislation, governors have taken executive action to limit health care access for TNGD minors. In 2022, Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared, without legal authority, that gender-affirming medical care for minors is “child abuse.”51 He directed the state child welfare agency to investigate parents assisting their adolescent transgender children in accessing medical care. The governor and the agency effectively turned the child welfare system’s mission on its head, by actively investigating parents who were supporting the safety and well-being of their children by seeking life-saving care from qualified medical professionals.52 The Florida state public health agency published misinformation in the guise of a public health advisory that declared “social gender transition should not be a treatment option for children and adolescents [and] anyone under 18 should not be prescribed puberty blockers or hormone therapy.”53 54 In late 2022, the agency promulgated a rule prohibiting Medicaid coverage for treatment of gender dysphoria for minors and adults,55 effectively eliminating such care for thousands of Floridians.56 Following suit, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey filed an “emergency” regulation that effectively prohibits gender-affirming medical care for not only transgender minors but also some adults as well.57
Definitions of Sex. Eighteen states have joined Tennessee in defining the term sex in statute in a way that denies the existence of TNGD people.58 Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Utah’s laws define for the purposes of the entire code, while other statutes are limited to specific sections or chapters. For example, Iowa now, in the context of its gender affirming care and use of facilities in accordance with gender identity bans defines sex as “the biological indication of male and female, including sex chromosomes, naturally occurring sex hormones, gonads, and non-ambiguous internal and external genitalia present at birth without regard to an individual’s psychological, chosen, or subjective experience of gender”59 and “a person’s biological sex as female or male, as listed on a person’s official birth certificate issued at or near the time of the person’s birth.”60 As we noted in Safe Havens I, Illinois also defines sex as “the status of being male or female,” excluding nonbinary people.61
School Curriculum or Policy. Seven states have passed so-called “opt out” laws since 2017, allowing parents to decide whether they want their children to hear instruction about sexual orientation or gender identity in the classroom.62 In 2022, Florida passed the infamous “Don’t Say Gay” law prohibiting instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade;63 in 2023, the state expanded the law’s reach to twelfth grade and added restrictions on use of pronouns consistent with a student’s gender identity.64 Florida also requires that district school boards “adopt procedures for notifying a student’s parent if there is a change in the student’s services or monitoring related to the student’s mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being[.]”65
Other states followed suit enacting versions of the Florida law.66 In 2023, Iowa passed a similar sweeping law requiring parental notification if a child requests an accommodation related to gender identity, such as asking to use pronouns different than those in registration records, limiting instruction related to gender identity and sexual orientation, and banning certain books.67 In early 2024 a court enjoined portions of Iowa’s law regarding instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity and banning books but found plaintiffs did not have standing to challenge the parental notification portion of the law68 and the scope of portions of Florida’s law was limited by a settlement agreement.69 Thirteen states prohibit transgender students from accessing restrooms and other school facilities consistent with their identity.70
Sports. Prior to Idaho’s law in 2020,71 there were no states banning a transgender student’s participation in school sports. Since then, 25 states have joined Idaho and passed laws prohibiting trans youth from participating in school sports consistent with their identity, with most focused on excluding trans girls from participating in girl’s programs.72
Facility Exclusion — General. Thirteen states have laws in place that exclude TNGD people from accessing spaces and facilities consistent with their gender identity, including two states with bans that apply to publicly-owned bathrooms and facilities in all government-owned buildings and spaces (K-12 schools, colleges, and more), four states limited to K-12 schools and least some government buildings consistent with their identity, and seven states limited to K-12 schools only.73
Identity Documents. Eight states have added requirements making it more difficult for TNGD people to change identity documents to accurately reflect their identity.74 In 2023, Utah prohibited name change on a birth certificate for youth under 15 years and six months old and added additional requirements severely limiting when youth under 16 years of age could change the name listed on their birth certificate, including an appointment of a guardian ad litem to determine if a name change is in the “child’s best interests.”75
Foster and Adoptive Parent Recruitment and Licensure. Since 2017, nine states have taken steps to permit discrimination by child welfare agencies in the recruitment and approval process for prospective foster and adoptive parents.76 These efforts largely permit taxpayer-funded child welfare agencies performing a state government function to exclude prospective LGBTQ+ and minority religion foster and adoptive parents on the basis of religion. Arizona and Texas even allow foster parents and certain child welfare providers to engage in “religious education” of youth77 or “guide, instruct or raise a child in a manner consistent with the person’s religious belief” without losing their license.78 Seven states enacted similar discriminatory laws prior to 2017.79 In 2024, Tennessee passed a law that prohibits the state child welfare agency from denying licenses foster parents who refuse to affirm the identity of LGBTQ+ children and youth.80
System-Specific Findings
Below, the authors provide a system-by-system breakdown of states with promising law, policy, and practice guidance, those that made significant improvement since 2017, and those that still fail to provide any explicit, specific protection for TNGD youth and/or have passed harmful laws or policies.
1. Child Welfare
A. States with Promising Law, Policy, and Practice Guidance
There are a number of states that have taken, and continue to take, steps to promote the health and well-being of TGND youth. Specifically, five states include gender identity as a protected class in statute through a “foster care bill of rights” or in other nondiscrimination provisions: California, Colorado, Hawai’i, Nevada, and Rhode Island.81 Of those, Rhode Island has additional LGBTQ+-specific agency policy regarding how to support and affirm LGBTQ+ youth, including requiring use of chosen name and pronoun, acknowledging that healthcare of LBGTQ+ youth should follow the usual foster system standards for medical and behavioral health care, and requiring LGBTQ+-specific staff training requirements.82 While California has an “All County Information Notice” specific to LGBTQ+ youth, it does not include detailed practice guidance for caseworkers on how to support LGBTQ+ youth.83 California’s statute governing the rights of minors and older youth in the foster system does, however, include requirements that minors be provided access to gender-affirming medical care and placement consistent with gender identity.84 No other state contains these requirements in state statute.
Washington, D.C. is taking important steps to implement promising law, policy, and practice guidance. While there are no explicit protected classes in the District’s statute defining Rights of Youth in Foster Care, the statute does state that independent living programs, foster, and group homes must incorporate “existing rights for youth in foster care provided by local law, federal law, local regulations, agency administrative issuances, and other policy documents[.]”85 Given that there are both regulatory and policy-based nondiscrimination protections based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity in D.C, the combination provides solid legal protection for TNGD youth.86
Nevada has improved its statutory and regulatory requirements for training regarding working with LGBTQ+ youth, and has added affirming placement procedures, and nondiscrimination protections in regulation since 2017.87 Yet the state does not have LGBTQ+-specific policy or practice guidance.
New York protects TNGD youth from discrimination on the basis of gender identity in regulation and has LGBTQ+-specific policy, including a 2021 “LGBTQ+ Community Practice Model” designed by OCFS to “establish a consistent and affirming approach when engaging members of the [LGBTQ+ community] across OCFS programming, policy, and practice in in New York State.88
Of these, states all but Hawai’i have a system-specific ombudsman and publicly available information about grievance and complaint procedures.89
B. States with Improvements in Law, Policy, and Practice Guidance Since 2017
Four states, Delaware, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Vermont have added gender identity as a protected class in regulation,90 they join nine states with these protections, California, Florida, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Washington.91 While gender identity appears in these states’ regulations governing child welfare programs or services, protection from discrimination is not comprehensive and does cover all aspects of placement, programs, and services in all states. Two states, Colorado and Hawai’i have added gender identity as a protected class in statute.92 The total states that include gender identity as a protected class in statute or regulation is now 16.93 Thirty-one states now have nondiscrimination protections on the basis of gender identity in agency policy.94 Of the states with regulatory protections listed above, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington have additional LGBTQ+ specific agency policy or practice guidance,95 a critical component of ensuring that TNGD youth’s experience in out-of-home systems more closely aligns with legal protections, bringing the total of states with LGBTQ+-specific-policy or practice guidance to 17.96 In 2023 and 2024, Arizona added a SOGIE-inclusive nondiscrimination policy and LGBTQ+-specific practice guidance.97
1. Nondiscrimination Protections
Since the publication of Safe Havens I, seven of the states that previously had no nondiscrimination law or agency policy inclusive of sex (or gender), sexual orientation, or gender identity as protected classes, have since incorporated such provisions; Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, North Carolina, and Viriginia now include protection from discrimination on one or more of these bases.98
a. Improvements in Statute and Regulation99
b. Improvements in Agency Policy100
c. LGBTQ+-Specific Agency Policy or Practice Guidance101
C. Lack of protective law and policy and/or law and policy actively harmful to TNGD youth.
1. No system-specific nondiscrimination protection in law or policy
2. States without gender identity as protected class in law or policy and anti-LGBTQ+ law or executive action
Without Gender Identity Protection and Harmful General Law or Policy
Thirteen states do not include gender identity as a protected class in law or agency policy or have no nondiscrimination provision and have a general law that is harmful to TNGD youth.105
Without Gender Identity as Protected Class
Sixteen states do not include gender identity as a protected class in law or agency policy or have nondiscrimination provision.106
Harmful General Law or Policy
Twenty-eight states have statutes, regulations, or agency policy harmful to TNGD youth.107 While Arizona has gender identity as a protected class and LGBTQ+-specific practice guidance, it has a law in place prohibiting gender-affirming surgeries for minors.108
2. Juvenile Legal
A. States with Promising Law, Policy, and Practice Guidance
The District of Columbia, Louisiana, New York, and Rhode Island rank highest among state juvenile legal systems by providing not only SOGIE-inclusive nondiscrimination protections in statute or regulation,109 but also LGBTQ+-specific policy as well.110 California offers statutory and regulatory protections111 yet with its county-based system, there is no statewide LGBTQ+-specific policy or practice guidance. Nevada has SOGIE-inclusive nondiscrimination protections in its juvenile legal bill of rights,112 regulatory protections ensuring the gender identity of youth is respected in all aspects,113 and a training requirement,114 but does not have LGBTQ+-specific policy or practice guidance in place. New Mexico, Oregon, and Texas also provide SOGIE-inclusive regulatory protections.115 Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawai’i, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, and Washington116 rank high because they, like D.C., New York, Louisiana, and Rhode Island have LGBTQ+-specific statewide policies.
Of the states with SOGIE-inclusive nondiscrimination protections in statute or regulation Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Texas also have system-specific ombudsman and publicly available information about grievance and complaint processes.117
B. States with Improvements in Law, Policy, and Practice Guidance Since 2017
Two states, New Mexico and Oregon have added gender identity as a protected class in regulation,118 they join five states with these protections, California, Louisiana, New York, Rhode Island, and Texas.119 While gender identity appears in these states’ regulations governing their juvenile legal system or services, protection from discrimination is not comprehensive and does cover all aspects of placement, programs, and services in all states. One state, Nevada has added gender identity as a protected class in statute.120 The total states that include gender identity as a protected class in statute or regulation is now eight.121 Thirty-seven states now have nondiscrimination protections on the basis of gender identity in agency policy.122 Of the states with gender identity protections in regulation or statute, Louisiana, New York, and Rhode Island have additional LGBTQ+ specific agency policy or practice guidance,123 a critical component of ensuring that TNGD youth’s experience in out-of-home systems more closely aligns with legal protections, bringing the total number of states with LGBTQ+-specific-policy or practice guidance to 20.124
1. Nondiscrimination Protections
a. Statute and Regulation125
b. Agency Policy126
c. LGBTQ+-Specific Policy or Practice Guidance127
C. Lack of protective law and policy and/or law and policy actively harmful to TNGD youth.
1. No system-specific nondiscrimination protection in law or policy
2. States without gender identity as protected class in law or policy and anti-LGBTQ+ law or executive action
Without Gender Identity Protection and Harmful Law or Policy
Ten states do not include gender identity as a protected class in law or agency policy or have no nondiscrimination provision and have a general law that is harmful to TNGD youth.128
Without Gender Identity as Protected Class
Thirteen states and Puerto Rico do not include gender identity as a protected class in law or agency policy or have no nondiscrimination provision.129
Harmful Law or Policy
Twenty-eight states all have statutes, regulations, or agency policy in place harmful to TNGD youth.130
3. Youth Experiencing Homelessness
As noted in Safe Havens I, state-based statutes, regulations, and agency policy also offer protection against SOGIE-based discrimination for youth experiencing homelessness and living in government-funded shelter or housing or receiving services. These sources may be the same regulations that govern licensing of other types of congregate facilities, including facilities that serve youth in child welfare or juvenile justice systems. State Department of Human Services or Social Services nondiscrimination policy may also cover providers and programs.
While providers that receive federal funding through the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) or the Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) are prohibited from discriminating against TNGD youth based on gender identity and sexual orientation,131 not all providers serving youth at the state and local level receive federal funds. Most states do not provide explicit protection from discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation in state law. In addition, most states do have a single agency that oversees programs and services for youth experiencing homelessness. This means the agency-level policy protections for TNGD youth in child welfare and juvenile justice systems are often absent for youth experiencing homelessness.132
Since 2017, only two states, Connecticut and Maine, have joined California, New York and the District of Columbia and promulgated regulations prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender identity that explicitly protect youth experiencing homelessness.
Public Accommodation statutes or human rights statutes may apply and offer protections as may state fair housing laws.133 For example, New Mexico recently expanded its gender identity-inclusive Human Rights Act to cover services provided by government entities, including government contractors.134
C. STATE-BASED LICENSING, TRAINING AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS135
Research for Safe Havens I captured the variety of regulations state-administered out-of-home systems for youth rely on to guide everything from living arrangements to clothing to training for staff. These regulations may impact TNGD youth in positive or negative ways and encompass the following categories: 1) Definitions of sex (or gender); 2) Admissions procedures and facility licensing; 3) Sleeping arrangements, 4) Clothing, 5) Supervision, 6) Body searches, and 7) Training requirements. Requirements in some of these categories, such as training or a definition of sex (or gender), may also be found in statute or agency policy in some jurisdictions.
For the most part, state regulatory frameworks have continued to improve since 2017 with 17 states and D.C. promulgating additional requirements to support TNGD youth within and in addition to the categories listed above. Of note, however, are changes in the definition of sex (or gender) in regulation or, at times, in state statute in ways that either positively or negatively impact TNGD youth depending on the change. In addition, since 2017, some states have promulgated regulations (or elsewhere in law or policy) requiring efforts to prevent homelessness for LGBTQ+ youth, to implement programs to increase family acceptance and reduce rejecting behaviors, or to gather SOGI demographic information.
Supportive of TNGD Youth
New Mexico and Michigan joined California, New York, and Florida as states where sex (or gender) is defined by gender identity.136 These definitions are consistent with professional standards,137 affirm the identity of youth, and clear up misconceptions about whether youth can or cannot be placed consist with their identity in group home and foster home settings. Similarly, California promulgated a regulation stating that transgender youth may “share a bedroom consistent with their gender identity regardless of the gender or sex listed on the court or child welfare documents”138 and Rhode Island’s regulation states that a child three years of age or older may share a bedroom with a child of the opposite sex to “meet the needs of transgender or gender non-conforming youth.”139
In regulatory improvement in other areas, eight states added additional training requirements140 and eight states added requirements that TNGD youth receive gender-affirming health care, are placed consistent with their identity, or are allowed to express themselves through clothing or grooming.141
Since 2017, one state, New Mexico, has added specific prohibitions on conduct by foster parents that “attempt[s] to change or discourage” a youth’s sexual orientation or gender identity.142 North Dakota prohibits “verbal abuse or derogatory remarks about a child in foster care[’s] . . . gender identity.”143
A. Defining Sex (or Gender) Consistent with Self Determination and Professional Standards or Otherwise Eliminating Licensing Barriers144
B. Ensuring Freedom of Expression, Access to Necessary Care, and Affirmation of Identity145
C. Requiring SOGI or LGBTQ+-Specific Training 146
D. Data Collection 147
E. Requiring Access to Community Support and Services and Prevention148
Harmful to TNGD Youth
As noted above, a total of 19 states149 have passed laws since 2022 with harmful definitions of “sex,” including Tennessee that defines sex as determined by “anatomy and genetics existing at the time of birth,” and states that “‘evidence of a person’s biological sex,’ includes, […] a government-issued identification document that accurately reflects a person’s sex listed on the person’s original birth certificate.150
For example, in 2023, Utah included the following definition in two bills, SB 39 and SB 93 limiting the ability of transgender adults and minors to change their name on their birth certificate: “‘Biological sex at birth’ means an individual’s sex, as being male or female, according to distinct reproductive roles as manifested by sex and reproductive organ anatomy, chromosomal makeup, and endogenous hormone profiles.”151 Not only does this definition eliminate gender identity, but it also excludes nonbinary and intersex people. Fourteen states defined sex in the context of laws banning gender-affirming medical care for minors,152 but nine states have laws that apply to the entire code or statutory scheme.153 Those definitions may impact housing for transgender youth consistent with their identity where licensing regulations prohibit placement of children of a certain age with another child of the “opposite sex.”
In three states’ regulation permits evaluations by medical professionals to “determine[]” a child’s sex or gender as part of facility admissions process.154
Endnotes
- The authors use “juvenile legal” to refer to the system where youth are charged with delinquencies and may face a range of interventions, requirements, and restrictions on their behavior and liberty including short and long-term incarceration or informal conduct conditions or formal probation requirements. Youth under 18 may be treated within juvenile systems or adult criminal systems depending on the jurisdiction and type and severity of delinquency or crime alleged. The authors do not use “juvenile justice” due to the system being profoundly unjust for youth for a variety or reason, including, the overrepresentation and disparately harmful treatment of youth of color, LGBTQ+ youth, and LGBTQ+ youth of color.
- Christina Wilson Remlin et al., Safe Havens: Closing the Gap Between Recommended Practice and Reality for Transgender and Gender-Expansive Youth in Out-of-Home Care, Children’s Rights, Lambda Legal, and Center for Social Policy, State Law and Policy Section 12-26 (April 2017), https://legacy.lambdalegal.org/sites/default/files/publications/downloads/tgnc-policy-report_2017_final-web_05-02-17.pdf.
- Coccia, Alex. “50 State and District of Columbia Survey: Licensing regulations in Child Welfare, Juvenile Legal, and Systems Serving Runaway and Homeless Youth relating to sexual orientation, gender identity and expression.” Center for the Study of Social Policy, July 2024. https://lambdalegal.org/publication/us_20240801_state-licensing-regulations-in-out-of-home-systems/
- New Mexico expanded the scope of their Human Rights Act to apply to public accommodations nondiscrimination requirements on the basis of sex, gender, sexual orientation and gender identity to all government entities including public contractors see H.B. 207, 56th Leg., 1st Sess. (N.M. 2023), https://www.nmlegis.gov/Sessions/23%20Regular/final/HB0207.pdf; Public Accommodations Nondiscrimination Laws, Movement Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/non_discrimination_laws; Human Rights Campaign, Municipal Equality Index 2023, https://www.hrc.org/resources/municipal-equality-index; True Colors United & National Homelessness Law Center, The State Index on Youth Homelessness, https://www.youthstateindex.com/.
- TNGD—transgender
- LGBTQ+ emphasizes that there are a variety of ways people identify or describe themselves in addition to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning. For example, youth from some indigenous communities may identify as Two Spirit. For more information about the concepts of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression (“SOGIE”) or terms youth may use to describe or identify themselves, please see https://cssp.org/resource/key-equity-terms-concepts/. Because people use labels in different ways, or reject labels altogether, the authors recommend that best practice is to honor the language individuals use to describe themselves. Uses of other acronyms in the text are used to reflect research particular to that instance in the text.
- 37 bills have been passed in 19 states; Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Wyoming;
see (Definitions of sex applicable across state law) Regulating Gender to Allow Discrimination, Movement Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/nondiscrimination/defining_sex; H.B. 421, 67th Leg., 2nd Reg. Sess. (Idaho 2024) https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2024/legislation/H0421/; S.B. 180, 2023 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Kan. 2023), https://kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/SB180/; H.B. 608 2024 Leg., Reg. Sess. (La. 2023),https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/BillInfo.aspx?s=24RS&b=HB608; S.B. 2753, 2024 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Miss. 2024), https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2024/pdf/history/SB/SB2753.xml; S.B. 458, 68th Leg., Reg. Sess. (Mont. 2023), https://laws.leg.mt.gov/legprd/LAW0210W$BSIV.ActionQuery?P_BILL_NO1=458&P_BLTP_BILL_TYP_CD=SB&Z_ACTION=Find&P_SESS=20231; H.B. 1474, 68th Leg. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (N.D. 2023), https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/68-2023/regular/bill-index/bi1474.html; H.B. 1449, 2024 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Okla. 2024),
http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/cf_pdf/2023-24%20ENR/hB/HB1449%20ENR.PDF; S.B. 1440, 113th Gen. Assemb. (Tenn. 2023), https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/default.aspx?BillNumber=SB1440&ga=113; H.B. 257, 2024 Gen. Sess. (Utah 2024) https://le.utah.gov/~2024/bills/static/HB0257.html; see (Gender Affirming Care Bans w. definitions of sex) S.B. 184, 2022 Gen. Sess. (Ala. 2022), https://legiscan.com/AL/text/SB184/2022; S.B. 254, 2023 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Fla. 2023), https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2023/254; H.B. 71, 67th Leg., 1st Reg. Sess. (Idaho 2023), https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2023/legislation/H0071/; S.B. 480, 123rd Gen. Assemb., 1st Reg. Sess. (Ind. 2023), https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/123/2023/senate/bills/SB0480/SB0480.05.ENRH.pdf; S.F. 538, 90th Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Iowa 2023), https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ga=90&ba=SF538; S.B. 150, 2023 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Ky. 2023), https://legiscan.com/KY/text/SB150/2023; H.B. 648, 2023 Leg., Reg. Sess. (La. 2023), https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1331071; H.B. 1125, 2023 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Miss. 2023) https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2023/pdf/history/HB/HB1125.xml; S.B. 99, 68th Leg., Reg. Sess. (Mont. 2023) https://laws.leg.mt.gov/legprd/LAW0210W$BSIV.ActionQuery?P_BILL_NO1=99&P_BLTP_BILL_TYP_CD=SB&Z_ACTION=Find&P_SESS=20231; H.B. 1254, 68th Leg. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (N.D. 2023), https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/68-2023/regular/bill-index/bi1254.html; H.B. 68, 135th Gen. Assembl. (Ohio 2024), https://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/solarapi/v1/general_assembly_135/bills/hb68/EN/05/hb68_05_EN?format=pdf; H.B. 4624, 125th Sess. (S.C. 2024), https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess125_2023-2024/prever/4624_20240507.htm; H.B. 1080, 98th Leg., Reg. Sess. (S.D. 2023), https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/24100; H.B. 1, 113th Gen. Assemb. (Tenn. 2023), https://legiscan.com/TN/text/HB0001/2023; see (Exclusionary Facility, Harmful School and Identity Document Laws w. definitions of sex) H.B. 1156, 94th General Assembly, Reg. Sess. (Ark. 2023) https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Bills/FTPDocument?path=%2FBills%2F2023R%2FPublic%2FHB1156.pdf; HB. 1069, 2023 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Fla. 2023) https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2023/1069/ByVersion; H.B. 1521, 2023 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Fla. 2023), https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2023/1521/ByVersion; H.B. 538, 67th Leg., 2nd Reg. Sess. (Idaho 2024), https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2024/legislation/H0538/; S.B. 1110, 67th Leg., 1st Reg. Sess. (Idaho 2023), https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2023/legislation/S1100/; S.F. 482, 90th Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Iowa 2023), https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ga=90&ba=SF%20482&v=i; H.B. 1139, 68th Leg. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (N.D. 2023), https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/68-2023/regular/bill-index/bi1139.html; H.B. 1297, 68th Leg. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (N.D. 2023), https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/68-2023/regular/bill-index/bi1297.html; S.B. 100, 2023 Gen. Sess. (Utah 2023), https://le.utah.gov/~2023/bills/sbillenr/SB0100.pdf; see (Laws that prohibit transgender youth from playing sports in accordance w. their gender identity w. definitions of sex) H.F. 2416, 89th Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Iowa 2022), https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ga=89&ba=HF2416; H.B. 1249, 68th Leg. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (N.D. 2023), https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/68-2023/regular/documents/23-0569-05000.pdf; H.B. 1489, 68th Leg. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (N.D. 2023), https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/68-2023/regular/documents/23-0967-04000.pdf; H.B. 11, 2022 Gen. Assemb. (Utah 2022), https://le.utah.gov/~2022/bills/static/HB0011.html; S.F. 133, 67th Leg., Gen. Sess. (2023), https://www.wyoleg.gov/Legislation/2023/SF0133. - LGBTQ Policy Spotlight: Bans on Medical Care for Transgender People Infographics, Movement Advancement Project, https://www.mapresearch.org/2023-medical-care-bans-report-infographics; Bans on Best Practice Medical Care for Transgender Youth, Movement Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/healthcare/youth_medical_care_bans.
- Bans on Transgender People Using Public Bathrooms and Facilities According to their Gender Identity, Movement Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/nondiscrimination/bathroom_bans; Bans on Transgender Youth Participation in Sports, Map Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/youth/sports_participation_bans.
- LGBTQ Curricular Laws, Movement Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/curricular_laws.
- Governor Abbott Directs DFPS To Investigate Gender-Transitioning Procedures As Child Abuse, Office of the Texas Governor (Feb. 22, 2022), https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-directs-dfps-to-investigate-gender-transitioning-procedures-as-child-abuse.
- Identity Document Laws and Policies, Movement Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/identity_documents/name_change; Restrictions on Drag Performances, Movement Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/criminaljustice/drag_restrictions.
- Michael S. Broder, Anti-LGBTQ laws claiming to protect children actually harm them, University experts say, San Francisco State University (June 12, 2023), https://news.sfsu.edu/news/anti-lgbtq-laws-claiming-protect-children-actually-harm-them-university-experts-say; Marie-Amélie George, False claims of protecting children are fueling anti-trans legislation, The Washington Post (July 6, 2021), https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/07/06/false-claims-protecting-children-are-fueling-anti-trans-legislation/.
- Farnan M. Clarke et al., Gender-Affirming Care Is Trauma-Informed Care, National Center for Child Traumatic Stress (2022), https://www.nctsn.org/sites/default/files/resources/fact-sheet/gender-affirming-care-is-trauma-informed-care.pdf; American Academy of Pediatrics et al., Major Health, Education, and Child Welfare Organizations Oppose Anti-LGBTQ State-Based Legislation (March 5, 2021), https://www.aap.org/en/news-room/news-releases/aap/2021/major-health-education-and-child-welfare-organizations-oppose-anti-lgbtq-state-based-legislation/; Medical Organization Statements, TLDF’s Trans Health Project, https://transhealthproject.org/resources/medical-organization-statements/; Susan D. Boulware et al, Biased Science: The Texas and Alabama Measures Criminalizing Medical Treatment for Transgender Children and Adolescents Rely on Inaccurate and Misleading Scientific Claims, Yale School of Medicine (April 28, 2022), https://medicine.yale.edu/lgbtqi/research/gender-affirming-care/report%20on%20the%20science%20of%20gender-affirming%20care%20final%20april%2028%202022_442952_55174_v1.pdf; AMA strengthens its policy on protecting access to gender-affirming care, Endocrine Society (June 12, 2023), https://www.endocrine.org/news-and-advocacy/news-room/2023/ama-gender-affirming-care.
- Trevor Project, 2023 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ Young People, (Nearly 1 in 3 LGBTQ young people said their mental health was poor most of the time or always due to anti-LGBTQ policies and legislation,) https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2023/#intro; Lindsay Y. Dhanani & Rebecca R. Totton, Have You Heard the News? The Effects of Exposure to News About Recent Transgender Legislation on Transgender Youth and Young Adults, Sexuality Research and Social Policy (2023), https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13178-023-00810-6; Laura E. Kuper et al., Supporting and Advocating for Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth and Their Families Within the Sociopolitical Context of Widespread Discriminatory Legislation and Policies, 10 Clinical Practice in Pediatric Psychology 336, 339 (2022), https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fcpp0000456.
- For example, Tennessee law now bans gender affirming healthcare for transgender minors, but Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (“DCS”) policy states they are “committed to providing all youth and families served a safe, healthy, inclusive, and affirming environment” and that, “ALL DCS employees and persons are prohibited from discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, creed, color, age, sex, national origin, religion, mental or physical disability, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, and alien/citizenship status. DCS shall provide services to all children/youth to ensure safety and well-being, to promote dignity and respect for all children/youth and families inclusive of their gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation, and to protect their civil rights consistent with State and Federal laws including youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex.” See H.B. 1, 113th Gen. Assembl., Reg. Sess. (Tennessee 2023); State of Tennessee Department of Children’s Services, Administrative Policies and Procedures: 20.20 Guidelines for Managing Children/Youth in DCS Custody Related to Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression (Jan. 30, 2015), https://files.dcs.tn.gov/policies/chap20/20.20.pdf.
- Adoption and Safe Families Act, 111 Stat. 2115, Pub. L. No. 105-89 (1997), https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-105publ89/pdf/PLAW-105publ89.pdf; Dep’t of Health and Hum. Servs. – Children’s Bureau, Integrating Safety, Permanency and Well-Being Series, 1 (Feb. 2014), https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cb/wp_overview.pdf.
- Letter from Greg Abbott, Governor of Texas, to Jaime Masters, Commissioner of Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (Feb. 22, 2022), https://gov.texas.gov/uploads/files/press/O-MastersJaime202202221358.pdf; Sara Tiano, LGBTQ Foster Youth in Texas Suffer Years of Political Attacks and Scaled Back Protections, The Imprint (Dec. 21, 2021), https://imprintnews.org/foster-care/lgbtq-foster-youth-in-texas-suffer-political-attacks/61451; Fla. Admin. Code r. 59G-1.050(7) (2022).
- Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Hawai’i, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Vermont, Wisconsin, Wyoming.
- Alabama, Alaska, California, Hawai’i, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.
- Arizona (Policy), Colorado (Statute), Delaware (Regulation, Policy), Georgia (Policy), Hawai’i (Statute), Kansas (Regulation, Policy), Kentucky (Regulation, Policy), Louisiana (Policy), Maine (Regulation), Mississippi (Policy), Missouri (Policy), Nebraska (Policy), Nevada (Regulation), New Mexico (Policy), North Carolina (Policy), North Dakota (Policy), Oklahoma (Regulation), Oregon (Regulation), South Carolina (Policy), Vermont (Regulation), Virginia (Regulation), Washington (Policy), West Virginia (Policy).
- Statute: Colorado, Hawai’i; Regulation: Delaware, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Vermont, Virginia.
- Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina, Washington, West Virginia.
- Arizona (Policy), Colorado (Statute), Delaware (Regulation and Policy), Georgia (Policy), Hawai’i (Statute), Mississippi (Policy), Missouri (Policy), New Mexico (Policy), Oklahoma (Regulation), Oregon (Regulation), South Carolina (Policy), Vermont (regulation), Washington (Policy), West Virginia (Policy).
- Arizona, California, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Florida, Hawai’i, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia.
- Arizona, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, Washington.
- Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington.
- California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Washington, D.C.
- Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.
- Statute: Nevada; Regulation: Arkansas, Maine, Missouri, New Mexico, Oregon, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Wyoming.
- Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin.
- Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Maine, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Washington.
- Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawai’i, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington.
- Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, West Virginia.
- Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawai’i, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia.
- Connecticut and Maine join California, New York and D.C.
- Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai’i, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Virginia, Washington, see Conversion “Therapy” Laws, Movement Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/conversion_therapy.
- California, Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, see Conversion “Therapy” Laws, Movement Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/conversion_therapy.
- Conversion “Therapy” Laws, Movement Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/conversion_therapy.
- California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and D.C., Transgender Healthcare “Shield” Laws, Movement Advancement Project, http://www.mapresearch.org/equality-maps/healthcare/trans_shield_laws.
- Arizona, New Jersey; Transgender Healthcare “Shield” Laws, Movement Advancement Project, http://www.mapresearch.org/equality-maps/healthcare/trans_shield_laws.
- Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Mayland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, see Medicaid Coverage of Transgender-Related Health Care, Movement Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/healthcare/medicaid.
- Employment: Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, see State Nondiscrimination Laws: Employment, Movement Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org/img/maps/citations-nondisc-employment.pdf; Public Accommodations: Arizona, Florida, Kansas, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania see State Nondiscrimination Laws: Public Accommodations, Movement Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org/img/maps/citations-nondisc-public-accom.pdf; Housing: Arizona, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, see State Nondiscrimination Laws: Housing, Movement Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org/img/maps/citations-nondisc-housing.pdf.
- Nondiscrimination Laws: Employment, Movement Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org/img/maps/citations-nondisc-employment.pdf; Nondiscrimination Laws: Public Accommodations, Movement Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org/img/maps/citations-nondisc-public-accom.pdf; Nondiscrimination Laws: Housing, Movement Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/non_discrimination_laws.
- Utah Department of Health and Human Services, 300.5 Safety For Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, And Questioning (LGBTQ) Youth (May 2024), https://public.powerdms.com/UTAHDHHS/documents/274994.
- Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming: note that North Carolina and Virginia’s LGBTQ+ specific policies have no explicit nondiscrimination protections based on gender identity for youth in the child welfare system.
- Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.
- Only California, Connecticut, Maine, New York, and the District of Columbia have protections against discrimination on the basis of gender identity for youth served by runaway and homeless youth programs and shelters.
- Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming, see Bans on Best Practice Medical Care for Transgender Youth, Movement Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/healthcare/youth_medical_care_bans.
- Medicaid exclusion limited to youth: Arkansas, Mississippi; Medicaid excludes coverage for all ages: Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas; Medicaid Coverage of Transgender-Related Health Care, Movement Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/healthcare/medicaid.
- Letter from Greg Abbott, Governor of Texas, to Jaime Masters, Commissioner of Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (Feb. 22, 2022), https://gov.texas.gov/uploads/files/press/O-MastersJaime202202221358.pdf.
- PFLAG, Inc. v. Abbott, D-1-GN-22-002569 (Tex. Dist. 2022), https://lambdalegal.org/case/pflag-v-abbott/; Doe v. Abbott, D-1-GN-22-000977 (Tex. Dist. 2022), https://lambdalegal.org/case/doe-v-abbott/#:~:text=The%20lawsuit%20names%20Texas%20Gov,Masters%20and%20DFPS%2C%20as%20defendants.
- Treatment of Gender Dysphoria for Children and Adolescents, Florida Department of Health (April 20, 2022), https://perma.cc/W33H-6P5Q.
- Florida Medicaid: Generally Accepted Professional Medical Standards Determination on the Treatment of Gender Dysphoria, Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, (June 2, 2022), https://perma.cc/SUB9-V7DW.
- Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, Fla. Admin. Code r. 59G-1.050 (2022), https://www.flrules.org/gateway/View_Notice.asp?id=26157328.
- Dekker v. Weida, No. 22-cv-00325 (N.D. Fla. 2022), https://lambdalegal.org/case/dekker-v-marstiller/.
- Emergency Rule, 15 C.S.R. 60-17.010, Experimental Interventions to Treat Gender Dysphoria (Apr. 13, 2023). https://ago.mo.gov/docs/default-source/press-releases/2023-04-13—emergency-reg.pdf?sfvrsn=7f78d4fc_2; Southampton Community Healthcare v. Bailey, 23SL-CC01673, (Mo. Dist. 2023), https://lambdalegal.org/case/southampton-community-healthcare-v-bailey/.
- Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Wyoming; Of these states, nine states’ definition is applicable across state law (Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah.) The remaining states define sex within a specific chapter or section. Eight of these states do so in a gender affirming care ban for minors (Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota). Additionally, Arkansas’ exclusionary facility and harmful school law and Wyoming legislation banning transgender students playing sports in accordance with their gender identity define sex. see (Definitions of sex applicable to state law) H.B. 421, 67th Leg., 2nd Reg. Sess. (Idaho 2024) https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2024/legislation/H0421/; S.B. 180, 2023 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Kan. 2023), https://kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/SB180/; H.B. 608 2024 Leg., Reg. Sess. (La. 2023), https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/BillInfo.aspx?s=24RS&b=HB608; S.B. 2753, 2024 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Miss. 2024), https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2024/pdf/history/SB/SB2753.xml; S.B. 458, 68th Leg., Reg. Sess. (Mont. 2023), https://laws.leg.mt.gov/legprd/LAW0210W$BSIV.ActionQuery?P_BILL_NO1=458&P_BLTP_BILL_TYP_CD=SB&Z_ACTION=Find&P_SESS=20231; H.B. 1474, 68th Leg. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (N.D. 2023), https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/68-2023/regular/bill-index/bi1474.html; H.B. 1449, 2024 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Okla. 2024), http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/cf_pdf/2023-24%20ENR/hB/HB1449%20ENR.PDF; S.B. 1440, 113th Gen. Assemb. (Tenn. 2023), https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/default.aspx?BillNumber=SB1440&ga=113; H.B. 257, 2024 Gen. Sess. (Utah 2024) https://le.utah.gov/~2024/bills/static/HB0257.html; see (Gender Affirming Care Bans w. definitions of sex) S.B. 184, 2022 Gen. Sess. (Ala. 2022), https://legiscan.com/AL/text/SB184/2022; S.B. 254, 2023 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Fla. 2023), https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2023/254; H.B. 71, 67th Leg., 1st Reg. Sess. (Idaho 2023), https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2023/legislation/H0071/; S.B. 480, 123rd Gen. Assemb., 1st Reg. Sess. (Ind. 2023), https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/123/2023/senate/bills/SB0480/SB0480.05.ENRH.pdf; S.F. 538, 90th Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Iowa 2023), https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ga=90&ba=SF538; S.B. 150, 2023 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Ky. 2023), https://legiscan.com/KY/text/SB150/2023; H.B. 648, 2023 Leg., Reg. Sess. (La. 2023), https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1331071; H.B. 1125, 2023 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Miss. 2023) https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2023/pdf/history/HB/HB1125.xml; S.B. 99, 68th Leg., Reg. Sess. (Mont. 2023) https://laws.leg.mt.gov/legprd/LAW0210W$BSIV.ActionQuery?P_BILL_NO1=99&P_BLTP_BILL_TYP_CD=SB&Z_ACTION=Find&P_SESS=20231; H.B. 1254, 68th Leg. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (N.D. 2023), https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/68-2023/regular/bill-index/bi1254.html; H.B. 68, 135th Gen. Assembl. (Ohio 2024), https://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/solarapi/v1/general_assembly_135/bills/hb68/EN/05/hb68_05_EN?format=pdf; H.B. 4624, 125th Sess. (S.C. 2024), https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess125_2023-2024/prever/4624_20240507.htm; H.B. 1080, 98th Leg., Reg. Sess. (S.D. 2023), https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/24100; H.B. 1, 113th Gen. Assemb. (Tenn. 2023), https://legiscan.com/TN/text/HB0001/2023; see (Exclusionary Facility, Harmful School and Identity Documents Laws w. definitions of sex) H.B. 1156, 94th General Assembly, Reg. Sess. (Ark. 2023) https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Bills/FTPDocument?path=%2FBills%2F2023R%2FPublic%2FHB1156.pdf; HB. 1069, 2023 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Fla. 2023) https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2023/1069/ByVersion; H.B. 1521, 2023 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Fla. 2023), https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2023/1521/ByVersion; H.B. 538, 67th Leg., 2nd Reg. Sess. (Idaho 2024), https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2024/legislation/H0538/; S.B. 1110, 67th Leg., 1st Reg. Sess. (Idaho 2023), https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2023/legislation/S1100/; S.F. 482, 90th Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Iowa 2023), https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ga=90&ba=SF%20482&v=i; S.B. 639 (N.C. 2023), https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookup/2023/S639; H.B. 1139, 68th Leg. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (N.D. 2023), https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/68-2023/regular/bill-index/bi1139.html; H.B. 1297, 68th Leg. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (N.D. 2023), https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/68-2023/regular/bill-index/bi1297.html; S.B. 100, 2023 Gen. Sess. (Utah 2023), https://le.utah.gov/~2023/bills/sbillenr/SB0100.pdf; see (Laws that prohibit transgender youth from playing sports in accordance w. their gender identity w. definitions of sex) H.F. 2416, 89th Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Iowa 2022), https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ga=89&ba=HF2416; H.B. 1249, 68th Leg. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (N.D. 2023), https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/68-2023/regular/documents/23-0569-05000.pdf; H.B. 1489, 68th Leg. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (N.D. 2023), https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/68-2023/regular/documents/23-0967-04000.pdf; H.B. 11, 2022 Gen. Assemb. (Utah 2022), https://le.utah.gov/~2022/bills/static/HB0011.html; S.F. 133, 67th Leg., Gen. Sess. (2023), https://www.wyoleg.gov/Legislation/2023/SF0133. Arkansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, West Virginia’s gender affirming care bans defines “biological sex.”S.B. 49, 102nd Gen. Assemb., 1st Reg. Sess. (Mo. 2023), https://senate.mo.gov/23info/pdf-bill/tat/SB49.pdf; L.B. 574, 108th Leg., 1st Sess. (Neb. 2023) https://nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/108/PDF/Final/LB574.pdf; H.B. 808, 2023 Leg., Reg. Sess. (N.C. 2023) https://www.ncleg.gov/Sessions/2023/Bills/House/PDF/H808v7.pdf; H.B. 2007, 2023 Leg.., Reg. Sess. (W.V. 2023), https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=hb2007%20sub%20enr.htm&yr=2023&sesstype=RS&i=2007; H.B. 1156, 94th General Assembly, Reg. Sess. (Ark. 2023) https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Bills/FTPDocument?path=%2FBills%2F2023R%2FPublic%2FHB1156.pdf; S.B. 270, 94th General Assembly, Reg. Sess. (Ark. 2023) https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Bills/FTPDocument?path=%2FBills%2F2023R%2FPublic%2FSB270.pdf; S.F. 482, 90th Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Iowa 2023), https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ga=90&ba=SF%20482&v=i; S.F. 538, 90th Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Iowa 2023), https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ga=90&ba=SF%20538; H.B. 576, 2023 Reg. Sess. (Miss. 2023), http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2023/pdf/HB/0500-0599/HB0576IN.pdf; S.B. 16, Gen. Sess. (Utah 2023), https://le.utah.gov/~2023/bills/sbillenr/SB0016.pdf; S.B. 93, 2023 Gen. Sess. (Utah 2023), https://le.utah.gov/~2023/bills/sbillenr/SB0093.pdf; S.B. 100, 2023 Gen. Sess. (Utah 2023), https://le.utah.gov/~2023/bills/sbillenr/SB0100.pdf.
- S.F. 538, 90th Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Iowa 2023), https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ga=90&ba=SF%20482&v=i.
- S.F. 482, 90th Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Iowa 2023), https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ga=90&ba=SF%20482&v=i;
- Remlin et al., Safe Havens: Closing the Gap Between Recommended Practice and Reality for Transgender and Gender-Expansive Youth in Out-of-Home Care, 20; 775 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/1-103(O).
- Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Montana, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Wyoming see LGBTQ Youth: LGBTQ Curricular Laws, Movement Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org/img/maps/citations-curricular-laws.pdf.
- H.B. 1557, 2022 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Fla. 2022), https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2022/1557.
- H.B. 1069, 2023 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Fla. 2023), https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2023/1069.
- Fla. Stat. § 1001.42(8)(c); H.B. 1557, 2022 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Fla. 2022), https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2022/1557.
- Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, see LGBTQ Youth: LGBTQ Curricular Laws, Movement Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org/img/maps/citations-curricular-laws.pdf.
- S.F. 496, 90th Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Iowa 2023), https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ga=90&ba=SF496.
- Order Granting in Part and Denying in Part Motion for Preliminary Injunction, Iowa Safe Schools v. Reynolds, No. 23-cv-00474 (S.D. Iowa Dec. 29,2023), ECF 65, https://lambdalegal.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Order-Granting-in-Part-and-Denying-in-Part-Motion-for-Preliminary-Injunction.pdf.
- Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP, KHF and the National Center for Lesbian Rights Reach Historic Settlement Agreement Resolving Facial Challenge to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” Law, (March 11, 2024), https://www.kaplanhecker.com/newsroom/khf-and-national-center-lesbian-rights-reach-historic-settlement-agreement-resolving; Settlement Agreement, Equality Florida v. Florida State Board of Education, No. 22-cv-134 (N.D. Fla. 2022), https://manage.kaplanhecker.com/sites/default/files/2024-03/Settlement%20Agreement.03.11.24.pdf; See also LGBTQ Youth: LGBTQ Curricular Laws, Movement Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org/img/maps/citations-curricular-laws.pdf.
- State bans transgender people from using bathrooms and facilities consistent with their gender identity in K-12 schools: Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee; State bans transgender people from using bathrooms and facilities consistent with their gender identity in K-12 schools and at least some government-owned buildings: Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota; State bans transgender people from using bathrooms and facilities consistent with their gender identity in all government-owned buildings and spaces, including K-12 schools, colleges, and more: Florida, Utah; Ban on Transgender People Using Public Bathrooms and Facilities According to their Gender Identity, Movement Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/youth/school_bathroom_bans.
- H.B. 500, 65th Leg., 2d Reg. Sess. (Idaho 2020), https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2020/legislation/h0500/.
- Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming, Bans on Transgender Youth Participation in Sports, Movement Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/youth/sports_participation_bans; in March 2024, a former college swimmer, along with more than a dozen college athletes, filed a lawsuit against the NCAA in March of 2024, accusing it of violating their Title IX rights by allowing transgender woman to compete at the national championships in 2022. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. This lawsuit is yet another effort to eviscerate Title IX protection for transgender students, and to erode the autonomy of sport governing bodies to set evidence-based eligibility criteria instead of implementing harmful categorical bans. Gaines v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, No. 24-cv-01109 (N.D. Ga. 2024). https://swimswam.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Complaint-re-2022-Championships-FINAL.pdf
- State bans transgender people from using bathrooms and facilities consistent with their gender identity in K-12 schools: Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee; State bans transgender people from using bathrooms and facilities consistent with their gender identity in K-12 schools and at least some government-owned buildings: Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota; State bans transgender people from using bathrooms and facilities consistent with their gender identity in all government-owned buildings and spaces, including K-12 schools, colleges, and more: Florida, Utah; Ban on Transgender People Using Public Bathrooms and Facilities According to their Gender Identity, Movement Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/youth/school_bathroom_bans.
- Driver’s License: Arkansas, Florida, Kansas, Montana; Tennessee;see State of Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, Proposed Emergency Rule – Gender Information Required to be Displayed on an Arkansas Driver’s License or State-Issued Identification Card (Mar. 7, 2024), https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FAssembly%2FMeeting+Attachments%2F045%2F26367%2FExhibit+B.01+-+DFA+Proposed+Emergency+Rule+-+Gender+on+DL+and+ID+Cards.3.7.2024.pdf; Denise Royal & Carlos Suarez, Florida residents can no longer elect to change their gender on their driver’s license. Transgender people feel targeted by the policy, CNN (Feb. 2, 2024), https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/31/us/florida-transgender-drivers-license-reaj/index.html;Alejandra Caraballo, Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Memo, X (Jan. 29, 2024), https://x.com/Esqueer_/status/1752168280322609330/photo/1; Memorandum Decision and Order on Motion for Temporary Injunction, Kansas v. Harper, No. SN-2023-cv-422 (Shawnee Cnty. Dist. Ct., Kan. 2024), https://ag.ks.gov/docs/default-source/documents/doc_99394829.pdf; ACLU of Montana, New Class-Action Lawsuit Challenges Montana’s Refusal to Update Transgender People’s Birth Certificates & Driver’s Licenses, ACLU (Apr. 18, 2014), https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/new-class-action-lawsuit-challenges-montanas-refusal-to-update-transgender-peoples-birth-certificates-drivers-licenses; Christopher Wiggins, Tennesseans Can No Longer Update Gender Markers on Official Documents, Advocate (July 9, 2023), https://www.advocate.com/law/transgender-id-tennessee; Birth Certificate: Kansas, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Utah;see Kansas Department of Health and Environment, SB 180 Impacts on Birth Certificates (Sept. 15, 2023), https://www.kdhe.ks.gov/DocumentCenter/View/30719/SB-180-Impacts-on-Birth-Certificates?bidId=; Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, DPHHS Officials State 2022 Administrative Rule Governs Sex Marker Birth Certificate Change Requests (Feb. 20, 2024), https://dphhs.mt.gov/News/2024/February/DPHHSOfficialsState2022AdministrativeRuleGovernsSexMarkerBirthCertificateChangeRequests; H.B. 1297, 68th Leg. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (N.D. 2023), https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/68-2023/regular/documents/23-0408-06000.pdf; H.B. 1139, 68th Leg. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (N.D. 2023), https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/68-2023/regular/documents/23-0079-03000.pdf; Oklahoma Office of the Governor, Executive Order 2021-24 (Nov. 8, 2021), https://www.sos.ok.gov/documents/executive/2014.pdf; S.B. 1100, 2024 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Okla. 2022), http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/cf_pdf/2021-22%20ENR/SB/SB1100%20ENR.PDF; S.B. 93, 2023 Leg., Gen. Sess. (Utah 2023), https://le.utah.gov/~2023/bills/static/SB0093.html;Also see Identity Document Laws and Policy, Movement Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/identity_documents/.
- S.B. 93, 26-2-11, 2023 Gen. Sess. (Utah 2023), https://le.utah.gov/~2023/bills/sbillenr/SB0093.pdf.
- Alabama (only applies to state-licensed agencies that do not receive state funding), Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, South Carolina, Tennessee, Arizona, Utah (only applies to private agencies), Idaho;14 States Total (Chonologically): North Dakota, Virginia, Michigan (only applies to state-licensed agencies that do not receive state funding), Mississippi, South Dakota, Alabama (only applies to state-licensed agencies that do not receive state funding), Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, South Carolina, Tennessee, Arizona, Utah, Idaho; see Religious Exemption Laws, Movement Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/religious_exemption_laws/religious_exemption_services.
- Tex. Hum. Res. Code Ann. §§ 45.001-45.010, H.B. 3859, 85th Leg. (Tex. 2017), https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/85R/billtext/pdf/HB03859I.pdf.
- Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 8-921, S.B. 1399, 55th Leg., 2nd Reg. Sess. (2022), https://www.azleg.gov/legtext/55leg/2R/laws/0115.pdf.
- North Dakota, Virginia, Michigan (only applies to state-licensed agencies that do not receive state funding), Mississippi, South Dakota;14 States Total: North Dakota, Virginia, Michigan (only applies to state-licensed agencies that do not receive state funding), Mississippi, South Dakota, Alabama (only applies to state-licensed agencies that do not receive state funding), Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, South Carolina, Tennessee, Arizona, Utah, Idaho; see Religious Exemption Laws, Movement Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/religious_exemption_laws/religious_exemption_services.
- H.B. 2169, 113th Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Tenn 2024), https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default.aspx?BillNumber=HB2169.
- Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 16001.9 (2023); Colo. Rev. Stat. § 19-7-101 (2023); H.B. 24-1017, 74th Gen. Assemb., 2024 Reg. Sess. (CO 2024); Haw. Rev. Stat. § 587A-3.1 (2018); Nev. Rev. Stat. § 432.525 (2017); R.I. Gen. Laws 42-72-15 (2015).
- Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families, Department Operating Procedure 100.0095, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression (Nov. 10, 2016), https://dcyf.ri.gov/about-us/dcyf-policies-operating-procedures.
- State of California Health and Human Services Agency, Department of Social Services, All County Information Notice I-81-10, Serving Lesbian, Gay Bisexual, Transgender And Questioning (LGBTQ) Youth, LGBTQ Caregivers And LGBTQ Prospective Foster And Adoptive Parents (Oct. 20, 2010), https://www.cdss.ca.gov/lettersnotices/entres/getinfo/acin/2010/I-81_10.pdf.
- Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 16001.9(22)(A) (2023).
- D.C. Code § 4-1303.72 (2013).
- D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 29, § 6004 (2024), D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 29, § 6203 (2014); D.C. Child and Family Services Agency, Gender Identity and Expression (May 26, 2017), https://cfsa.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/cfsa/publication/attachments/GAP_Gender_Identity_and_Expression_FINAL.pdf; D.C. Child and Family Services Agency, Statement of Nondiscrimination (Oct. 14, 2011), https://cfsa.dc.gov/publication/statement-nondiscrimination; D.C. Child and Family Services Agency, Non-Discrimination Statement, https://cfsa.dc.gov/page/cfsa-non-discrimination.
- Nev. Rev. Stat. § 432.525 (2017); Nev. Rev. Stat. § 424.0445 (2017); Nev. Rev. Stat. § 432B.195 (2017); Nev. Rev. Stat. § 424.0365 (2017); Nev. Rev. Stat. § 432B.60845 (2023); Nev. Rev. Stat. § 424.235 (2017); Nev. Rev. Stat. § 432A.177 (2017); Nev. Rev. Stat. § 432B.172 (2022); Nev. Rev. Stat. § 432A.1759 (2022); Nev. Admin. Code § 424.450 (2017); Nev. Admin. Code § 424.500 (2021); Nev. Admin. Code § 424.270 (2021).
- N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 18, § 441.24 (2022); N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 18, § 423.4 (2013); New York State Office of Children and Family Services, 21-OCFS-INF-06, Informational Letter: Introduction of the LGBTQ+ Community Practice Model (July 23, 2021), https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/policies/external/ocfs_2021/INF/21-OCFS-INF-06.pdf; New York State Office of Children and Family Services, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Youth/clients; Promoting Dignity and Respect (2021), https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/policies/external/ocfs_2021/ADM/21-OCFS-ADM-05-Att-E-LGBTQ.pdf; New York State Office of Children and Family Services, PPM 3442.00, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning Youth (March 17, 2008), https://www.nycourts.gov/ip/judicialinstitute/transgender/220U.pdf; New York State Office of Children and Family Services, 09-OCFS-INF-06, Informational Letter: Promoting a Safe and Respectful Environment for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Children and Youth in Out-of-Home Placement (Dec. 30, 2009), https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/policies/external/ocfs_2009/infs/09-ocfs-inf-06%20promoting%20a%20safe%20and%20respectful%20environment%20for%20lesbian%20gay%20bisexual%20transgender%20and%20questioning%20%20children%20and%20youth%20%20in%20out-of-home%20placement.pdf
- California Ombudsman for Foster Care, http://www.fosteryouthhelp.ca.gov/; Child Protection Ombudsman of Colorado, http://www.coloradocpo.org/; Nevada Division of Child & Family, Systems Advocate, http://dcfs.nv.gov/Programs/SA/; New York State Office of Children and FamiliesOffice of the Ombudsman, https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/ombudsman/; Rhode Island Office of the Child Advocate, http://www.child-advocate.ri.gov/index.php.
- 14 Del. Admin. Code § 934-20.0 (2022), Okla. Admin. Code § 340:75-14-1 (2020); Or. Admin. R. 419-400-0060 (2022); 12-3 Vt. Code R. § 103:3.4 (2022).
- Cal. Code Regs. tit. 22, § 83072 (2024); Fla. Admin. Code Ann. r. 65C-46.009 (2021); 18 Miss. Code R. Pt. 6, A II XIV (2016); 18 Miss. Code R. Pt. 6, A II XII (2016); N.J. Admin. Code § 3A:11-1.4 (2017); N.M. Code R. § 8.26.5.15 (2011); N.M. Code R. § 8.26.4.17 (2020); N.M. Code R. § 8.10.8.10 (2021); N.M. Admin. Code R. § 8.26.6.16 (2014); N.M. Admin. Code R. § 8.26.2.12 (2021); N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 18, § 441.24 (2022); N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 18, § 423.4 (2013); Ohio Admin. Code 5101:2-5-35 (2021); Ohio Admin. Code 5101:2-7-09 (2019); 214 R.I. Code R. § 40-00-4.1 (2013), 214 R.I. Code R. § 10-00.1.14 (2018); Wash. Admin. Code § 110-145-1710 (2022); Wash. Admin. Code § 110-147-1595 (2022); Wash. Admin. Code § 110-148-1520 (2022).
- Colo. Rev. Stat. § 19-7-101 (2023); H.B. 24-1017, 74th Gen. Assemb., 2024 Reg. Sess. (CO 2024); Haw. Rev. Stat. § 587A-3.1 (2018).
- California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Hawai’i, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington.
- Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawai’i, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia.
- New Jersey Department of Children and Families, Policy Manual CP&P VI-B-1-500, LGBTQI Policy (Aug. 30, 2016), https://dcfpolicy.nj.gov/; New Jersey Department of Children and Families, Policy ManualCP&P I-A-1-100, CP&P Mission, Vision and Goals (March 25, 2011), https://dcfpolicy.nj.gov/; New Jersey Department of Children and Families, CP&P X-A-1-5.44, Youth Bill of Rights (Aug. 5, 2019), https://dcfpolicy.nj.gov/; New York State Office of Children and Family Services, 21-OCFS-INF-06, Informational Letter: Introduction of the LGBTQ+ Community Practice Model (July 23, 2021), https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/policies/external/ocfs_2021/INF/21-OCFS-INF-06.pdf; New York State Office of Children and Family Services, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Youth/clients; Promoting Dignity and Respect (2021), https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/policies/external/ocfs_2021/ADM/21-OCFS-ADM-05-Att-E-LGBTQ.pdf; New York State Office of Children and Family Services, PPM 3442.00, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning Youth (March 17, 2008), https://www.nycourts.gov/ip/judicialinstitute/transgender/220U.pdf; New York State Office of Children and Family Services, 09-OCFS-INF-06, Informational Letter: Promoting a Safe and Respectful Environment for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Children and Youth in Out-of-Home Placement (Dec. 30, 2009), https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/policies/external/ocfs_2009/infs/09-ocfs-inf-06%20promoting%20a%20safe%20and%20respectful%20environment%20for%20lesbian%20gay%20bisexual%20transgender%20and%20questioning%20%20children%20and%20youth%20%20in%20out-of-home%20placement.pdf; Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families, Department Operating Procedure 100.0095, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression (Nov. 10, 2016), https://dcyf.ri.gov/about-us/dcyf-policies-operating-procedures; Vermont Department for Children and Families, Family Services Policy Manual 76, Supporting and Affirming LGBTQ Children & Youth (Oct. 13, 2017), https://outside.vermont.gov/dept/DCF/Shared%20Documents/FSD/Policies/Policy76.pdf; Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families, Administrative Policy 6.04, Supporting LGBTQIA+ Individuals (Oct. 20, 2022), https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/Admin-6.04.pdf.
- Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington
- Arizona Department of Child Safety, Administrative Policy DCS 01-04, Non-Discrimination Policy (Dec. 2, 2021), https://extranet.azdcs.gov/DCSPolicy/Content/Adminstrative%20Policy/DCS%2001/DCS%2001-04%20Non-Discrimination%20Policy.pdf; Arizona Department of Child Safety, Office of Licensing and Regulation, DCS 15-39, LGBTQ+ Policy (Dec. 2, 2021), https://extranet.azdcs.gov/DCSPolicy/Content/Adminstrative%20Policy/DCS%2015/DCS%2015-39%20LGBTIA%20Policy.pdf; Arizona Department of Child Safety, Engagement with LGBTQ+ Youth (Feb. 10, 2021), https://extranet.azdcs.gov/DCSPolicy/Content/Practice%20Guides%20&%20Additional%20Info/Links/Guides/Practice%20Guidelines%20-%20LGTBQ.pdf; Arizona Department of Child Safety, Inclusive Language (Feb. 15, 2021), https://extranet.azdcs.gov/DCSPolicy/Content/Practice%20Guides%20&%20Additional%20Info/Links/Guides/Practice%20Guidelines%20-%20Inclusive%20Language.pdf;
- Arizona Department of Child Safety, Administrative Policy DCS 01-04, Non-Discrimination Policy (Dec. 2, 2021), https://extranet.azdcs.gov/DCSPolicy/Content/Adminstrative%20Policy/DCS%2001/DCS%2001-04%20Non-Discrimination%20Policy.pdf; Arizona Department of Child Safety, Office of Licensing and Regulation, DCS 15-39, LGBTQ+ Policy (Dec. 2, 2021), https://extranet.azdcs.gov/DCSPolicy/Content/Adminstrative%20Policy/DCS%2015/DCS%2015-39%20LGBTIA%20Policy.pdf; Georgia Division of Family and Children Services, Nondiscrimination and Disability, https://dfcs.georgia.gov/adasection-504-and-civil-rights; Georgia Division of Family and Children Services, Child Welfare Policy Manual, Administration, Policy # 1.4, Non-Discriminatory Child Welfare Practices (June 2023), https://odis.dhs.ga.gov/General; Kan. Admin. Regs. § 28-4-339; Kan. Admin. Reg. § 30-2-1; Kansas Department for Children and Families, Policy 0220, Discrimination Prohibited by Law (Feb. 2022), https://www.dcf.ks.gov/services/PPS/Documents/PPM_Forms/Policy_and_Procedure_Manual.pdf; Kansas Department for Children and Families, Policy 0220, Discrimination Prohibited by Law (Feb. 2022), https://www.dcf.ks.gov/services/PPS/Documents/PPM_Forms/Policy_and_Procedure_Manual.pdf; 920 Ky. Admin. Regs. 1:090 (2019); Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Civil Rights (Apr. 2019), https://www.chfs.ky.gov/agencies/dcbs/Documents/civilrightsbrochure.pdf; Kentucky Department of Community Based Services, Standards of Practice Online Manual, Chapter 1, 1.1 Ethical Practice (March 28, 2014), https://manuals-sp-chfs.ky.gov/chapter1/Pages/1-1.aspx; Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Notice of Nondiscrimination and Program Accessibility, https://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/Non-Discrimination-Notice.aspx; North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Department Initiatives, Notice Informing Individuals About Nondiscrimination and Accessibility Requirements, https://www.ncdhhs.gov/about/department-initiatives; 22 Va. Admin. Code § 40-211-80 (2019).
- Colo. Rev. Stat. § 19-7-101 (2023); H.B. 24-1017, 74th Gen. Assemb., 2024 Reg. Sess. (CO 2024); 14 Del. Admin. Code § 934-20.0 (2022); Haw. Rev. Stat. § 587A-3.1 (2018); Kan. Admin. Regs. § 28-4-339; Kan. Admin. Reg. § 30-2-1; 920 Ky. Admin. Regs. 1:090 (2019); 10-148 Me. Code R. Ch. 35, § 5 (2021); Nev. Admin. Code § 424.450 (2017); Okla. Admin. Code § 340:75-14-1 (2020); Or. Admin. R. 419-400-0060 (2022); 12-3 Vt. Code R. § 103:3.4 (2022); 22 Va. Admin. Code § 40-211-80 (2019).
- Arizona Department of Child Safety, Administrative Policy DCS 01-04, Non-Discrimination Policy (Dec. 2, 2021), https://extranet.azdcs.gov/DCSPolicy/Content/Adminstrative%20Policy/DCS%2001/DCS%2001-04%20Non-Discrimination%20Policy.pdf; Arizona Department of Child Safety, Office of Licensing and Regulation, DCS 15-39, LGBTQ+ Policy (Dec. 2, 2021), https://extranet.azdcs.gov/DCSPolicy/Content/Adminstrative%20Policy/DCS%2015/DCS%2015-39%20LGBTIA%20Policy.pdf; Delaware Children’s Department, Policy #217, Non-discrimination Policy (Apr. 1, 2019), https://kidsfiles.delaware.gov/policies/dscyf/dsc217-non-discrimination.pdf; Georgia Division of Family and Children Services, Nondiscrimination and Disability, https://dfcs.georgia.gov/adasection-504-and-civil-rights; Georgia Division of Family and Children Services, Child Welfare Policy Manual, Administration, Policy # 1.4, Non-Discriminatory Child Welfare Practices (June 2023), https://odis.dhs.ga.gov/General; Kansas Department for Children and Families, Policy 0220, Discrimination Prohibited by Law (Feb. 2022), https://www.dcf.ks.gov/services/PPS/Documents/PPM_Forms/Policy_and_Procedure_Manual.pdf; Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Civil Rights (Apr. 2019), https://www.chfs.ky.gov/agencies/dcbs/Documents/civilrightsbrochure.pdf; Kentucky Department of Community Based Services, Standards of Practice Online Manual, Chapter 1, 1.1 Ethical Practice (March 28, 2014), https://manuals-sp-chfs.ky.gov/chapter1/Pages/1-1.aspx; Louisiana Department of Children & Family Services, Department Policy, 2 Civil Rights, 2-2 Non-Discrimination in Service Provision (Nov. 16, 2018), https://public.powerdms.com/LADCFS/tree/documents/393313; State of Mississippi Department of Human Services, Division of Family and Children’s Services, Section D: Foster Care Policy, Appendix L: Notice of Rights & Responsibilities for Youth 14 and Over in Foster Care (Sept. 11, 2017), https://www.mdcps.ms.gov/sites/default/files/about-us/policies-%26-procedures/DFCS-Policy-Section-D-09-11-17.pdf; Missouri Department of Social Services, Nondiscrimination Policy Statement (Dec. 2023), https://dss.mo.gov/files/missouri-nondiscrimination-policy-statement.htm; Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Notice of Nondiscrimination and Program Accessibility, https://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/Non-Discrimination-Notice.aspx; State of New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department, Nondiscrimination Policy Statement (June 29, 2020), https://www.cyfd.nm.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/LGBTQIAEnglish.pdf; North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Department Initiatives, Notice Informing Individuals About Nondiscrimination and Accessibility Requirements, https://www.ncdhhs.gov/about/department-initiatives; South Carolina Department of Social Services Human Services, Policy and Procedure Manual, Chapter 7: Foster Family Licensing & Support, 7.10 Non-Discrimination, (July 21, 2016), https://dss.sc.gov/media/2079/foster_home_licensing_v16-01.pdf; Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families, Administrative Policy 6.04, Supporting LGBTQIA+ Individuals (Oct. 20, 2022), https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/Admin-6.04.pdf; West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, Bureau for Children and Families, Office of Child and Adult Services, Foster Care Policy, 9.1 Nondiscrimination (June 2021), https://dhhr.wv.gov/bcf/policy/Documents/Foster%20Care%20Policy%20June%202021%20(4).pdf; West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, Bureau for Children and Families, Youth Services Policy, 11.1 Nondiscrimination (Jan. 2021), https://dhhr.wv.gov/bcf/policy/Documents/Youth%20Services%20January%202021.pdf.
- Arizona Department of Child Safety, Office of Licensing and Regulation, DCS 15-39, LGBTQ+ Policy (Dec. 2, 2021), https://extranet.azdcs.gov/DCSPolicy/Content/Adminstrative%20Policy/DCS%2015/DCS%2015-39%20LGBTIA%20Policy.pdf; Arizona Department of Child Safety, Engagement with LGBTQ+ Youth (Feb. 10, 2021), https://extranet.azdcs.gov/DCSPolicy/Content/Practice%20Guides%20&%20Additional%20Info/Links/Guides/Practice%20Guidelines%20-%20LGTBQ.pdf; Arizona Department of Child Safety, Inclusive Language (Feb. 15, 2021), https://extranet.azdcs.gov/DCSPolicy/Content/Practice%20Guides%20&%20Additional%20Info/Links/Guides/Practice%20Guidelines%20-%20Inclusive%20Language.pdf; Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, MDHHS-Pub-1211, A Practice Guide for Working with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, Intersex, and Two Spirit Youth in Michigan’s Child Welfare System, https://www.michigan.gov/-/media/Project/Websites/mdhhs/Folder3/Folder87/Folder2/Folder187/Folder1/Folder287/MDHHS-Pub-1211.pdf?rev=cadf9a132fb7407bb1e39edbb7fe670b; Missouri Department of Social Services, Children’s Division,Best Practice Guidance for Supporting LGBTQ Youth In Foster Care For Child Welfare Staff (2020), https://dss.mo.gov/cd/older-youth-program/files/best-practice-guide-for-staff.pdf; North Carolina Division of Social Services, Child Welfare Practice Guidance for LGBTQ+ Youth, https://policies.ncdhhs.gov/divisional/social-services/child-welfare/policy-manuals/child-welfare-practice-guidance-for-lgbtq-youth.pdf; Vermont Department for Children and Families, Family Services Policy Manual, Policy 76 Supporting and Affirming LGBTQ Children & Youth (Oct. 13, 2017), https://outside.vermont.gov/dept/DCF/Shared%20Documents/FSD/Policies/Policy76.pdf; Virginia Department of Social Services, Child and Family Services Manual, 17.14 Working with Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender, Questioning (LGBTQ) youth in foster care (July 2021), https://www.dss.virginia.gov/files/division/dfs/fc/intro_page/guidance_manuals/fc/07_2021/section_17_managing_foster_care_services.pdf; Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families, Administrative Policy 6.04, Supporting LGBTQIA+ Individuals (Oct. 20, 2022), https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/Admin-6.04.pdf.
- North Carolina has an LGBTQ+ specific policy but it does not explicitly include a SOGI-inclusive nondiscrimination requirement.
- Utah has an LGBTQ+ specific policy but it does not explicitly include a SOGI-inclusive nondiscrimination requirement.
- Virginia has an LGBTQ+ specific policy but it does not explicitly include SOGI-inclusive nondiscrimination requirement.
- Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Texas, Utah, Wyoming.
- Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, note that North Carolina and Virginia’s LGBTQ+ specific policies have no explicit nondiscrimination protections based on gender identity for youth in the child welfare system.
- Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming, LGBTQ Curricular Laws, Movement Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/curricular_laws; Forced Outing of Transgender Youth in Schools, Movement Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/youth/forced_outing; Bans on Transgender People using Bathrooms and Facilities According to their Gender Identity, Movement Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/youth/school_bathroom_bans; Bans on Transgender Youth Participation in Sports, Movement Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/youth/sports_participation_bans; Bans on Best Practice Medical Care for Transgender Youth, Movement Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/healthcare/youth_medical_care_bans.
- Arizona Department of Child Safety, Administrative Policy, DCS 01-04, Non-Discrimination Policy (Dec. 2, 2021), https://extranet.azdcs.gov/DCSPolicy/Content/Adminstrative%20Policy/DCS%2001/DCS%2001-04%20Non-Discrimination%20Policy.pdf; Arizona Department of Child Safety, Administrative Policy, Office of Licensing and Regulation, DCS 15-39, LGBTQIA+ Policy (Dec. 2, 2021), https://extranet.azdcs.gov/DCSPolicy/Content/Adminstrative%20Policy/DCS%2015/DCS%2015-39%20LGBTIA%20Policy.pdf; Arizona Department of Child Safety, Practice GuidesEngagement with LGBTQ+ Children (Feb. 10, 2022), https://extranet.azdcs.gov/DCSPolicy/Content/Practice%20Guides%20&%20Additional%20Info/Links/Guides/Practice%20Guidelines%20-%20LGTBQ.pdf; Arizona Department of Child Safety, Practice Guides, Inclusive and Affirming Language (Feb. 2, 2022),https://extranet.azdcs.gov/DCSPolicy/Content/Practice%20Guides%20&%20Additional%20Info/Links/Guides/Practice%20Guidelines%20-%20Inclusive%20Language.pdf; S.B. 1138, 55th Leg., 2nd Reg. Sess. (A.Z. 2022), https://apps.azleg.gov/BillStatus/BillOverview/76466.
- D.C. Code § 2-1402.73 (2022); La. Admin Code tit. 67, Pt. V, § 7515(A)(2) (2016); N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 9, § 180-1.5(a)(6) (2018); N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 9, § 7313.5 (2018); N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 9, § 7346.1 (2018); 42 R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-72-15 (2015); 214 R.I. Code R. § 40-00-4.1.2 (2013).
- Government of the District of Columbia, Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, Policy and Procedure Manual, Policy DYRS-007, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning and Intersex (LGBTQI) Youth (May 11, 2012), https://dyrs.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dyrs/publication/attachments/DYRS-007LesbianGayBisexualTransgenderQuestioningandIntersexLGBTQIYouth.pdf; State of Louisiana, Office of Juvenile Justice, Youth Services Policy No. B.2.20, Non-Discriminatory Services to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Questioning (LGBTIQ), and Nonconforming Youth (Nov. 7, 2022), https://ojj.la.gov/assets/docs/policies/classification-sentencing-service-functions/B.2.20-Non-Discriminatory-Services-to-Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender-Intersex-Questioning-LGBTIQ-and-Nonconforming-Youth-11-07-22.pdf; New York State Office of Children and Family Services, 09-OCFS-INF-06, Informational Letter: Promoting a Safe and Respectful Environment for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Children and Youth in Out-of-Home Placement (Dec. 30, 2009), https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/policies/external/ocfs_2009/infs/09-ocfs-inf-06%20promoting%20a%20safe%20and%20respectful%20environment%20for%20lesbian%20gay%20bisexual%20transgender%20and%20questioning%20%20children%20and%20youth%20%20in%20out-of-home%20placement.pdf; New York State Office of Children and Family Services, PPM 3442.00, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning Youth (March 17, 2008), https://www.nycourts.gov/ip/judicialinstitute/transgender/220U.pdf; Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families, Department Operating Procedure No. 100.0100, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression (Nov. 10, 2016), https://datadcyf.ri.gov/policyregs/sexual_orientation__gender_identity_and_expression_print.htm.
- Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 224.71 (2023); Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 224.73 (2023); Cal. Code Regs. tit. 15, § 1324 (2019), Cal. Code Regs. tit. 15, § 1352.5 (2019).
- Nev. Rev. Stat. § 62B.510 (2017).
- Nev. Admin. Code § 62B.085 (2018).
- Nev. Rev. Stat. § 62B.607 (2022).
- N.M. Admin. Code § 8.14.14.18 (2019), Or. Admin. R. 416-435-0010 (2022), 37 Tex. Admin. Code § 355.620 (2013); 37 Tex. Admin. Code § 380.9301 (2015); 37 Tex. Admin. Code § 343.368.
- Colorado Department of Human Services, Division of Juvenile Corrections, Policy S 13.9,Non-Discriminatory Services to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Intersex (LGBTQI) Juvenile (Feb. 24, 2017), https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6RNEF9DYEdYbDdNVHRyWDJGcFU/view; Connecticut Department of Children & Families, Policy 21-16, Non-Discrimination of LGBTQQIAA Individuals (Jan. 2, 2019), https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/DCF/Policy/Chapters/21-16.pdf; Connecticut Department of Children & Families, Working with Transgender Youth and Caregivers Practice Guide (Dec. 2018), https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/DCF/Policy/BPGuides/21-16PG-Transgender.pdf; Connecticut Department of Children & Families, Working with Transgender Youth and Caregivers Practice Guide (Dec. 2018), https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/DCF/Policy/BPGuides/21-16PG-Transgender.pdf; Delaware Division of Youth Rehabilitative Services, Policy No. 2.20, Chapter 2: Professional Practices, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Intersex (LGBTQI) (Mar. 5, 2019), https://legacy.lambdalegal.org/sites/default/files/de_dyrs_lgbtqi_policy.pdf?_gl=1*9qh7yq*_ga*MjEwNTE4NjAwMi4xNjE2MDAzMzk0*_ga_290ZG8GMP3*MTY5MjE5NjczNy41OC4xLjE2OTIxOTgwMTYuNjAuMC4w; Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice, Policy No. 15-1, Basic Rights and Responsibilities of Youth (Aug. 10, 2022), https://public.powerdms.com/GADJJ/documents/28144; Hawai’i Youth Correctional Facility, Policy No. 1.43.03, Non-Discriminatory, Developmentally-Sound Treatment of Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual and Transgender (LGBT) Youth (Oct. 1, 2014),http://www.lambdalegal.org/sites/default/files/jj_hawaii_2007.pdf; Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections, Institutional Policy/Procedure 672, Non-Discriminatory, Developmentally-Sound Treatment of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Youth (Oct. 16, 2017) [link currently unavailable]; Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice, Administrative Directive 04.01.303, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning (LGBTQ) Youth (June 1, 2014), https://www.lambdalegal.org/sites/default/files/il_ad_4.01.303.pdf; Kentucky Justice Cabinet, Department of Juvenile Justice Policy and Procedures, Policy No. DJJ 912, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (Mar. 9, 2018), https://djj.ky.gov/900%20Policy%20Manual/DJJ%20912%20Sex%20Orientation%20and%20Gender%20Identity.pdf; State of Maine Department of Corrections, Policy No. 9.5, Transgender, Gender Nonconforming, and Intersex Clients (March 16, 2021), https://www.maine.gov/corrections/sites/maine.gov.corrections/files/inline-files/Policy%209.5.pdf; Massachusetts Department of Youth Services, Policy 03.04.09, Prohibition of Harassment and Discrimination Against Youth (Mar. 2, 2023), https://www.mass.gov/lists/dys-policies-regulations; New Jersey Juvenile Justice Commission, Policy 13ED:01.02A, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Intersex (LGBTQI) Juveniles (June 2018), http://www.nj.gov/oag/jjc/pdf/PREA_LGBTQI-Juveniles_policy.pdf; North Carolina Department of Public Safety, Juvenile Justice Facilities YD 12 Housing LGBTQI Juveniles Policy and Requirements and Procedures (Apr. 2019), https://legacy.lambdalegal.org/sites/default/files/publications/downloads/yd_12_housing_lgbtqi_signed_4.16.19.pdf; Ohio Department of Youth Services, Procedure No. 179-YSA-02, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Youth (Apr. 1, 2019), https://www.dys.ohio.gov/static/About+DYS/PREA/DYS_Policy_179-YSA-02.pdf; Pennsylvania Bureau of Juvenile Justice Services, Policy and Procedure, Manual No. 1.15 Resident Sexuality and Gender Identity (Jan. 24, 2019), https://legacy.lambdalegal.org/sites/default/files/resident_sexuality_and_gender_identity.pdf?_gl=1*1e8lo3r*_ga*MjEwNTE4NjAwMi4xNjE2MDAzMzk0*_ga_290ZG8GMP3*MTY5MjIwNTczMi41OS4wLjE2OTIyMDU3NzYuMTYuMC4w; State of Tennessee Department of Children’s Services, Administrative Policies and Procedures: 20.20 Guidelines for Managing Children/Youth in DCS Custody Related to Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression (Jan. 30, 2015), https://files.dcs.tn.gov/policies/chap20/20.20.pdf; Vermont Department for Children and Families, Family Services Policy Manual, Family Services Policy 76, Supporting and Affirming LGBTQ Children & Youth (Feb. 27, 2020), https://outside.vermont.gov/dept/DCF/Shared%20Documents/FSD/Policies/Policy76.pdf; Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families, Administrative Policy 6.04, Supporting LGBTQIA+ Individuals (Oct. 20, 2022), https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/Admin-6.04.pdf.
- Nevada Division of Child and Family Services, Systems Advocate, http://dcfs.nv.gov/Programs/SA/; New Mexico Office of Children’s Rights, https://www.cyfd.nm.gov/cyfd-office-of-childrens-rights/how-to-file-a-complaint/; New York State Office of Children and Families, https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/ombudsman/; Rhode Island Office of the Child Advocate, http://www.child-advocate.ri.gov/index.php; Office of the Independent Ombudsman for the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, https://www.tjjd.texas.gov/index.php/independent-ombudsman.
- N.M. Admin. Code § 8.14.14.18 (2019); Or. Admin. R. 416-435-0010 (2022).
- Cal. Code Regs. tit. 15, § 1324 (2019), Cal. Code Regs. tit. 15, § 1352.5 (2019); La. Admin Code tit. 67, Pt. V, § 7515(A)(2) (2016); N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 9, § 180-1.5(a)(6) (2018); N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 9, § 7313.5 (2018); N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 9, § 7346.1 (2018); 42 R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-72-15 (2015); 214 R.I. Code R. § 40-00-4.1.2 (2013); 37 Tex. Admin. Code § 355.620 (2013); 37 Tex. Admin. Code § 380.9301 (2015); 37 Tex. Admin. Code § 343.368.
- Nev. Rev. Stat. § 62B.510 (2017).
- California, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas.
- Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawai’i, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia.
- State of Louisiana, Office of Juvenile Justice, Youth Services Policy No. B.2.20, Non-Discriminatory Services to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Questioning (LGBTIQ), and Nonconforming Youth (Nov. 7, 2022), https://ojj.la.gov/assets/docs/policies/classification-sentencing-service-functions/B.2.20-Non-Discriminatory-Services-to-Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender-Intersex-Questioning-LGBTIQ-and-Nonconforming-Youth-11-07-22.pdf; New York State Office of Children and Family Services, 09-OCFS-INF-06, Informational Letter: Promoting a Safe and Respectful Environment for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Children and Youth in Out-of-Home Placement (Dec. 30, 2009), https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/policies/external/ocfs_2009/infs/09-ocfs-inf-06%20promoting%20a%20safe%20and%20respectful%20environment%20for%20lesbian%20gay%20bisexual%20transgender%20and%20questioning%20%20children%20and%20youth%20%20in%20out-of-home%20placement.pdf; New York State Office of Children and Family Services, PPM 3442.00, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning Youth (March 17, 2008), https://www.nycourts.gov/ip/judicialinstitute/transgender/220U.pdf; Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families, Department Operating Procedure No. 100.0100, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression (Nov. 10, 2016), https://datadcyf.ri.gov/policyregs/sexual_orientation__gender_identity_and_expression_print.htm.
- Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawai’i, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington.
- 016.01.10 Ark. Code R. § 7240.2 (2019); 016.01.10 Ark. Code R. § 7250.2 (2019); Mo. Code Regs. Ann. tit. 13, § 110-2.100 (2018); Mo. Code Regs. Ann. tit. 13, § 110-3.060 (2019); Nev. Rev. Stat. § 62B.510 (2017); N.M. Admin. Code § 8.14.14.18 (2019); Or. Admin. R. 416-435-0010 (2022); Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0250-04-08-.02 (2017); Wis. Admin. Code DOC § 396.09 (2020); Wis. Adm. Code § DOC 393.04 (2020); Wyo. Admin Code 049.0029.3 § 23 (2021).
- State of Alaska, Department of Health & Social Services, Division of Juvenile Justice, Policy No. L-1 Nondiscrimination (Aug. 14, 2019), https://legacy.lambdalegal.org/sites/default/files/l-1_nondiscrimination_signed_10-14-19.pdf?_gl=1*tn6eod*_ga*MjEwNTE4NjAwMi4xNjE2MDAzMzk0*_ga_290ZG8GMP3*MTY5MjE5NjczNy41OC4xLjE2OTIxOTgwMTYuNjAuMC4w; Arkansas Department of Human Services, Division of Youth Services, A Guide for Families, https://humanservices.arkansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/DYS_Family_Handbook.pdf; Delaware Children’s Department, Policy No. 217, Nondiscrimination Policy (April 1, 2019), https://kidsfiles.delaware.gov/policies/dscyf/dsc217-non-discrimination.pdf; Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections, Institutional Policy/Procedure 672, Non-Discriminatory, Developmentally-Sound Treatment of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Youth (Oct. 16, 2017) [link currently unavailable]; Indiana Department of Correction, Division of Youth Services, Youth Handbook (July 2019), https://www.in.gov/idoc/dys/files/DYS-handbook-7-1-19.pdf; Kansas Department of Corrections, Juvenile Services, https://www.doc.ks.gov/juvenile-services (See nondiscrimination notice at the bottom of the page); State of Maine Department of Corrections, Policy No. 1.6, Prohibition on Discrimination (Apr. 1, 2021), https://www.maine.gov/corrections/sites/maine.gov.corrections/files/inline-files/1.6.pdf; Maryland Department of Juvenile Services, Policy No. MGT-625-14, Nondiscrimination of Youth (Oct. 31, 2017), https://djs.maryland.gov/Documents/policies/management/Nondiscrimination-of-Youth_MGT-625-14.pdf; Mississippi Department of Human Services, Division of Youth Services, Policy No. 1-111, DYS Code of Ethics (Apr. 15, 2018), https://www.mdhs.ms.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/DOC041018-04102018144102.pdf; Missouri Department of Social Services, Nondiscrimination Policy Statement, https://dss.mo.gov/files/missouri-nondiscrimination-policy-statement.htm; Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child and Family Services, Youth Justice Services, Policy No. DCFS/JJS 300.03, Youth Rights (Feb. 21, 2022), https://dcfs.nv.gov/uploadedFiles/dcfsnvgov/content/Programs/JJS/300_03_Youth_Rights.pdf; State of New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department, CYFD Directive: Nondiscrimination Policy Statement (June 29, 2020), https://www.cyfd.nm.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/LGBTQIAEnglish.pdf; North Carolina Department of Public Safety, Juvenile Justice Facilities YD 12 Housing LGBTQI Juveniles Policy and Requirements and Procedures (April 2019), https://legacy.lambdalegal.org/sites/default/files/publications/downloads/yd_12_housing_lgbtqi_signed_4.16.19.pdf;North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Services, North Dakota Facility (Detention) Rules, https://www.docr.nd.gov/sites/www/files/documents/ycc/documents/Juvenile%20Detention%20Rules.pdf; Pennsylvania Bureau of Juvenile Justice Services, Policy and Procedure, Manual No. 1.15 Resident Sexuality and Gender Identity (Jan. 24, 2019), https://legacy.lambdalegal.org/sites/default/files/resident_sexuality_and_gender_identity.pdf?_gl=1*1e8lo3r*_ga*MjEwNTE4NjAwMi4xNjE2MDAzMzk0*_ga_290ZG8GMP3*MTY5MjIwNTczMi41OS4wLjE2OTIyMDU3NzYuMTYuMC4w; South Dakota Department of Corrections, Juvenile Offender Living Guide (Nov. 2023), https://doc.sd.gov/documents/Juvenile%20Living%20Guide%20(12.01.2023).pdf; Utah Department of Human Services, Division of Juvenile Justice Services, Policy No: 04-09, Lesbian, Gay, Bi Sexual, Transgender, Questioning, Intersex (LGBTQI) and Gender Non-Conforming (GNC) Juveniles (July 30, 2015), [link not currently available]; Utah Department of Human Services, Division of Juvenile Justice and Youth Services, Policy No: 04-01, Rights and Responsibilities of Minors (Jan. 12, 2023), [link not currently available]; Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice, Resident Handbook (Nov. 15, 2021), https://www.djj.virginia.gov/documents/residential/Resident_Handbook.pdf; West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, Bureau for Children and Families, Youth Services Policy (Feb. 2022), https://dhhr.wv.gov/bcf/policy/Documents/Youth%20Services%20Policy%20February%202022%20%281%29.pdf; State of Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Department of Children and Families, Civil Rights Compliance Requirements (Mar. 2024), https://dcf.wisconsin.gov/files/publications/pdf/153.pdf.
- Delaware Division of Youth Rehabilitative Services, Policy No. 2.20, Chapter 2: Professional Practices, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Intersex (LGBTQI) (Mar. 5, 2019), https://legacy.lambdalegal.org/sites/default/files/de_dyrs_lgbtqi_policy.pdf?_gl=1*9qh7yq*_ga*MjEwNTE4NjAwMi4xNjE2MDAzMzk0*_ga_290ZG8GMP3*MTY5MjE5NjczNy41OC4xLjE2OTIxOTgwMTYuNjAuMC4w; Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice, Policy No. 15-1, Basic Rights and Responsibilities of Youth (Aug. 10, 2022), https://public.powerdms.com/GADJJ/documents/28144; Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections, Institutional Policy/Procedure 672, Non-Discriminatory, Developmentally-Sound Treatment of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Youth (Oct. 16, 2017) [link currently unavailable]; Kentucky Justice Cabinet, Department of Juvenile Justice Policy and Procedures, Policy No. DJJ 912, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (Mar. 9, 2018), https://djj.ky.gov/900%20Policy%20Manual/DJJ%20912%20Sex%20Orientation%20and%20Gender%20Identity.pdf; State of Maine Department of Corrections, Policy No. 9.5, Transgender, Gender Nonconforming, and Intersex Clients (March 16, 2021), https://www.maine.gov/corrections/sites/maine.gov.corrections/files/inline-files/Policy%209.5.pdf; North Carolina Department of Public Safety, Juvenile Justice Facilities YD 12 Housing LGBTQI Juveniles Policy and Requirements and Procedures (Apr. 2019), https://legacy.lambdalegal.org/sites/default/files/publications/downloads/yd_12_housing_lgbtqi_signed_4.16.19.pdf; Pennsylvania Bureau of Juvenile Justice Services, Policy and Procedure, Manual No. 1.15 Resident Sexuality and Gender Identity (Jan. 24, 2019), https://legacy.lambdalegal.org/sites/default/files/resident_sexuality_and_gender_identity.pdf?_gl=1*1e8lo3r*_ga*MjEwNTE4NjAwMi4xNjE2MDAzMzk0*_ga_290ZG8GMP3*MTY5MjIwNTczMi41OS4wLjE2OTIyMDU3NzYuMTYuMC4w; Utah Department of Human Services, Division of Juvenile Justice Services, Policy No: 04-09, Lesbian, Gay, Bi Sexual, Transgender, Questioning, Intersex (LGBTQI) and Gender Non-Conforming (GNC) Juveniles (July 30, 2015), [link not currently available]; Vermont Department for Children and Families, Family Services Policy Manual, Family Services Policy 76, Supporting and Affirming LGBTQ Children & Youth (Feb. 27, 2020), https://outside.vermont.gov/dept/DCF/Shared%20Documents/FSD/Policies/Policy76.pdf; Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families, Administrative Policy 6.04, Supporting LGBTQIA+ Individuals (Oct. 20, 2022), https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/Admin-6.04.pdf.
- Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Wyoming.
- Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
- Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
- Health and Human Services Grants Regulation, 45 C.F.R. § 75.300, 81 Fed. Reg. 89393 (Dec. 12, 2016), www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/12/12/2016-29752/healthand-human-services-grants-regulation; Equal Access to Housing in HUD Programs Regardless of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity, 24 C.F.R. §§ 5, 200, 203, 236, 400, 570, 574, 882, 891, and 982, 77 Fed. Reg. 5661 (Feb. 3, 2012), https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2012/02/03/2012-2343/equal-access-to-housing-in-hud-programs-regardless-of-sexual-orientation-or-gender-identity.
- Conn. Agencies Regs. § 17b-800-4; 10-148-37 Me. Cod R. § 5 (2023); Cal. Code Regs. tit. 22, § 84072 (2024); N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 9, § 182-1.5 (2018); D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 29, § 6203 (2014).
- Kerith J. Conron & Shoshana K. Goldberg, LGBT Protections from Discrimination Employment and Public Accommodations UCLA School of Law, Williams Institute (June 2019), https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/LGBT-ND-Statutes-Empl-PA-Jun-2019.pdf.
- H.B. 207, 56th Leg., 1st Sess. (N.M. 2023), https://www.nmlegis.gov/Sessions/23%20Regular/final/HB0207.pdf.
- The research conducted on state-based regulatory requirement is up to date as of May 2023.
- N.M. Code R. § 8.26.4.7 (2020); Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 2, § 11030 (2016), N.Y. Civ. Rights Law § 79-n (2022); Fla. Admin. Code r. 65C-46.001 (2021).
- Dru Levasseur, Gender Identity Defines Sex: Updating the Law to Reflect Modern Medical Science Is Key to Transgender Rights, 39 Vermont Law Review 943 (2015), https://lawreview.vermontlaw.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/39-4-06_Levasseur.pdf; Brief of Amici Curiae The Equality Federation in Support of Respondent, Gloucester Cty. Sch. Bd. v. G.G. ex rel. Grimm, No. 16-273 at *10 (Mar. 6, 2017) (“Both medical science and courts have recognized that a variety of characteristics—including gender identity—collectively make up a person’s sex.”), https://www.aclu.org/cases/grimm-v-gloucester-county-school-board?document=gloucester-county-school-board-v-gg-equality-federation.
- Cal. Code Regs. tit. 22, § 83087(b)(2)(B) (2023); Cal. Code Regs. tit. 22, § 84087(b)(3)(C) (2024); Cal. Code Regs. tit. 22, § 89387(a)(2)(C) (2017).
- 214 R.I. Code R. 40-00-3.7.2(H)(8)(b) (2017).
- California, Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, South Carolina, Utah.
- California, Colorado, Kansas, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon.
- N.M. Code R. § 8.26.4.17 (2020)
- N.D. Admin. Code 75-03-14-05(12)(f) (2024).
- N.M. Code R. § 8.26.4.7(W) (2020); Cal. Code Regs. tit. 15, § 1302 (2019); 214 R.I. Code R. 40-00-3.7.2(H)(8)(b) (2017); Mich. Admin. Code r. 400.12101 (2023).
- Commonwealth of Massachusetts – Department of Children and Families, Policy No. 2021-01, Gender Affirming Medication Consent Policy (Sept. 20, 2021), https://www.mass.gov/doc/gender-affirming-medication-consent-policy/download; Or. Admin. R. 413-200-0352 (2024); Oregon Administrative Rules 413-200-0335 (2022), Or. Admin. R. 416-435-0010 – 416-435-0050 (2022); Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 16001.9(22)(A) (2023); Kan. Admin. Regs. § 28-4-339(13) (1999); Kan. Admin. Regs. § 28-4-355a(13) (1993); 12 Colo. Code Regs. § 2509-8:7.710.34 (2024); 12 Colo. Code Regs. § 2509-8-7.702.83(D)(1) (2021); 31 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 9, R. 5.8 (2019); 31 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 9, R. 2.7 (2019); Ohio Admin. Code 5101:2-5-35(A)(3)(c), (A)(9), (A)(10) (2021); Ohio Admin. Code 5101:2-42-20 (2021); N.M. Admin. Code § 8.26.4.17 (2020).
- Cal. Code Regs. tit. 22, § 83064 (2022); Cal. Code Regs. tit. 22, § 84065 (2022); D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 29, § 2515 (2016); Delaware Division of Youth Rehabilitative Services, Policy No. 2.20, Chapter 2: Professional Practices, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Intersex (LGBTQI), 7 (March 5, 2019), https://legacy.lambdalegal.org/sites/default/files/de_dyrs_lgbtqi_policy.pdf?_gl=1*17jlzpi*_ga*MjEwNTE4NjAwMi4xNjE2MDAzMzk0*_ga_290ZG8GMP3*MTY5NDEwMTY4OC44Ni4xLjE2OTQxMDE3NjMuNjAuMC4w; Ill. Admin. Code tit. 20, § 2602.20 (2021); Mich. Admin. Code r. 400.12209(2)(a) (2023); Mich. Admin. Code r. 400.12312(3)(m) (2023); 31 Miss. Code R. Pt. 9, R. 1.23 (2019); Nev. Rev. Stat. § 424.235 (2017); Nev. Rev. Stat. § 424.0365 (2017); Nev. Rev. Stat. § 432B.195 (2017); Nev. Rev. Stat. § 62B.607 (2022); Nev. Admin. Code § 424.270 (2021); N.M. Code R. § 8.8.2.21 (2021); N.M. Code R. § 8.26.4.16 (2020); N.M. Code R. § 8.26.5.18 (2011); North Carolina Division of Social Services, Child Welfare Practice Guidance for LGBTQ+ Youth 5, https://policies.ncdhhs.gov/divisional/social-services/child-welfare/policy-manuals/child-welfare-practice-guidance-for-lgbtq-youth.pdf; North Carolina Department of Public Safety, Juvenile Justice Facilities YD 12 Housing LGBTQI Juveniles Policy and Requirements and Procedures (April 2019), https://legacy.lambdalegal.org/sites/default/files/publications/downloads/yd_12_housing_lgbtqi_signed_4.16.19.pdf; S.C. Code Regs. 114-591 (2023); Utah Code § 26B-2-109 (2023).
- Nev. Rev. Stat. § 239B.022 (2021); Nev. Rev. Stat. § 239B.024 (2024); Nev. Rev. Stat. § 239B.026 (2021); S.B. 109, 81st Leg., Reg. Sess. (Nev. 2021), https://legiscan.com/NV/bill/SB109/2021; Nev. Admin. Code R024-20 § 6 (2022); Michelle Lujan Grisham, New Mexico Governor, Executive Order 2021-048, Directing Executive Departments to Collect Voluntary Self-Identification Information Pertaining to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (Aug. 16, 2021), https://www.governor.state.nm.us/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Executive-Order-2021-048.pdf; D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 29, § 2563.2-2563.3 (2016); Ohio Admin. Code 5139-37-07 (2024); Or. Admin. R. 416-435-0030 (2022); Utah Admin. Code r. R501-1-11.
- Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 17a-6 (2018); D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 29, § 2563.1 (2016); D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 29, § 2515.27 (2016); Louisiana Department of Children & Family Services, 5 Family Services, 10 Case Closure, 5-1000 Case Closure 4 (Jan. 22, 2020), https://public.powerdms.com/LADCFS/documents/405113; Louisiana Department of Children & Family Services, 6 Foster Care, 10 Education, 6-1000 Education Services to Children in Foster Care 3 (Nov. 1, 2022), https://public.powerdms.com/LADCFS/documents/402787; Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, MDHHS-Pub-1211, A Practice Guide for Working with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, Intersex, and Two Spirit Youth in Michigan’s Child Welfare System 8-10, https://www.michigan.gov/-/media/Project/Websites/mdhhs/Folder3/Folder87/Folder2/Folder187/Folder1/Folder287/MDHHS-Pub-1211.pdf?rev=cadf9a132fb7407bb1e39edbb7fe670b; 214 R.I. Code R. § 30-00-1.6 (2018); Utah Department of Health & Human Services, Child & Family Services, Policy No. 300.5, Safety For Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, And Questioning (LGBTQ) Youth 9-10 (May 2023), https://public.powerdms.com/UTAHDHHS/documents/274994.
- Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Wyoming; Of these states, nine states’ definition is applicable across state law (Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah.) The remaining states define sex within a specific chapter or section. Eight of these states do so in a gender affirming care ban for minors (Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota). Additionally, Arkansas’ exclusionary facility and harmful school law and Wyoming legislation banning transgender students playing sports in accordance with their gender identity define sex. see (Definitions of sex applicable to state law) H.B. 421, 67th Leg., 2nd Reg. Sess. (Idaho 2024) https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2024/legislation/H0421/; S.B. 180, 2023 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Kan. 2023), https://kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/SB180/; H.B. 608 2024 Leg., Reg. Sess. (La. 2023), https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/BillInfo.aspx?s=24RS&b=HB608; S.B. 2753, 2024 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Miss. 2024), https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2024/pdf/history/SB/SB2753.xml; S.B. 458, 68th Leg., Reg. Sess. (Mont. 2023), https://laws.leg.mt.gov/legprd/LAW0210W$BSIV.ActionQuery?P_BILL_NO1=458&P_BLTP_BILL_TYP_CD=SB&Z_ACTION=Find&P_SESS=20231; H.B. 1474, 68th Leg. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (N.D. 2023), https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/68-2023/regular/bill-index/bi1474.html; H.B. 1449, 2024 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Okla. 2024), http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/cf_pdf/2023-24%20ENR/hB/HB1449%20ENR.PDF; S.B. 1440, 113th Gen. Assemb. (Tenn. 2023), https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/default.aspx?BillNumber=SB1440&ga=113; H.B. 257, 2024 Gen. Sess. (Utah 2024) https://le.utah.gov/~2024/bills/static/HB0257.html; see (Gender Affirming Care Bans w. definitions of sex) S.B. 184, 2022 Gen. Sess. (Ala. 2022), https://legiscan.com/AL/text/SB184/2022; S.B. 254, 2023 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Fla. 2023), https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2023/254; H.B. 71, 67th Leg., 1st Reg. Sess. (Idaho 2023), https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2023/legislation/H0071/; S.B. 480, 123rd Gen. Assemb., 1st Reg. Sess. (Ind. 2023), https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/123/2023/senate/bills/SB0480/SB0480.05.ENRH.pdf; S.F. 538, 90th Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Iowa 2023), https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ga=90&ba=SF538; S.B. 150, 2023 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Ky. 2023), https://legiscan.com/KY/text/SB150/2023; H.B. 648, 2023 Leg., Reg. Sess. (La. 2023), https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1331071; H.B. 1125, 2023 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Miss. 2023) https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2023/pdf/history/HB/HB1125.xml; S.B. 99, 68th Leg., Reg. Sess. (Mont. 2023) https://laws.leg.mt.gov/legprd/LAW0210W$BSIV.ActionQuery?P_BILL_NO1=99&P_BLTP_BILL_TYP_CD=SB&Z_ACTION=Find&P_SESS=20231; H.B. 1254, 68th Leg. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (N.D. 2023), https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/68-2023/regular/bill-index/bi1254.html; H.B. 68, 135th Gen. Assembl. (Ohio 2024), https://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/solarapi/v1/general_assembly_135/bills/hb68/EN/05/hb68_05_EN?format=pdf; H.B. 4624, 125th Sess. (S.C. 2024), https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess125_2023-2024/prever/4624_20240507.htm; H.B. 1080, 98th Leg., Reg. Sess. (S.D. 2023), https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/24100; H.B. 1, 113th Gen. Assemb. (Tenn. 2023), https://legiscan.com/TN/text/HB0001/2023; see (Exclusionary Facility, Harmful School and Identity Documents Laws w. definitions of sex) H.B. 1156, 94th General Assembly, Reg. Sess. (Ark. 2023) https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Bills/FTPDocument?path=%2FBills%2F2023R%2FPublic%2FHB1156.pdf; HB. 1069, 2023 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Fla. 2023) https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2023/1069/ByVersion; H.B. 1521, 2023 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Fla. 2023), https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2023/1521/ByVersion; H.B. 538, 67th Leg., 2nd Reg. Sess. (Idaho 2024), https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2024/legislation/H0538/; S.B. 1110, 67th Leg., 1st Reg. Sess. (Idaho 2023), https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2023/legislation/S1100/; S.F. 482, 90th Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Iowa 2023), https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ga=90&ba=SF%20482&v=i; S.B. 639 (N.C. 2023), https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookup/2023/S639; H.B. 1139, 68th Leg. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (N.D. 2023), https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/68-2023/regular/bill-index/bi1139.html; H.B. 1297, 68th Leg. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (N.D. 2023), https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/68-2023/regular/bill-index/bi1297.html; S.B. 100, 2023 Gen. Sess. (Utah 2023), https://le.utah.gov/~2023/bills/sbillenr/SB0100.pdf; see (Laws that prohibit transgender youth from playing sports in accordance w. their gender identity w. definitions of sex) H.F. 2416, 89th Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Iowa 2022), https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ga=89&ba=HF2416; H.B. 1249, 68th Leg. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (N.D. 2023), https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/68-2023/regular/documents/23-0569-05000.pdf; H.B. 1489, 68th Leg. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (N.D. 2023), https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/68-2023/regular/documents/23-0967-04000.pdf; H.B. 11, 2022 Gen. Assemb. (Utah 2022), https://le.utah.gov/~2022/bills/static/HB0011.html; S.F. 133, 67th Leg., Gen. Sess. (2023), https://www.wyoleg.gov/Legislation/2023/SF0133. Arkansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, West Virginia’s gender affirming care bans defines “biological sex.”S.B. 49, 102nd Gen. Assemb., 1st Reg. Sess. (Mo. 2023), https://senate.mo.gov/23info/pdf-bill/tat/SB49.pdf; L.B. 574, 108th Leg., 1st Sess. (Neb. 2023) https://nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/108/PDF/Final/LB574.pdf; H.B. 808, 2023 Leg., Reg. Sess. (N.C. 2023) https://www.ncleg.gov/Sessions/2023/Bills/House/PDF/H808v7.pdf; H.B. 2007, 2023 Leg.., Reg. Sess. (W.V. 2023), https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=hb2007%20sub%20enr.htm&yr=2023&sesstype=RS&i=2007; H.B. 1156, 94th General Assembly, Reg. Sess. (Ark. 2023) https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Bills/FTPDocument?path=%2FBills%2F2023R%2FPublic%2FHB1156.pdf; S.B. 270, 94th General Assembly, Reg. Sess. (Ark. 2023) https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Bills/FTPDocument?path=%2FBills%2F2023R%2FPublic%2FSB270.pdf; S.F. 482, 90th Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Iowa 2023), https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ga=90&ba=SF%20482&v=i; S.F. 538, 90th Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Iowa 2023), https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ga=90&ba=SF%20538; H.B. 576, 2023 Reg. Sess. (Miss. 2023), http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2023/pdf/HB/0500-0599/HB0576IN.pdf; S.B. 16, Gen. Sess. (Utah 2023), https://le.utah.gov/~2023/bills/sbillenr/SB0016.pdf; S.B. 93, 2023 Gen. Sess. (Utah 2023), https://le.utah.gov/~2023/bills/sbillenr/SB0093.pdf; S.B. 100, 2023 Gen. Sess. (Utah 2023), https://le.utah.gov/~2023/bills/sbillenr/SB0100.pdf.
- S.B. 1440, 113th Gen. Assemb. (Tenn. 2023), https://legiscan.com/TN/text/SB1440/id/2817565; H.B. 1, 113th Gen. Assemb. (Tenn. 2023), https://legiscan.com/TN/text/HB0001/2023.
- S.B. 39, 2023 Gen. Sess. (Utah 2023), https://le.utah.gov/~2023/bills/static/SB0039.html#:~:text=9%20General%20Description%3A,and%20Utah%20Human%20Services%20Code; S.B. 93, 2023 Gen. Sess. (Utah 2023), https://le.utah.gov/~2023/bills/static/SB0093.html
- Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee; see S.B. 184, 2022 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Ala. 2022), https://legiscan.com/AL/text/SB184/2022; S.B. 254, 2023 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Fla. 2023), https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2023/254; H.B. 71, 67th Leg., 1st Reg. Sess. (Idaho 2023), https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2023/legislation/H0071/; S.B. 480, 123rd Gen. Assembl., 1st Reg. Sess. (Ind. 2023), https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/123/2023/senate/bills/SB0480/SB0480.05.ENRH.pdf; S.F. 538, 90th Gen. Assembl., Reg. Sess. (Iowa 2023), https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ga=90&ba=SF538; S.B. 150, 2023 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Ky. 2023), https://legiscan.com/KY/text/SB150/2023; H.B. 648, 2023 Leg., Reg. Sess. (La. 2023), https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1331071; H.B. 1125, 2023 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Miss. 2023)https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2023/pdf/history/HB/HB1125.xml; S.B. 99, 68th Leg., Reg. Sess. (Mont. 2023) https://laws.leg.mt.gov/legprd/LAW0210W$BSIV.ActionQuery?P_BILL_NO1=99&P_BLTP_BILL_TYP_CD=SB&Z_ACTION=Find&P_SESS=20231; H.B. 1254, 68th Leg. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (N.D. 2023), https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/68-2023/regular/bill-index/bi1254.html; H.B. 68, 135th Gen. Assembl. (Ohio 2024), https://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/solarapi/v1/general_assembly_135/bills/hb68/EN/05/hb68_05_EN?format=pdf; H.B. 4624, 125th Sess. (S.C. 2024), https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess125_2023-2024/prever/4624_20240507.htm; H.B. 1080, 98th Leg., Reg. Sess. (S.D. 2023), https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/24100; H.B. 1, 113th Gen. Assemb. (Tenn. 2023), https://legiscan.com/TN/text/HB0001/2023.
- Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah; see (Definitions of sex applicable to state law) H.B. 421, 67th Leg., 2nd Reg. Sess. (Idaho 2024) https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2024/legislation/H0421/; S.B. 180, 2023 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Kan. 2023), https://kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/SB180/; H.B. 608 2024 Leg., Reg. Sess. (La. 2023), https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/BillInfo.aspx?s=24RS&b=HB608; S.B. 2753, 2024 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Miss. 2024), https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2024/pdf/history/SB/SB2753.xml; S.B. 458, 68th Leg., Reg. Sess. (Mont. 2023), https://laws.leg.mt.gov/legprd/LAW0210W$BSIV.ActionQuery?P_BILL_NO1=458&P_BLTP_BILL_TYP_CD=SB&Z_ACTION=Find&P_SESS=20231; H.B. 1474, 68th Leg. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (N.D. 2023), https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/68-2023/regular/bill-index/bi1474.html; H.B. 1449, 2024 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Okla. 2024), http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/cf_pdf/2023-24%20ENR/hB/HB1449%20ENR.PDF; S.B. 1440, 113th Gen. Assemb. (Tenn. 2023), https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/default.aspx?BillNumber=SB1440&ga=113; H.B. 257, 2024 Gen. Sess. (Utah 2024) https://le.utah.gov/~2024/bills/static/HB0257.html.
- Arizona, Illinois, and Mississippi; State of Arizona Juvenile Detention Standards, Section III A 16.7 Detention Operations, Safety, Security and Control, Searches of Persons and Facility (Dec. 19, 2016), https://www.azcourts.gov/Portals/29/JJSD%20Publication%20Reports/Detention_Standards.pdf?ver=3nMqQ9bwqXS42K1nLWi_UA%3d%3d; Ill. Admin. Code tit. 20, § 2602.140 (2021); 31 Code Miss. R. Pt. 9, R. 5.9 (2019).
PREVENTING SYSTEM INVOLVEMENT
“If there [were] services available, and [my family] were more accepting, I definitely would have accepted guidance on all that.
— Shawn (he/him), Youth Contributor
“There was one person that offered services and support to help educate my family, and helping me find a safe space after I came out… There [were] times where I flaked her out or ignored her, but she just never gave up on me and stayed present in my life. And after a while, I caved and accepted her help. And I’m very glad I did, because that led to my family being able to be educated and me being in the house, in the apartment, that I am now.”
— Jaxsyn (he/him), Youth Contributor
The youth who contributed to this report were clear that it is critical that families be able to easily access community-based services that help them learn to respect and affirm transgender, nonbinary, and gender diverse youth, and that such services are often difficult to find. Youth Contributor Paris also shared that she believes her family would have accepted resources to help them better understand her, but the child welfare system never offered any.
All youth deserve to be supported and affirmed in their homes and communities. Doing so is critical to not only their health and well-being, but also the future of our society. Youth deserve to have a safe space to engage in healthy identity development during their childhood, adolescence, and into adulthood. They deserve to live in communities that provide supports and services when they and their families may be navigating the difficulties related to their identity development, including their sexual orientation and gender identity and expression. Too often, however, youth are unable to access the supports they need. Specifically, transgender, nonbinary, and gender diverse (“TNGD”) youth and their families lack access to supports that promote their healthy identity development, which has led to disproportionate involvement in child welfare, juvenile legal,1 and homelessness systems.
Research has clearly demonstrated the harms associated with placement in out-of-home systems for all children and youth. As a result, increased effort, attention, and investments have been directed toward supporting children and youth in their homes and communities with a goal of preventing family separation and involvement with harmful systems including child welfare and juvenile legal systems. For example, the Children’s Bureau issued an Information Memorandum on the importance of supporting and affirming LGBTQI+ children and youth in the foster system through Titles IV-B and IV-E.2 The opportunities identified within the Information Memorandum included leveraging and directing flexible, IV-B dollars to “family preservation services” that support LGBTQ+3 youth and their families.4 In some states, there have been intentional efforts to address the disproportionate out-of-home placement of LGBTQ+ youth through leveraging existing opportunities. For example:
- The Code of the District of Columbia explicitly states that “Homeless services provided by the Department or its designee shall include services specifically designed to alleviate the high risk of homelessness faced by LGBTQ youth”5 and that “providers of shelter or supportive housing for LGBTQ homeless youth shall implement research-based family acceptance interventions…Family acceptance interventions may include individual and family sessions, assessment tools, and resources for families that promote acceptance by parents and positive well-being and development of LGBTQ youth.”6
- New York State code provisions regarding prevention services specifically include non-discrimination protections for youth and families on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity and expression.7
- In some states, like Connecticut, system administrator(s) have signaled a commitment to supporting LGBTQ+ youth in their homes and communities through investing in community-based services.8 In, some states, like Maryland,9 Michigan,10 Ohio,11 and Pennsylvania12 systems and communities have implemented specific programs – including services designed to promote acceptance of youth by family, locate supportive kin, and connection to community support – that are intended to support families with TNGD youth without and outside of system involvement.13 Broader family support programs that build family strengths are important to establishing a comprehensive prevention continuum.
- In 2023 the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration awarded grant funding for services to prevent health and behavioral health risks (e.g., suicide, depression, homelessness, drug use, HIV) and to promote well-being for LGBTQI+ youth in the context of their families/caregivers, cultures, and communities by establishing LGBTQI+ family counseling and support programs and training providers on family counseling and support interventions.14 The awardees include nonprofits and academic institutions in Arizona, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee.15
- For those families who come into contact with child welfare, twenty state Title IV-E Prevention Plans16 include provisions regarding the specific needs of LGBTQ+ youth in their work, although degree of implementation of those provisions varies. Vermont and Massachusetts include community-based prevention efforts designed to promote acceptance of youth by their families without any connection to the child welfare system through a report of harm or other point of contact.17 New Mexico’s plan sets out steps to prevent LGBTQ+ youth homelessness.18 While The Family First Prevention Services Act (“FFPSA”) provides states with the opportunity to support specific services,19 FFPSA still requires surveillance of these families and there are currently no “evidence-based” services that were designed by and/or for LGBTQ+ youth.
While these examples highlight some of the bright spots across the country to prevent TNGD youth from becoming involved with public systems that separate families, not nearly enough investment has been made in truly supporting TNGD youth and their families in their communities.
Yet even when families can find services to help them support their TNGD youth, in some states, like Texas, engaging in these services can bring additional surveillance that drives families into deeper involvement with child welfare or juvenile legal systems. To truly meet the needs of TNGD youth and promote their health, happiness, and well-being, these investments must be directed to communities and outside of system surveillance.
Endnotes
- The authors use “juvenile legal” to refer to the system where youth are charged with delinquencies and may face a range of interventions, requirements, and restrictions on their behavior and liberty including short and long-term incarceration or informal conduct conditions or formal probation requirements. Youth under 18 may be treated within juvenile systems or adult criminal systems depending on the jurisdiction and type and severity of delinquency or crime alleged. The authors do not use “juvenile justice” due to the system being profoundly unjust for youth for a variety or reason, including, the overrepresentation and disparately harmful treatment of youth of color, LGBTQ+ youth, and LGBTQ+ youth of color.
- U.S. Dept. of Health & Hum. Servs., Administration on Children, Youth and Families, ACYF-CB-IM-22-01, Information Memorandum: Guidance for Title IV-B and IV-E Agencies When Serving LGBTQI+ Children and Youth (2022), https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cb/im2201.pdf.
- LGBTQ+ emphasizes that there are a variety of ways people identify or describe themselves in addition to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning. For example, youth from some indigenous communities may identify as Two Spirit. For more information about the concepts of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression (“SOGIE”) or terms youth may use to describe or identify themselves, please see https://cssp.org/resource/key-equity-terms-concepts/. Because people use labels in different ways, or reject labels altogether, the authors recommend that best practice is to honor the language individuals use to describe themselves. Uses of other acronyms in the text are used to reflect research particular to that instance in the text.
- U.S. Dept. of Health & Hum. Servs., Administration on Children, Youth and Families, ACYF-CB-IM-22-01, 4.
- D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 29, § 2563.1.
- D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 29, § 2515.27.
- N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 18, § 423.4
- Conn. Gen. Stat. § 17a-6.
- Marlene Matarese & Angela Weeks et al., Youth AFFIRM Implementation Guide: Prince George’s County, Maryland Dept. of Social Serv., University of Maryland School of Social Work, QIC-LGBTQ2S & Children’s Bureau, https://sogiecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Youth-Affirm-Implementation-Guide-508.pdf; see also AFFIRM Youth, National SOGIE Center, https://sogiecenter.org/programs/affirm-youth/.
- Konstantine Salkeld & Celina A. Ortiz, Journey Ahead Program Manual, Ruth Ellis Center, National SOGIE Center & QIC-LGBTQ2S, https://sogiecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Journey-Ahead-Manual.pdf; see also Journey Ahead, National SOGIE Center, https://sogiecenter.org/programs/journey-ahead/; Marlene Matarese & Angela Weeks et al., Family Support Model: Implementation Guide, Ruth Ellis Center, Family Acceptance Project, Children’s Bureau, UConn School of Social Work, QIC-LGBTQ2S & University of Maryland School of Social Work, https://sogiecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/QICFSMguide.pdf; see also Family Support Model, National SOGIE Center, https://sogiecenter.org/programs/fap/.
- Roxana Bell & Jennifer Wenderoth, The Chosen Affirming Family Finding Practice Manual: A Permanency Model, Kinnect, QIC-LGBTQ2S, UConn School of Social Work, University of Maryland School of Social Work & Children’s Burearu, https://www.kinnect.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/CAFF-Intervention-Practice-Manual-Final-9.6.23.pdf; see also Chosen Affirming Family Finding, National SOGIE Center, https://sogiecenter.org/programs/caff/; see also Youth Acceptance Project, National SOGIE Center, https://sogiecenter.org/programs/yap/.
- Marlene Matarese & Angela Weeks et al., Allegheny County AFFIRM Caregiver Implementation: Implementation with Resource Families, The Institute for Innovation & Implementation, University of Maryland School of Social Work, https://sogiecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/AlleghanyCounty-Caregiver-AFFIRM-508.pdf; see also AFFIRM Caregiver, National SOGIE Center, https://sogiecenter.org/programs/affirm-caregiver/, see also Youth Acceptance Project, National SOGIE Center, https://sogiecenter.org/programs/yap/.
- Prince George’s County Department of Social Services, Cuyahoga County Division of Children & Family Services, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, & Allegheny County Department of Human Services, see Local Implementation Sites, QIC-LGBTQ2S, https://qiclgbtq2s.org/lis/.
- Family Counseling and Support for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex+ Youth and their Families, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (August 16, 2023), https://www.samhsa.gov/grants/grant-announcements/fg-23-004.
- Grants Dashboard, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, https://www.samhsa.gov/grants/grants-dashboard?f%5B0%5D=by_nofo_number%3AFG-23-004#awards-tab
- The Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) authorizes states to draw down federal title IV-E dollars for specific services to prevent the placement of children in foster care as described within their Title IV-E Prevention Plan; Status of Submitted Title IV-E Prevention Program Five-Year Plans, Children’s Bureau, Office of the Admin. for Children & Families (Feb 9, 2024), https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/data/status-submitted-title-iv-e-prevention-program-five-year-plans.
- Five-Year Prevention Plan, Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (Nov. 2022), https://www.mass.gov/doc/ma-title-iv-e-prevention-plan/download; Vermont’s Family First Prevention Services Act Prevention Plan, Vermont’s Department for Children and Families (Oct. 2021), https://outside.vermont.gov/dept/DCF/Shared%20Documents/FSD/Reviews/FFPSA-Prevention-2022.pdf.
- New Mexico’s plan is submitted but not approved and not currently available on ACF’s website, see Status of Submitted Title IV-E Prevention Program Five-Year Plans, Children’s Bureau, Office of the Admin. for Children & Families (Feb 9, 2024), https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/data/status-submitted-title-iv-e-prevention-program-five-year-plans.
- Services must meet evidence criteria as outlined by the clearinghouse and address mental health, substance use, or parenting.
NONBINARY YOUTH RESEARCH AND RECOMMENDATIONS
“There’s a lot of conversations about . . . gender neutral restrooms and all that stuff. But especially in the system, things like gender neutral are very, very necessary. Gender neutral spaces in general because I think that there’s a lot of people who are like ‘Oh, it’s co-ed’ but we’re still going to separate you and we are still going to treat you differently because of your gender. And that was always a really big issue for me.”
— Emilio (they/them), Youth Contributor
Programs and living arrangements for children in child welfare, juvenile legal, and youth homelessness systems are frequently gendered and organized based on a gender binary. For example, group homes, residential treatment facilities, detention facilities, and emergency shelters often have a “boys” side or unit and one for “girls.” As more children and youth feel comfortable, due to broader societal changes, sharing their nonbinary identities and being themselves, they confront numerous challenges toward affirmation and respect for their identity and little research or guidance speaks specifically to their needs. Below we summarize available research about experiences of nonbinary youth and practices that support them and system improvement recommendations from the nonbinary youth contributors and co-authors to ensure system-involved nonbinary youth receive the support they need.
Nonbinary youth face unique challenges
Although in one study, one in four of the LGBTQ+1 youth surveyed identified as nonbinary,2 little research has focused specifically on nonbinary youth in government systems. There is, however, increasing recognition of the need to distinguish between binary transgender, nonbinary transgender, and LGBQ+ youth when conducting studies of LGBTQ+ youth.3
The few studies specific to nonbinary youth have focused on their mental and physical health and present mixed findings, but there are indications of unique and worse health outcomes within the nonbinary transgender community when compared to their binary transgender and cisgender peers.4 These disparities reflect minority stress5 generally experienced by marginalized populations, but also speak to the specific challenges nonbinary youth face that cause increased stress, depression, and other negative mental health outcomes. These include the absence of social and family support, a lack of representation, and societal structures that force youth to navigate systems that conform to the gender binary, erasing nonbinary identities entirely.
Studies have found that nonbinary youth are more likely to experience negative mental health outcomes,6 including higher levels of anxiety7 and depression,8 lower self-esteem,9 higher instances of self-harm,10 and more frequent suicide attempts11 when compared to binary transgender peers, and higher levels of suicidality,12 a higher risk of cyberbullying, and receiving the least amount of support from family and friends when compared to both cisgender and binary transgender peers.13 While not all nonbinary youth want to pursue a medical transition, those that do are more likely to report facing barriers to accessing hormone therapy14 and receiving less trans-affirming medical care15 than binary transgender youth. Additionally, when compared to binary youth, nonbinary youth reported more truancy and frequency of failing a subject.16 Studies of college students found that, when compared to binary transgender and binary cisgender students, nonbinary youth were more likely to suffer from an eating disorder17 were more likely to be “harassed, sexually abused, and subjected to traumatic events at higher rates,”18 and more likely to misgendered by therapist and health providers than binary transgender students.19
Studies of both nonbinary youth and adults discussed the challenge of navigating their identities within “institutional binaries,” specifically in schools, that cause both hypervisibility and render them invisible: “they are invisible because they are erased by the binary system and its assumptions, while being hypervisible due to [being uncategorizable] within a binary system.”20
While youth are expanding their understanding of gender,21 the widespread lack of knowledge surrounding nonbinary identity and the prevalence of binary gender in society presents numerous challenges for nonbinary youth navigating simple yet critical life steps, such as accessing identity documents that reflect their gender identity, finding safe housing, and showing up as their authentic selves in school and workplace settings.
For example, in school settings, “[nonbinary youth] noted that society did not recognize identities outside the gender binary, resulting in a lack of intelligibility and awareness of nonbinary identities in particular, … students were aware they would face an ‘uphill battle’ in terms of gaining recognition and acceptance of their gender[.]”22 Intersecting identities create additional context for youth when navigating acceptance of their identities. In interviews, “Nonbinary Students of Color [are] especially likely to underscore fears of coming out to family.”23
Practices that support nonbinary youth
For nonbinary youth in government systems, having access to affirming placements is not guaranteed, as these systems are often gender segregated and do not provide options for those who do not identify with the gender binary. For system-involved LGBTQ+ youth broadly, “incidents of gender segregation, stigmatization, isolation, and institutionalization in child welfare systems that they linked to their gender expression and sexuality … contribut[ed] to multiple placements and shap[ed] why they experienced homelessness.”24 Studies have recognized that sex segregated bathroom and placement policies in institutions specifically “render invisible transgender and gender-nonconforming youth.”25 This data reveals a vital need for affirming placement options to ensure better well-being outcomes and interrupt further system-involvement for nonbinary youth.
While literature on placement in foster and juvenile legal systems26 for nonbinary youth is limited, research from other settings demonstrates that schools’ efforts to reduce reliance on gender segregated spaces and instead create inclusive, gender-expansive environments can be a model for innovative approaches. Through implementing Gender Support Plans,27 schools and their staff establish affirming practices and collect information to ensure chosen name and pronouns are respected, maintain youth’s confidentiality and safety, and provide access to bathrooms, facilities, and extra-curricular activities that align with their gender identity. Schools have taken steps to reduce the usage of gender-designated bathrooms, whether through building more single stall bathrooms or creating all gender multi-stall bathrooms.28
While there are many struggles facing nonbinary youth, there are also findings that display the resilience of the community and the positive impacts of affirmation on well-being.29 A study that included both binary and nonbinary transgender youth in the Midwest explored strategies of resistance in three contexts: “at an intrapersonal level, strategies included resisting oppressive narratives, affirming one’s own gender, maintaining authenticity, and finding hope[; a]t an interpersonal level, strategies were standing up for self and others, educating others, and avoiding hostility[;] at a community-level, TGD [(transgender and gender diverse)] youth were engaging in activism and organizing and enhancing visibility and representation.”30
Social supports for nonbinary youth were found to be very impactful, including providing a safe space for youth to come out to themselves and others, to explore their gender, and to “challeng[e] misgendering or stand[] up to transphobic bullying.”31 This reflects broader studies of protective factors for transgender youth, which have found that even when young transgender people are exposed to high levels of stigma and discrimination, “being strongly connected to their family or their school” lead to “greatly reduced likelihood of negative mental health outcomes.”32
Recommendations
The nonbinary youth contributors shared that finding affirmation of and respect for nonbinary identity in services, programs, and housing that often are sex-segregated and gender binary was challenging. Available research confirms that little information and guidance exists to the specific experiences of nonbinary youth in involved in out-of-home systems. We share the following recommendations:
- Partner directly with system-involved nonbinary youth and develop strategies informed by their lived expertise. Taking the lead from nonbinary young people for how to affirm their identities (which might look radically different depending on the person) should form the basis for addressing their needs while in out-of-home placements or housing.
- Federal, state, and local policymakers should fund additional research on the experiences of nonbinary youth in out-of-home systems, including research focused on health care access. Data is necessary to document disparities (that have long been found in anecdotal and qualitative evidence) and to develop empirically supported strategies to combat any disproportionality.
- Federal and state policy makers should allocate resources to provide education and training for adults working with system-involved youth on nonbinary identities.
- Federal and state policymakers should develop policies that support and affirm nonbinary youth, specifically inclusive policies and accommodate of identities of nonbinary youth. For example, service providers should:
- Be required to provide access to non-gendered restrooms and housing that is not binary; and
- Question whether forms or other information gathering requires gender identification; if so, ensure nonbinary-inclusive identification options are available.
- State policymakers should incorporate information and education about nonbinary identities into programs designed to promote acceptance of youth by parents, kin, and other placements and allocate resources for the development and implementation of such programs.
Endnotes
- LGBTQ+ emphasizes that there are a variety of ways people identify or describe themselves in addition to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning. For example, youth from some indigenous communities may identify as Two Spirit. For more information about the concepts of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression (“SOGIE”) or terms youth may use to describe or identify themselves, please see https://cssp.org/resource/key-equity-terms-concepts/. Because people use labels in different ways, or reject labels altogether, the authors recommend that best practice is to honor the language individuals use to describe themselves. Uses of other acronyms in the text are used to reflect research particular to that instance in the text.
- Trevor Project Research Brief: Diversity of Nonbinary Youth, The Trevor Project, 1 (July 2021), https://www.thetrevorproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Diversity-of-Nonbinary-Youth_-July-Research-Brief.pdf.
- E.B. Gross et al., Intricate Realities: Mental Health among Trans, Nonbinary, and Gender Diverse College Students, 2 Youth 733, 735 (2022), https://doi.org/10.3390/youth2040052; Shanna K. Kattari et al., One Size Does Not Fit All: Differential Transgender Health Experiences. 58 Soc. Work Health Care 899, (2019), https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00981389.2019.1677279; Brittanie Atteberry-Ash et al., Differential Experiences of Mental Health among Transgender and Gender-Diverse Youth in Colorado, 11 Behav. Sci. 48 (2021), https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/11/4/48; Nat Thorne et al., A comparison of mental health symptomatology and levels of social support in young treatment seeking transgender individuals who identify as binary and non-binary, 20 International Journal of Transgenderism 241 (2018), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6830974/; Ankur Srivastava et al., Differential Risks for Suicidality and Mental Health Symptoms Among Transgender, Nonbinary, and Cisgender Sexual Minority Youth Accessing Crisis Services, 6 Transgender Health 51 (2020), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7906236/.
- Gross et al., Intricate Realities: Mental Health among Trans, Nonbinary, and Gender Diverse College Students, 740-743; Thorne et al., A comparison of mental health symptomatology and levels of social support in young treatment seeking transgender individuals who identify as binary and non-binary, 248; Srivastava et al., Differential Risks for Suicidality and Mental Health Symptoms Among Transgender, Nonbinary, and Cisgender Sexual Minority Youth Accessing Crisis Services, 52 (citing Thorne); G.T. Lefevor et al., Health disparities between genderqueer, transgender, and cisgender individuals: An extension of minority stress theory, 66 Journal of Counseling Psychology 385–395 (2019), https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fcou0000339; Jaimie F. Veale et al., Mental Health Disparities Among Canadian Transgender Youth, 60 Journal of Adolescent Health 44, (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2016.09.014; Atteberry-Ash et al., Differential Experiences of Mental Health among Transgender and Gender-Diverse Youth in Colorado; Arnold H. Grossman et al., Transgender Youth and Suicidal Behaviors: Applying the Interpersonal Psychological Theory of Suicide, 20 Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health 329 (2016), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5363722/.
- Ilan H. Meyer, Prejudice, Social Stress, and Mental Health in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Populations: Conceptual Issues and Research Evidence, 129 Psychological Bulletin 5 (Sept. 2003), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2072932/; Lisa M. Diamond, Chapter 11 – Sexual-Minority, Gender-Nonconforming, and Transgender Youths, in Handbook of Child and Adolescent Sexuality (Daniel S. Bromberg & William T. O’Donohue eds., Academic Press, 2013), https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780123877598000118.
- Gross et al., Intricate Realities: Mental Health among Trans, Nonbinary, and Gender Diverse College Students, 740-743 (note this study sample is college students); Thorne et al., A comparison of mental health symptomatology and levels of social support in young treatment seeking transgender individuals who identify as binary and non-binary, 248 (note this study was conducted in the UK).
- Thorne et al., A comparison of mental health symptomatology and levels of social support in young treatment seeking transgender individuals who identify as binary and non-binary, 241 (note this study was conducted in the UK); Srivastava et al., Differential Risks for Suicidality and Mental Health Symptoms Among Transgender, Nonbinary, and Cisgender Sexual Minority Youth Accessing Crisis Services, 52 (citing Thorne); Lefevor et al., Health disparities between genderqueer, transgender, and cisgender individuals: An extension of minority stress theory, (note this study sample is college students, specific finding is elevated levels of anxiety for genderqueer youth when compared to both binary transgender and cisgender peers).
- Thorne et al., A comparison of mental health symptomatology and levels of social support in young treatment seeking transgender individuals who identify as binary and non-binary, 241 (note this study was conducted in the UK); Lefevor et al., Health disparities between genderqueer, transgender, and cisgender individuals: An extension of minority stress theory (specific finding is elevated levels of depression for genderqueer youth in college when compared to both binary transgender and cisgender peers).
- Thorne et al., A comparison of mental health symptomatology and levels of social support in young treatment seeking transgender individuals who identify as binary and non-binary, 241 (note this study was conducted in the UK).
- Jaimie F. Veale et al., Mental Health Disparities Among Canadian Transgender Youth, (specific finding is that transgender boys and nonbinary youth reported highest levels of self-harm in a survey of transgender youth in Canada); Lefevor et al., Health disparities between genderqueer, transgender, and cisgender individuals: An extension of minority stress theory (specific finding is elevated levels of self-harm for genderqueer youth in college when compared to both binary transgender and cisgender peers); Atteberry-Ash et al., Differential Experiences of Mental Health among Transgender and Gender-Diverse Youth in Colorado, 7, (specific finding is “students who stated they did not know if they were transgender had the highest rates of NSSI [non-suicidal self-injury] (35.0%), followed by those who identified as transgender and outside the binary of man/woman (26.5%), transmasculine (23.5%), with transfeminine participants reporting the lowest rate of
- Grossman et al., Transgender Youth and Suicidal Behaviors: Applying the Interpersonal Psychological Theory of Suicide, (“Youth were categorized according to their gender identities: female to male (FTM), male to female (MTF), FTDG (female to different gender) and MTDG (male to different gender… higher percentages of suicide attempts [were reported] by FTDG [female to different gender] and MTDG [male to different gender] youth”); Lefevor et al., Health disparities between genderqueer, transgender, and cisgender individuals: An extension of minority stress theory (specific finding is elevated levels of suicide attempts for genderqueer youth in college when compared to both binary transgender and cisgender peers); Attebury-Ash et al., Differential Experiences of Mental Health among Transgender and Gender-Diverse Youth in Colorado, 8 (found that “compared to students who indicated they did not know if they were transgender or not, transfeminine students (AOR = 2.97, 95% CI [1.44, 6.10]), transmasculine students (AOR = 2.78, 95% CI [1.46, 5.29]) were almost three times as likely to report suicide attempt. Students who identified as transgender but not as transmasculine or transfeminine (AOR = 3.42, 95% CI [1.78, 6.57]) were more than three times as likely to report suicide attempt.”).
- Lefevor et al., Health disparities between genderqueer, transgender, and cisgender individuals: An extension of minority stress theory (specific finding is elevated levels of suicidality for genderqueer youth in college when compared to both binary transgender and cisgender peers).
- Marta Evelia Aparicio-Garcia et al., Health and Well-Being of Cisgender, Transgender and Non-Binary Young People, 15 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2133 (2018), https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/10/2133 (note this study was conducted in Spain).
- Beth A. Clark et al., Non-binary youth: Access to gender-affirming primary health care, 19 International Journal of Transgenderism 158, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15532739.2017.1394954?journalCode=wijt20 (note this study was conducted in Canada), also see Em Matsuno et al., “The Default Is Just Going to Be Getting Misgendered”: Minority Stress Experiences Among Nonbinary Adults, Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity (2022), http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000607 (Note this study is of adults, but provides helpful context).
- Clark et al., Non-binary youth: Access to gender-affirming primary health care; Matsuno et al., “The Default Is Just Going to Be Getting Misgendered”: Minority Stress Experiences Among Nonbinary Adults, (note this study is of adults, but provides helpful context); Abbie E. Goldberg et al., Health Care Experiences of Transgender Binary and Nonbinary University Students, 47 The Counseling Psychologist 59 (2019), https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000019827568 (note this is a survey of university students).
- Natalie Durbeej et al., Outside the norm: Mental health, school adjustment and community engagement in non-binary youth, 49 Scandinavian Journal Public Health 529, (2021) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31868564/ (note this study was conducted in Sweden).
- Lefevor et al., Health disparities between genderqueer, transgender, and cisgender individuals: An extension of minority stress theory (specific finding is elevated levels of eating concerns for genderqueer youth in college when compared to both binary transgender and cisgender peers); Goldberg et al., Health Care Experiences of Transgender Binary and Nonbinary University Students, 72.
- Lefevor et al., Health disparities between genderqueer, transgender, and cisgender individuals: An extension of minority stress theory (specific finding is elevated levels of eating concerns for genderqueer youth in college when compared to both binary transgender and cisgender peers).
- Goldberg et al., Health Care Experiences of Transgender Binary and Nonbinary University Students, 59 (note this is a survey of university students); Matsuno et al., “The Default Is Just Going to Be Getting Misgendered”: Minority Stress Experiences Among Nonbinary Adults (citing Goldberg and others, note this study is of adults, but provides helpful context).
- Carrie Paechter et al., Non-binary young people and schools: pedagogical insights from a small-scale interview study, 29 Pedagogy, Culture & Society 695, 696 (2021), https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14681366.2021.1912160 (note this study was conducted in the UK); Cristiano Scandurra et al., Health of Non-binary and Genderqueer People: A Systematic Review, 10 Frontiers in Psychology (2019), https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01453 (cites various studies of both young people and adults); Matsuno et al., The Default Is Just Going to Be Getting Misgendered”: Minority Stress Experiences Among Nonbinary Adults (note this study is of adults, but provides helpful context).
- Sara Bragg et al., ‘More than boy, girl, male, female’: exploring young people’s views on gender diversity within and beyond school contexts, 18 Sex Education 420 (2018), https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14681811.2018.1439373.
- Goldberg et al., Health Care Experiences of Transgender Binary and Nonbinary University Students, 74 (note this is a survey of university students).
- Goldberg et al., Health Care Experiences of Transgender Binary and Nonbinary University Students, 87 (note this is a survey of university students); Scandurra et al., Health of Non-binary and Genderqueer People: A Systematic Review (cites various studies of both youth and adults); Matsuno et al., “The Default Is Just Going to Be Getting Misgendered”: Minority Stress Experiences Among Nonbinary Adults (note this study is of adults, but provides helpful context).
- Brandon Andrew Robinson, Child Welfare Systems and LGBTQ Youth Homelessness, 96 CWLA, Child Welfare, Special Issue: Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity/Expression, and Child Welfare 29 (2018), https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/48624543.
- Brandon Andrew Robinson, Child Welfare Systems and LGBTQ Youth Homelessness, 96 CWLA, Child Welfare, Special Issue: Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity/Expression, and Child Welfare 29 (2018), https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/48624543.
- The authors use “juvenile legal” to refer to the system where youth are charged with delinquencies and may face a range of interventions, requirements, and restrictions on their behavior and liberty including short and long-term incarceration or informal conduct conditions or formal probation requirements. Youth under 18 may be treated within juvenile systems or adult criminal systems depending on the jurisdiction and type and severity of delinquency or crime alleged. The authors do not use “juvenile justice” due to the system being profoundly unjust for youth for a variety or reason, including, the overrepresentation and disparately harmful treatment of youth of color, LGBTQ+ youth, and LGBTQ+ youth of color.
- Gender Spectrum, Using the Gender Support Plan, https://genderspectrum.org/articles/using-the-gsp.
- Ryan Thoreson et al., Shut Out: Restrictions on Bathroom and Locker Room Access for Transgender Youth in US Schools, Human Rights Watch (Sept 14, 2016), https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/09/14/shut-out/restrictions-bathroom-and-locker-room-access-transgender-youth-us.
- Amelia P. Tankersley et al., Risk and Resilience Factors for Mental Health among Transgender and Gender Nonconforming (TGNC) Youth: A Systematic Review, 24 Clinical Child Family Psychology Review 183 (2021), https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-021-00344-6; Megan S. Paceley et al., “I Didn’t Come Here to Make Trouble”: Resistance Strategies Utilized by Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth in the Midwestern U.S., 1 Youth 29, https://www.mdpi.com/2673-995X/1/1/5; The Trevor Project Research Brief: LGBTQ & Gender-Affirming Spaces, The Trevor Project (Dec. 2020), https://www.thetrevorproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/LGBTQ-Affirming-Spaces_-December-2020.pdf.
- Paceley et al., “I Didn’t Come Here to Make Trouble”: Resistance Strategies Utilized by Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth in the Midwestern U.S., 29.
- Paechter et al., Non-binary young people and schools: pedagogical insights from a small-scale interview study, 703.
- Jaimie Veale et al., Enacted Stigma, Mental Health, and Protective Factors Among Transgender Youth in Canada, 2 Transgender Health 207, 214 (2017), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5734137/pdf/trgh.2017.0031.pdf
HOLDING SYSTEMS ACCOUNTABLE
“I have made a lot of grievances about [mistreatment on the basis of SOGI]. About when … the staff would purposely misgender me … there were some that they would look directly at me [and do it]. So, I made a grievance multiple times about it, and the juvi higher-up people, that took care of those grievances … they didn’t really take it serious. Which I felt really disrespected by that.”
— Tyler (he/him), Youth Contributor
Laws and policies that protect and support the identity of transgender, nonbinary, and gender diverse youth in government systems are essential. For them to be effective, youth must have information about their rights in a developmentally appropriate manner, be able to inform adults in positions of authority who can address the harm they faced as a result of law or policy violations, and be sure they will not be retaliated against for making a complaint or grievance.
While nearly all states provide publicly available information or mechanisms to file a complaint or grievance, 17 states do not have a foster system or child welfare-specific ombudsman office,1 and 28 states do not have a youth-specific ombudsman in juvenile legal2 systems.3
Below we have summarized publicly available information about whether each state’s child welfare and juvenile legal systems have grievance or complaint procedures, and whether an entity exists, such as a state child welfare ombudsman, that is child-focused or child welfare or juvenile legal system-specific rather than covering all social services or correctional department operations in a state.
Endnotes
1 Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Vermont, Wisconsin, Wyoming.2 The authors use “juvenile legal” to refer to the system where youth are charged with delinquencies and may face a range of interventions, requirements, and restrictions on their behavior and liberty including short and long-term incarceration or informal
conduct conditions or formal probation requirements. Youth under 18 may be treated within juvenile systems or adult criminal systems depending on the jurisdiction and type and severity of delinquency or crime alleged. The authors do not use “juvenile
justice” due to the system being profoundly unjust for youth for a variety or reason, including, the overrepresentation and disparately harmful treatment of youth of color, LGBTQ+ youth, and LGBTQ+ youth of color.3 Alabama, Alaska, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah,
Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.Alaska
Grievance Procedure: Civil Rights Compliance https://dfcs.alaska.gov/Commissioner/Pages/CivilRights.aspx Office of Children’s Services Complaint Process https://dfcs.alaska.gov/ocs/Pages/grievance/index.aspx
Arizona
Grievance Procedure:
Resolve a Complaint or Disagreement with DCS
https://dcs.az.gov/resource/complaint-or-disagreement
Ombudsman Complaint Form https://dcs.az.gov/resource/complaint-or-disagreement/form
Ombuds:
Arizona DCS Office of the Ombudsman
Phone: 602-364-0777 or 1-877-527-0765
Email: ombudsman@azdcs.gov
https://dcs.az.gov/ombudsman-complaint
California
Grievance Procedure:
Department of Social Service Complaint
File a Complaint https://www.cdss.ca.gov/reporting/file-a-complaint
Ombuds:
California Ombudsman for Foster Care
744 P Street, MS 8-13-25
Sacramento, California 95814
Toll-Free: (877) 846-1602
Email: fosteryouthhelp@dss.ca.gov
http://www.fosteryouthhelp.ca.gov/
Colorado
Grievance Procedure: Child Protection Ombudsman
File a Complaint https://coloradocpo.org/complaint-form/
Ombuds:
Child Protection Ombudsman of Colorado
Phone: (720) 625-8640
Connecticut:
Grievance Procedure: Office of Diversity and Equity (ODE)
“A complaint may be submitted verbally or in writing to the Office of Diversity and Equity. When possible, a complaint shall be submitted using the DCF-104, “Discrimination Complaint Intake Form.”
https://portal.ct.gov/DCF/ODE/Homehttps://portal.ct.gov/-/media/DCF/Policy/Chapters/7-1.pdf
Office of Community Relations
Call 1-866-637-4737
https://portal.ct.gov/dcf/ocr/home
Ombuds:
Office of the Child Advocate
165 Capitol Avenue
Hartford CT 06106
Phone Number: 860-566-2106
Toll-Free: 800-994-0939
Fax: 860-326-0569
E-mail: oca@ct.gov
Website: https://portal.ct.gov/OCA
DCF Office of the Ombudsman 860-550-6301 https://portal.ct.gov/DCF/1-DCF/About-DCF
Delaware
Grievance Procedure: Office of the Child Advocate Referral Form: https://ocade.socialsolutionsportal.com/apricot-intake/224f4b0e-e7d6-4dac-9621-2b9d58ab74d8https://courts.delaware.gov/childadvocate/parents/index.aspx
Ombuds:
Office of the Child Advocate
Phone: (302) 255-1730
https://courts.delaware.gov/childadvocate/
Florida
Grievance Procedure: Florida Children’s Ombudsman https://www.myflfamilies.com/service-programs/child-welfare/childrens-ombudsman.shtml Ombuds: Heather Rosenberg
Florida Children’s Ombudsman
Phone: (850) 717-4505
Cell: (850) 491-2203
Ombudsman Line: 844-KIDS-FLA
Email: kidsfla@myflfamilies.comhttps://www.myflfamilies.com/service-programs/child-welfare/childrens-ombudsman.shtml
Georgia
Grievance Procedure: DFCS Constituents Services https://dfcs.georgia.gov/contacts/dfcs-constituent-service
Office of the Child Advocate https://oca.georgia.gov/request-oca-assistance-or-investigationhttps://oca.georgia.gov/
Ombuds:
Georgia’s Office of the Child Advocate
7 Martin Luther King, Jr., Dr., SE Suite 347
Atlanta, GA 30334
Phone: (404) 656-4200
Hawai’i
Grievance Procedure: Department of Human Services, Discrimination complaint form https://humanservices.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Discrimination-Complaint-Form-6000-1.18.pdf
Idaho
Grievance Procedure: Civil Rights Manager Idaho Department of Health and Welfare
P.O. Box 83720 Boise, ID 83720-0036
Phone: 208-334-5617
TTY: 208-332-7205
https://publicdocuments.dhw.idaho.gov/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=1235&dbid=0&repo=PUBLIC-DOCUMENTS&cr=1
Illinois
Grievance Procedure: Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)
1921 South Indiana Ave., 4th Floor
Chicago, Illinois 60616
Telephone: 312-328-2495
Email: DCFS.DEI@illinois.govhttps://dcfs.illinois.gov/about-us/oaa/filing-a-discrimination-complaint.html
DCFS Office of Affirmative Action: dcfs.officeofaffirmativeaction@illinois.gov
DCFS Youth Helpline: 800-232-3798
DCFS LGBTQI+ Specialty Services team: 312-814-8741
DCFS LGBTQI+ Help Line: 855-814-8421
https://dcfs.illinois.gov/brighter-futures/healthy/serviceslgbtqi-yic.html
Ombuds:
Illinois Advocacy Office for Children and Families
406 East Monroe Street Springfield, Illinois 62701
Phone: (217) 524-2029
Toll-Free: (800) 232-3798
TTY: (800) 513-4980
Email: dcfs.advocacy@illinois.govhttps://www2.illinois.gov/dcfs/aboutus/Pages/Get-Help.aspx
Advocacy Office Youth Services Brochure: https://dcfs.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/dcfs/documents/about-us/documents/AOCF_Youth_Brochure.pdf
The Advocacy Office For Children and Families Brochure: https://dcfs.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/dcfs/documents/safe-kids/reporting-child-abuse-and-neglect/documents/advocbro.2.0.pdf
Indiana:
Grievance Procedure: DCS Ombudsman Complaint Form https://in.accessgov.com/idoa/Forms/Page/idoa/dcs-ombudsman-complaint-form/https://www.in.gov/idoa/files/DCS_Complaint_Form.pdf
Ombuds:
Indiana Department of Child Services Ombudsman Bureau
402 W. Washington, W479
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204
Phone: 877-682-0101
Fax: 317-232-3154
Email: DCSOmbudsman@idoa.in.gov
http://www.in.gov/idoa/2610.htm
Iowa
Grievance Procedure: Iowa Department of Human Services, Office of Human Resources
Hoover State Office Building, 1st floor
1305 East Walnut Street
Des Moines, IA 50319-0114
https://hhs.iowa.gov/nondiscrimination-policy
Kansas
Grievance Procedure:
Kansas Department of Children and Families
The Office of Client Services
Phone: 833-765-2003
Email: DCF.CustomerService@ks.govhttp://www.dcf.ks.gov/services/Pages/Client-Services.aspx
Department for Children and Families,
Civil Rights/EEO Section 555 S. Kansas,
Topeka, KS 66603-3444
Kentucky
Grievance Procedure:
Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services EEO/Civil Rights Compliance Branch
275 E. Main St., 5 C-D
Frankfort, KY 40621
Telephone: (502) 564-7770
Fax: (502) 564-3129
Ombuds:
The Commonwealth Office of the Ombudsman
209 St. Clair Street,
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
(866) 596-6283
https://www.auditor.ky.gov/kyombud/Pages/default.aspx
Louisiana
Grievance Procedure: Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS)
DCFS Bureau of General Counsel,
Civil Rights Section
PO Box 1887 Baton Rouge, LA 70821
(225) 342-0309
DCFS.BureauofCivilRights@LA.Gov
https://public.powerdms.com/LADCFS/documents/393341
Maine
Grievance Procedure: Maine Child Welfare Services Ombudsman,
Sumbit a Complaint http://cwombudsman.org/submit-a-complaint-2//
Ombuds:
Maine Child Welfare Services Ombudsman
Phone: (207) 213-4773
Toll-Free: (866) 621-0758
Email: ombudsman@cwombudsman.comhttp://cwombudsman.com/
Maryland
Grievance Procedure:
Foster Youth Ombuds Inquiry Form https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfwDAlOWKPfrsCO99c_ma- ud4pnINytLVuDyIY0ZEQso_8tbw/viewform
Foster Parent Ombuds Inquiry https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdf3oCkfqDaoqd2Zr15prVU7FlJD
The State Board for the Certification of Residential Child Care Program Administrators, How to File a Complaint https://health.maryland.gov/crccp/Pages/complaint.aspx
Ombuds:
Foster Youth Ombuds Loney Nguyen, LCSW-C
Phone: 410-767-9621 (office)
443-509-0348 (cell)
Email: loney.nguyen1@maryland.govhttps://dhs.maryland.gov/foster-care/youth-resources/foster-youth-ombuds/
Resource Parent Ombudsman Jeannette (Jenny) Jumbelick
Phone: 410-767-9672
Email: Jeannette.Jumbelick@maryland.gov
https://dhs.maryland.gov/foster-care/resource-parents/dhs-ombudsman/
Massachusetts
Grievance Procedure: DCF Office of the Ombudsman,
Ask a Question
http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/gov/departments/dcf/dcf-ombudsman.html
Office of the Child Advocate, Complaint Form:
https://oca.force.com/s/oca-casewebformhttps://www.mass.gov/orgs/office-of-the-child-advocate
Ombuds:
Massachusetts Department of Children and Families Ombudsman
Phone: (617) 748-2444
https://www.mass.gov/service-details/dcf-office-of-the-ombudsman
Office of the Child Advocate
Complaint Line: (617) 979-8360
Main Office: (617) 979-8374
Toll Free: (866) 790-3690
Complaint Form: https://oca.force.com/s/oca-casewebformhttps://www.mass.gov/orgs/office-of-the-child-advocate
Michigan
Grievance Procedure:
Office of the Child Advocate, File a Complaint https://www.michigan.gov/oca/complaints
Division of Child Welfare Licensing, Online Complaint Form https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/0,5885,7-339-71551_27716-82239–,00.html
Ombuds:
Michigan Office of the Child Advocate
P.O. Box 30026
Lansing, Michigan 48909
Phone (Lansing Area): (517) 241-0400
Phone (Outside the Lansing Area): 1-800-MICH-FAM (1-800-642-4326)
Fax: (517) 335-4471 http://www.michigan.gov/oco/
Minnesota
Grievance Procedure:
Minnesota Office of the Ombudsperson for Families, How to File a Complaint https://mn.gov/ombudfam/intake-form/
Minnesota Department of Human Services Equal Opportunity and Access
Division P.O. Box 64997
St. Paul, MN 55164-0997
Phone: 651-431-3040
https://mn.gov/dhs/general-public/about-dhs/administration-management/civil-rights.jsp
Ombuds: Minnesota Office of the Ombudsperson for Families
1450 Energy Drive Suite 106 St. Paul, Minnesota 55108
Phone: (651) 603-0058
Toll-Free: 1-888-234-4939
Fax: (651) 643-2539 http://mn.gov/ombudfam/
Missouri
Grievance Procedure: Missouri DSS,
Submit a Comment or Complaint https://dss.mo.gov/child-support/comment.htm
Missouri DSS Office for Civil Rights
P. O. Box 1527
Jefferson City, MO 65102-1527
Phone: (800) 776-8014; or (866) 735-2460 (Voice);
(800) 735-2966 (Text)
https://dss.mo.gov/files/missouri-nondiscrimination-policy-statement.htm
Missouri Office of Child Advocate, Complaint Form https://formsportal.dss.mo.gov/content/forms/af/moa/office-of-child-advocate/complaint-form/ca-complaint-form.html
Ombuds: Missouri Office of Child Advocate
PO Box 809 Jefferson City, Missouri 65102
Toll-Free: (866) 457-2302
Phone: (573) 522-8683
Email: oca@oca.mo.govhttps://oca.mo.gov/
Montana
Grievance Procedure:
Department of Public Health & Human Services (DPHHS)
Office of Human Resources Civil Rights/EEO Coordinator
PO Box 4210 Helena, MT 59604
Phone: (406) 444-3136
Fax: (406) 444-0262 V,
TTY: (800) 833-8503 V,
TTY: (406) 444-1335
https://dphhs.mt.gov/assets/ada/ComplaintResolutionForm.pdf
Montana Child and Family Ombudsman, Request for Assistance: https://dojmt.gov/wp-content/uploads/OCFO-RFA-7.22.pdf
Ombuds:
Montana Child and Family Ombudsman
PO Box 201417 Helena, MT 59620
Toll-Free: (844) 252-4453
Email: DOJOMBUDSMAN@mt.govhttps://dojmt.gov/enforcement/specialservices/ocfo-home/
Nebraska
Grievance Procedure: Protection And Safety Grievances,
Grievance Details https://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/Protection-and-Safety-Grievance-Form.aspx
Office of the Inspector General of Nebraska Child Welfare,
File a Complaint https://oig.legislature.ne.gov/?page_id=15
Nondiscrimination Notice https://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/Non-Discrimination-Notice.aspx
Nebraska Public Counsel (Ombudsman’s Office)
PO Box 94604 Room 807, State Capitol Lincoln,
Nebraska 68509-4604
Phone: (402) 471-2035
Toll-Free: (800) 742-7690
Email: ombud@leg.ne.govhttp://nebraskalegislature.gov/divisions/ombud-filing.php
Ombuds:
Office of the Inspector General of Nebraska Child Welfare
1225 L Street, Suite 300
P.O. Box 94604 Lincoln, Nebraska 68509-4604
Phone: (402) 471-4211
Toll-Free: (855) 460-6784
TDD: (402) 471-5087
Fax: (402) 471-4277
E-mail: oig@leg.ne.govhttp://oig.legislature.ne.gov/
Nevada
Grievance Procedure:
Nevada HHS, Division of Child & Family,
File a Complaint http://dcfs.nv.gov/Programs/SA/
“To file a complaint please call using the numbers listed below: In Las Vegas and Surrounding Area: Clark County Department of Family Services call 866-780-9541 or view the Ombudsman’s websit
In Reno and Surrounding Area: Washoe County Human Services Agency call 775-337-4500 or email hsa-ombudsman@washoecounty.us
For all other Rural Counties: call 775-684-4453 or email systems.advocate@dcfs.nv.gov”
Ombuds:
Nevada Division of Child and Family Services Systems Advocate
Phone: (833) 562-0044
Fax (775) 684-4455
Email: systems.advocate@dcfs.nv.govhttp://dcfs.nv.gov/Programs/SA/
New Hampshire
Grievance Procedure:
New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Civil Rights Policy https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt476/files/documents2/civil-rights-dhhs.pdf
New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Ombudsman
129 Pleasant Street Concord, New Hampshire 03301
Phone: (603) 271-6941
Toll-Free: (800) 852-3345
TDD Access: Relay NH (800) 735-2964 Fax: (603) 271-4632
Email: Ombudsman@dhhs.nh.govhttps://www.dhhs.nh.gov/about-dhhs/office-ombudsman
Ombuds:
Office of the Child Advocate Johnson Hall 107 Pleasant Street Concord NH 03301
Phone: (603) 271-7773
Toll Free: (833) NHCHILD
Email: childadvocate@nh.govhttps://www.childadvocate.nh.gov/
New Jersey
Grievance Procedure:
New Jersey Department of Children and Families Office of Advocacy
https://www.nj.gov/dcf/about/divisions/oa/
Ombuds:
New Jersey Department of Children and Families Office of Advocacy
Toll-Free: (877) 543-7864
Email: askDCF@dcf.state.nj.ushttp://www.nj.gov/dcf/about/divisions/oa/
New Mexico
Grievance Procedure: Office of Children’s Rights – How to file a complaint
Email: CYFD.YouthGrievance@cyfd.nm.gov
Phone: (505) 228-6797 https://www.cyfd.nm.gov/cyfd-office-of-childrens-rights/how-to-file-a-complaint/
New Mexico Children,
Youth & Families PO Drawer 5160
P.E.R.A. Room 254 Santa Fe, New Mexico 87502
Phone: (505) 827-7606
Fax: (505) 827-4053
Email: harry.montoya@state.nm.ushttp://cyfd.org/about-cyfd/constituent-affairs
N.M. Admin. Code § 8.14.20.15 Right of Grievance Complaint and Appeal “The client grievance and appeal procedure is written and made available to all clients and families and includes at least one level of appeal. The published process for submitting a grievance is posted and grievance boxes are provided nearby in conspicuous places for clients and families in each living unit and common areas. Grievances are transmitted confidentially and without alteration, interference, or delay to the party responsible for receipt and investigation. A written report on the final disposition of a grievance is prepared and filed, and a copy given to the client.”
Substitute Care Advisory Council
PO Box 3204 Mesilla Park, NM 88047
Phone: 833-272-2255
Email: nm.crv@state.nm.ushttp://www.scacnm.org/
Ombuds: Office of Children’s Rights – How to file a complaint
Email: CYFD.YouthGrievance@cyfd.nm.gov
Phone: (505) 228-6797
https://www.cyfd.nm.gov/cyfd-office-of-childrens-rights/how-to-file-a-complaint/
New York
Grievance Procedure: Contact the Office of the Ombudsman https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/ombudsman/contact.php
Ombuds:
New York State Office of Children and Families Office of the Ombudsman
Phone: (888) 219-9818
Email: MyAllies@ocfs.ny.gov 52 Washington Street, 230N Rensselaer, NY 12144 https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/ombudsman/
North Carolina
Grievance Procedure: NCDHHS, ADA and Civil Rights Grievance Procedure https://www.ncdhhs.gov/about/department-initiatives/ada-and-civil-rights-grievance-procedure
DHHS Compliance Attorney Office of General Counsel
2001 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-2001
Phone: (919) 855-4800
https://www.ncdhhs.gov/ncdhhscivilrightsgrievanceprocedure11182022/download?attachment
North Dakota
Grievance Procedure:
Nondiscrimination Policy Legal Division Department of Health and Human Services
600 E. Boulevard Avenue, Department 325 Bismarck, ND 58505-0250
Phone: 701-328-2311 or 1-800-472-2622
TTY: 711
Fax: 701-328-2173
Email: dhslau@nd.gov
Civil Rights Complaint form: https://apps.nd.gov/itd/recmgmt/rm/stFrm/eforms/Doc/sfn00143.pdfhttps://www.hhs.nd.gov/nondiscrimination-policy
Client Rights and Appeals Appeals Supervisor,
Legal Division N.D. Department of Health and Human Services
600 E Boulevard Avenue, Dept. 325 Bismarck, ND 58505-0250
Phone: (701) 328-2311
Toll Free: (800) 472-2622 ND
Relay TTY: (800) 366-6888
Request for Hearing: https://ilinxeforms.nd.gov/ILINXFlex/eFormsApp/view.php?param=QKFold03CWp%2FMgtjDhL%2BX hlgl%2F%2B7QTR0w3kQXn62NyQ%3D https://www.hhs.nd.gov/about-us/client-rights-and-appeals
Ohio
Grievance Procedure: Civil Rights, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services
30 East Broad Street, 30th Floor Columbus, Ohio 43215-3414
Phone: (614) 644-2703 or 1-866-227-6353
Fax: (614) 752 – 6381
eFax: bcr-fax@jfs.ohio.gov
eMail: Civil_Rights@jfs.ohio.govhttps://jfs.ohio.gov/help-center/civil-rights/civil-rights
How to File a Complaint: https://jfs.ohio.gov/help-center/civil-rights/02-how-to-file-a-complaint
Office of Legislation: Constituent Services
Ohio Department of Job and Family Services
Phone: (614) 466-9280 Fax (614) 466-0292
TTY/TDD (614) 728-0799
https://jfs.ohio.gov/about/our-offices-bureaus-and-committees/office-of-legislation
Oklahoma
Grievance Procedure: Oklahoma Foster Youth Matters – File a Grievance
http://www.okfosteryouthmatters.org/complaint.php
DHS Office of Client Advocacy – Contact Us: Complaints https://oklahoma.gov/okdhs/contact-us/ocahome.html
Ombuds:
Oklahoma Foster Youth Matters (Foster Child Ombudsman)
Phone: (405) 982-3842
http://www.okfosteryouthmatters.org/index.php
Oklahoma Foster Parent Voices (Foster Parent Ombudsman)
Phone: (405) 606-4900 https://www.okfosterparentvoices.org/
Oklahoma Department of Human Services Office of Client Advocacy
Phone: (405) 522-2720
Fax: (405) 522-2680
PO Box 25352 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73125-0352
https://oklahoma.gov/okdhs/contact-us/ocahome.html
Oregon
Grievance Procedure: Oregon Foster Care Ombudsman – How to file a complaint https://www.oregon.gov/dhs/ABOUTDHS/Pages/foster-care-ombuds.aspx Governor’s Advocacy Office (GAO) – Complaints and Concerns https://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ABOUTDHS/Pages/gao.aspx Filing Customer Service or Privacy Complaints or a Report of Discrimination https://sharedsystems.dhsoha.state.or.us/DHSForms/Served/de0170.pdf
Ombuds:
Oregon Foster Care Ombudsman
500 Summer St. NE E-17 Salem, Oregon 97301
Call the Youth Empowerment and Safety (Y.E.S.) line at 855-840-6036
Fax: (503) 378-6532
Email: fco.info@odhsoha.oregon.govhttps://www.oregon.gov/dhs/ABOUTDHS/Pages/foster-care-ombuds.aspx
Governor’s Advocacy Office ODHS Ombuds 500 Summer Street NE Salem, Oregon 97310-1097
Phone: (503) 945-6904
Fax: (503) 378-6532
Toll-free: (800) 442-5238
Email: ohso.info@odhsoha.oregon.govhttps://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ABOUTDHS/Pages/gao.aspx
Pennsylvania
Grievance Procedure: Office of Children, Youth and Families Bulletin – Child in Foster Care Act
DHS Feedback Form https://www.dhs.pa.gov/contact/Pages/Feedback.aspx
Rhode Island
Grievance Procedure: “You have the right to file a complaint with the Department if you believe the Department has discriminated against you, or someone you know, based on disability, race, color, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, national origin, religious or political belief, ancestry, familial or marital status, genetic information, association, or previous assertion of a claim or right.”
Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General
150 South Main Street Providence, RI 02903
Phone: (401)222-2661
https://riag.ri.gov/forms/civil-rights-complaint
https://dcyf.ri.gov/about-us/dcyf-policies-operating-procedures/adacivil-rights-compliance
Ombuds:
Rhode Island Office of the Child Advocate
6 Cherrydale Court. Cottage 43 Cranston,
RI 02920
Phone: (401) 462-4300
Fax: (401) 462-4305 http://www.child-advocate.ri.gov/index.php
South Carolina
Grievance Procedure: DSS Office of Civil Rights P.O. Box 1520 Columbia, S.C. 29202-1520 Phone: (800) 311-7220 or (803) 898-8080 or TTY: (800) 311-7219 https://dss.sc.gov/about/individual-and-provider-rightscivil-rights/civil-rights/
South Carolina Department of Children’s Advocacy – File a Complaint https://childadvocate.sc.gov/complaints
South Carolina Office of Ombudsman
Wade Hampton Building 1205 Pendleton Street Columbia,
South Carolina 29201
Phone: (803) 734-5049 https://admin.sc.gov/ombudsman
Ombuds:
South Carolina Department of Children’s Advocacy
1205 Pendleton Street, Suite 471A Columbia, SC 29201
Phone: 803-734-3176
Toll Free Complaint Line: 1-800-206-1957
South Dakota
Grievance Procedure: SDDSS Grievance Procedure
http://dss.sd.gov/keyresources/legal/grievance.aspx
Discrimination Coordinator Director of DSS Division of Legal Services
700 Governor’s Drive Pierre, SD 57501
Phone: (605) 773-3305
Email: DSSInfo@state.sd.ushttps://dss.sd.gov/keyresources/discrimination.aspx#dis
Tennessee
Grievance Procedure:
TCCY Ombudsman for Children and Families –
Complaint Form https://www.tn.gov/tccy/programs0/ombuds.htm
Tennessee Department of Children’s Services Office of Civil Rights
UBS Tower, 7th Floor 315 Deaderick Street
Nashville, TN 37243 (615) 532-5552
https://www.tn.gov/dcs/contact-us/civil-rights.html
DCS Customer Relations
Unit 315 Deaderick St.
UBS Tower, 7th Floor Nashville, TN 37243
Phone: (800) 861-1935 Email: DCS.Custserv@tn.govhttps://www.tn.gov/dcs/contact-us/customer-relations.html
Ombuds:
Ombudsman for Children and Families
Cory Bradfield TCCY Ombudsman Program Director
Phone: 615-532-1589
Email: Cory.Bradfield@tn.govhttps://www.tn.gov/tccy/programs0/ombuds.html
Texas
Grievance Procedure: Foster Care Ombudsman
Online Submission Form https://hhsportal.hhs.state.tx.us/heartwebextr/public/assignment_hhsc_fco?methodToCall=loadExternalAssignment Case-Specific Question and Complaint Form https://www.dfps.texas.gov/Contact_Us/Questions_and_Complaints/complaints.asp
Ombuds:
Texas Department of Health and Human Services Commission Foster Care Ombudsman
P.O. Box 13247 Austin, TX 78711-3247
Phone: (844) 286-0769 RT: 800-735-2989
Fax: (888) 780-8099
https://www.hhs.texas.gov/about-hhs/your-rights/office-ombudsman/hhs-ombudsman-foster-care-help
Utah
Grievance Procedure: Child protection ombuds complaint form
https://dhhs.utah.gov/office-of-ombuds/ocpo/child-protection-ombuds-complaint-form/
Civil rights complaint form https://dhhs.utah.gov/commitment-to-civil-rights/civil-rights-complaint-form/
Department of Health and Human Services Division of Customer Experience dhhscustomerexp@utah.gov
Phone: (801) 538-4580 TTY only: (801) 538-5772
or Utah Relay 7-1-1 1st Floor, 195 North 1950 West Salt Lake City, UT 84116
https://dhhs.utah.gov/commitment-to-civil-rights/
Ombuds:
Utah Department of Human Services Office of Child Protection
Ombudsman Phone: (801) 538-4589
Email: ocpo@utah.gov
195 N 1950 W Salt Lake City, UT 84116
https://dhhs.utah.gov/office-of-ombuds/ocpo/https://dcfs.utah.gov/contact-us/
Vermont
Grievance Procedure:
Voice A Concern/Make A Complaint https://dcf.vermont.gov/contacts/concerns/voice
VT Consumer Concerns Team- Commissioner’s Office, Department for Children and Families
280 State Drive, HC 1 North,
Waterbury, VT 05671-1080
Phone: (802) 241-0925
Email: AHS.DCFConsumerConcerns@vermont.gov
https://outside.vermont.gov/dept/DCF/Shared Documents/About/Nondiscrimination-Policy.pdf
AHS Secretary 280 State Drive, HC 1
North, Waterbury, VT 05671-1080 802-241-0440
https://humanservices.vermont.gov/sites/ahsnew/files/1.11 Nondiscrimination Policy%20-%20Grievance%20Policy.pdf
Virginia
Grievance Procedure: Office of the Children’s Ombudsman – Filing a Complaint
https://www.oco.virginia.gov/complaints/
Ombuds: The Office of the Children’s Ombudsman
Phone: (804)225-4801
Washington
Grievance Procedure: Washington State Office of the Family and Children’s Ombuds – Filing a Complaint https://ofco.wa.gov/filing-complainthttps://ofco.dynamics365portals.us/complaint-form/
Ombuds: Washington State Office of the Family and Children’s Ombuds
6840 Fort Dent Way, Suite 125 Tukwila, WA 98188
Phone: (206) 439-3870 Toll-Free: (800) 571-7321
Fax: (206) 439-3877
West Virginia
Grievance Procedure: West Virginia Foster Care Ombudsman Request for Assistance
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeMflNTm7M0ARA-mZ8jQxk41ne9XijofbrFF4CJx9_pVCa_0w/viewform
Bureau for Children and Families: Youth Services Policy
11.3 Complaint Procedure and Due Process Standards https://dhhr.wv.gov/bcf/policy/Documents/Youth Services January 2021.pdf
West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources
Office of Human Resource Management EEO/Civil Rights Officer
Phone: (304) 558-3313
Fax: (304) 558-6051
Email: DHHRCivilRights@WV.Gov
West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources Office of Client Services 350 Capital Street – Room 513 Charleston, West Virginia 25301 Toll-Free: (800) 642-8589 http://dhhr.wv.gov/bcf/Services/Documents/Client Services Phamplet v4.0.pdf
Ombuds: Foster Care Ombudsman
Pamela M. Woodman-Kaehler
State Capitol Complex
Building 6, Room 817-B
Charleston, WV 25305
Phone: (304) 558-1117
Fax: (304) 558-1992
FosterCareOmbudsman@wv.govhttp://www.wvdhhr.org/oig/fco.html
Wisconsin
Grievance Procedure:
The Department of Children and Families – File a Complaint https://dcf.wisconsin.gov/about-us/complaint[DCFBROCWComplaints@wisconsin.gov](mailto:DCFBROCWComplaints@wisconsin.gov)
or call 608-422-6886 https://dcf.wisconsin.gov/about-us/complaint/child-welfare
DCF Equal Opportunity Officer
608-422-6889
201 East Washington Avenue, Second Floor PO Box 8916
Madison, Wisconsin 53708-8916
Phone: 608-422-7000
Fax: 608-422-7163
Email: dcfweb@wisconsin.gov
https://dcf.wisconsin.gov/civilrights/complaint-procedures
Wyoming
Grievance Procedure:
Wyoming Department of Family Services Complaint Resolution
Clint Hanes Phone: (307) 777-6597
Email: clint.hanes1@wyo.govhttps://dfs.wyo.gov/about/complaint-resolution/
District of Columbia
Grievance Procedure:
Office of the Ombudsperson for Children
Online Complaint Form https://octo.quickbase.com/db/bswvknnw4?a=nwrhttps://cfsa.dc.gov/service/be-heard#gsc.tab=0
Ombuds: District of Columbia Child and Family Services Agency Youth Ombudsman
200 I Street, SE Washington, District of Columbia 20003
Phone: (855) 874-3273
Fax: (202) 727-6505
Email: yo.bud@dc.govhttps://ofc.dc.gov/
Puerto Rico
Grievance Procedure:
Oficina Del Ombudsman De Puerto Rico, https://www.ombudsman.pr.gov/
Ave. de la Constitución Núm. 8, Edif. Ramón Mellado Parsons, Viejo San Juan
Email: ombusdmanpr@opc.pr.gov
Phone: (787) 724-7373
Fax: (787) 724-8130
Alaska
Grievance Procedure: Civil Rights Compliance https://dfcs.alaska.gov/Commissioner/Pages/CivilRights.aspx
Arizona
Grievance Procedure: https://portal.azdjc.gov/policy/main.aspx [Select Policy 2304.1 for Grievance Procedure]
Arizona Ombudsman-Citizens’ Aide 7878 N. 16th Street, Suite 235 Phoenix, Arizona 85020 Phone: (602) 277-7292 Toll-Free: (800) 872-2879 Fax: (602) 277-7312 Email: ombuds@azoca.govhttp://www.azoca.gov/ File a Complaint – Arizona Ombudsman Citizens’ Aide https://www.azoca.gov/complaint-procedure/complaint-form/
Ombuds: Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections – Juvenile Ombudsmen (Ombuds) https://adjc.az.gov/operational-support/legal-systems
Arkansas
Grievance Procedure: 7260 Youth Grievance and Appeal (Page 26) http://170.94.37.152/REGS/016.01.19-002F-19037.pdf
Ombuds: Juvenile Justice Ombudsman (501)683-1766 https://humanservices.arkansas.gov/divisions-shared-services/youth-services/juvenile-justice-ombudsman/
California
Grievance Procedure: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Office of the Ombudsman 1515 S Street Sacramento, CA 95811 Phone: (916)445-1773 https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/ombuds/
Ombudsman Contact Form: https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/ombuds/ombuds/contact-us-at-the-ombudsman/
Colorado
Grievance Procedure: Child Protection Ombudsman File a Complaint https://coloradocpo.org/complaint-form/
Ombuds: Child Protection Ombudsman of Colorado
Phone: (720) 625-8640 http://www.coloradocpo.org/
Connecticut
Grievance Procedure: Office of Diversity and Equity (ODE) “A complaint may be submitted verbally or in writing to the Office of Diversity and Equity. When possible, a complaint shall be submitted using the DCF-104, “Discrimination Complaint Intake Form.” https://portal.ct.gov/DCF/ODE/Homehttps://portal.ct.gov/-/media/DCF/Policy/Chapters/7-1.pdf
Office of Community Relations Call 1-866-637-4737 https://portal.ct.gov/dcf/ocr/home
Ombuds: Office of the Child Advocate 165 Capitol Avenue Hartford CT 06106 Phone Number: 860-566-2106 Toll-Free: 800-994-0939 Fax: 860-326-0569 E-mail: oca@ct.gov Website: https://portal.ct.gov/OCA
DCF Office of the Ombudsman 860-550-6301 https://portal.ct.gov/DCF/1-DCF/About-DCF
Delaware
Grievance Procedure: Office of the Child Advocate Referral Form: https://ocade.socialsolutionsportal.com/apricot-intake/224f4b0e-e7d6-4dac-9621-2b9d58ab74d8https://courts.delaware.gov/childadvocate/parents/index.aspx
Ombuds: Office of the Child Advocate Phone: (302) 255-1730 https://courts.delaware.gov/childadvocate/
Florida
Grievance Procedure: Department of Juvenile Justice Office of Inspector General http://www.djj.state.fl.us/services/support/OIG
Ombuds: Department of Juvenile Justice Office of Inspector General 2737 Centerview Drive Tallahassee, FL 32399-3100 Phone: (800) 355-2280 Fax: (850) 414-7182 E-mail: OIGComplaints@fldjj.gov
http://www.djj.state.fl.us/services/support/OIG
Georgia
Grievance Procedure: Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice Office of the Ombudsman https://djj.georgia.gov/parents-and-guardians/office-ombudsman
Georgia’s Office of the Child Advocate – Request OCA Assistance or Investigation https://oca.georgia.gov/request-oca-assistance-or-investigation
Ombuds: Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice Office of the Ombudsman 3408 Covington Highway Decatur, Georgia 30032
Phone (Toll-Free): 1-855-396-2978 Email: djjombudsman@djj.state.ga.ushttps://djj.georgia.gov/parents-and-guardians/office-ombudsman
Georgia’s Office of the Child Advocate 7 Martin Luther King, Jr., Dr., SE Suite 347 Atlanta, GA 30334 Phone: (404) 656-4200 http://oca.georgia.gov/
Hawaii
Grievance Procedure: Department of Human Services, Discrimination complaint form https://humanservices.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Discrimination-Complaint-Form-6000-1.18.pdf
Hawaii Office of the Ombudsman 465 South King Street, 4th Floor Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 Phone: (808) 587-0770 Fax: (808) 587-0773 Email: complaints@ombudsman.hawaii.govhttps://www.ombudsman.hawaii.gov/https://www.ombudsman.hawaii.gov/got-a-complaint/
Illinois
Grievance Procedure: Office of the Independent Juvenile Ombudsman Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice https://idjj.illinois.gov/resources-research/independent-ombudsman.html
Ombuds: Office of the Independent Juvenile Ombudsman Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice 1112 S. Wabash Ave. 2nd floor Chicago, IL 60605 Phone: 312-814-8990 Email: karima.douglas@illinois.govhttps://idjj.illinois.gov/resources-research/independent-ombudsman.html
Indiana
Grievance Procedure: Indiana Department of Correction, Office of Investigations and Intelligence, Complaint Form https://www.in.gov/idoc/operations/i-and-i/complaint-form/
Indiana Department of Correction, Indiana Ombudsman Bureau “The Ombudsman Bureau requires complainants to use the Ombudsman Bureau Complaint Form. These forms are available in the law library of each DOC facility or can be downloaded in the section labeled ‘Links.’” https://www.in.gov/idoc/divisions/ombudsman/
Iowa Grievance Procedure: Office of Ombudsman Ola Babcock Miller Building 1112 East Grand Des Moines, Iowa 50319 Phone: (515) 281-3592 Toll-Free: (888) 426-6283 ombudsman@legis.iowa.govhttps://www.legis.iowa.gov/Ombudsman/https://www.legis.iowa.gov/Ombudsman/complaints/OnlineComplaintForm.html
Kansas
Grievance Procedure: Kansas Department of Corrections, Internal Management Policy & Procedure, 10-140J Programs and Services: Reporting Abuse and/or Neglect of a Resident https://public.powerdms.com/KansasDOC/documents/1552384
Kansas Department of Corrections, Internal Management Policy & Procedure, 11-122J Decision Making: Documentation of Juvenile Offender Grievance Procedures https://public.powerdms.com/KansasDOC/tree/documents/1552414
Kentucky
Grievance Procedure: Justice Cabinet Department of Juvenile Justice Policy and Procedures, Detention Services, Grievance Procedure, DJJ 706 https://djj.ky.gov/700 Policy Manual/DJJ 706 Grievance Procedure.pdf
Louisiana
Grievance Procedures: Youth Services Policy, Complaints and Grievances, D.10.21, Community Based Services, Supervision https://public.powerdms.com/LAJJ/tree/documents/1734476
Maine
Grievance Procedures: State of Maine, Department of Corrections, Policy Number 29.01 https://www1.maine.gov/corrections/policies (select 29.01 – Community Corrections Client Grievances Process, General (APA Rule)
Massachusetts
Grievance Procedures: Office of the Child Advocate https://www.mass.gov/orgs/office-of-the-child-advocate
Ombuds: Office of the Child Advocate Complaint Line: (617) 979-8360 Main Office: (617) 979-8374 Toll Free: (866) 790-3690 Complaint Form: https://oca.force.com/s/oca-casewebformhttps://www.mass.gov/orgs/office-of-the-child-advocate
Michigan
Grievance Procedure: Office of the Child Advocate, File a Complaint https://www.michigan.gov/oca/complaints
Ombuds: Michigan Office of the Child Advocate P.O. Box 30026 Lansing, Michigan 48909 Phone: 517-241-0400 Toll Free:1-800-642-4326 Complaint Form: https://www.michigan.gov/oco/0,4647,7-133-3190—,00.htmlhttp://www.michigan.gov/oco/
Minnesota
Grievance Procedure: Minnesota Department of Corrections, Juvenile Grievance Procedure 303.095 https://policy.doc.mn.gov/DOCPolicy/ (select Policy 303.095 – Juvenile Grievance Procedure) State of Minnesota
Office of the Ombuds for Corrections 540 Fairview Ave N, Suite 202 St. Paul, MN, 55104 Email: OBFCComplaints@state.mn.us Complaint form: https://mn.gov/obfc/complaints/https://mn.gov/obfc/
Mississippi
Grievance Procedure: Mississippi Department of Human Services, Division of Youth Services, Juvenile Institutions, Policy Number XV.2 https://www.mdhs.ms.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/XV2-Youth- Grievanc.pdf Form XV.2.A https://www.mdhs.ms.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/XV2A-Grievance-For.pdf
Missouri
Grievance Procedure: Missouri Office of Child Advocate, Complaint Form https://formsportal.dss.mo.gov/content/forms/af/moa/office-of-child-advocate/complaint-form/ca-complaint-form.html See regulations: Mo. Code Regs. Ann. tit. 13, § 110-2.100 Grievance Procedures for Committed Youth In Residential Facilities and Mo. Code Regs. Ann. tit. 13, § 110-3.060 Grievance Procedure for Youth in Aftercare
Missouri DSS, Submit a Comment or Complaint
https://dss.mo.gov/child-support/comment.htm Missouri DSS Office for Civil Rights P. O. Box 1527 Jefferson City, MO 65102-1527 Phone: (800) 776-8014; or (866) 735-2460 (Voice); (800) 735-2966 (Text) https://dss.mo.gov/files/missouri-nondiscrimination-policy-statement.htm
Ombuds: Missouri Office of Child Advocate PO Box 809 Jefferson City, Missouri 65102 Toll-Free: (866) 457-2302 Phone: (573) 522-8683 Email: oca@oca.mo.govhttps://oca.mo.gov/
Montana
Grievance Procedure: Montana Department of Corrections, Policy Directive 3.3.3 Offender Grievance Program, https://cor.mt.gov/DataStatsContractsPoliciesProcedures/DataDocumentsandLinks/DOCPolicies/Chapter 3/3.3.3-Offender-Grievance-Program.pdf
Nebraska
Grievance Procedure: Protection And Safety Grievances, Grievance Details https://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/Protection-and-Safety-Grievance-Form.aspx Office of the Inspector General of Nebraska Child Welfare, File a Complaint https://oig.legislature.ne.gov/?page_id=15 Nondiscrimination Notice https://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/Non-Discrimination-Notice.aspx
Nebraska Public Counsel (Ombudsman’s Office) PO Box 94604 Room 807, State Capitol Lincoln, Nebraska 68509-4604 Phone: (402) 471-2035 Toll-Free: (800) 742-7690 Email: ombud@leg.ne.govhttp://nebraskalegislature.gov/divisions/ombud-filing.php Also see Neb. Admin. R. & Regs. Tit. 83, Ch. 12, § 002
Ombuds: Office of the Inspector General of Nebraska Child Welfare 1225 L Street, Suite 300 P.O. Box 94604 Lincoln, Nebraska 68509-4604 Phone: (402) 471-4211 Toll-Free: (855) 460-6784 TDD: (402) 471-5087
Fax: (402) 471-4277 E-mail: oig@leg.ne.govhttp://oig.legislature.ne.gov/
Nevada
Grievance Procedure: Nevada HHS, Division of Child & Family, File a Complaint http://dcfs.nv.gov/Programs/SA/ “To file a complaint please call using the numbers listed below: In Las Vegas and Surrounding Area: Clark County Department of Family Services call 866-780-9541 or view the Ombudsman’s website
In Reno and Surrounding Area: Washoe County Human Services Agency call 775-337-4500 or email hsa-ombudsman@washoecounty.us
For all other Rural Counties: call 775-684-4453 or email systems.advocate@dcfs.nv.gov” Youth Grievance Procedure, Division of Child and Family Services, Juvenile Justice Services, DCFS/JJS 300.0.1, https://dcfs.nv.gov/uploadedFiles/dcfsnvgov/content/Programs/JJS/Youth_Grievance_Procedure
Ombuds: Nevada Division of Child and Family Services Systems Advocate 4126 Technology Way, 3rd Floor Carson City, Nevada 89706 Karla Delgado Phone: (775) 684-4413 Fax (775) 684-4455 systems.advocate@dcfs.nv.govhttp://dcfs.nv.gov/Programs/SA/
Clark County Ombudsman: https://www.clarkcountynv.gov/residents/assistance_programs/ombudsman_(complaints).php
New Hampshire
Grievance Procedure: New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Civil Rights Policy https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt476/files/documents2/civil-rights-dhhs.pdf New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Ombudsman 129 Pleasant Street Concord, New Hampshire 03301 Phone: (603) 271-6941 Toll-Free: (800) 852-3345 TDD Access: Relay NH (800) 735-2964 Fax: (603) 271-4632 Email: Ombudsman@dhhs.nh.govhttps://www.dhhs.nh.gov/about-dhhs/office-ombudsman
Ombuds: Office of the Child Advocate Johnson Hall 107 Pleasant Street Concord NH 03301
Phone: (603) 271-7773 Toll Free: (833) NHCHILD Email: childadvocate@nh.govhttps://www.childadvocate.nh.gov/
New Jersey
Grievance Procedure: Juvenile Justice Commission Complaint, Phone: (609)324-6200 Email: investigations@jjc.nj.govhttps://www.njoag.gov/about/divisions-and-offices/juvenile-justice-commission-home/juvenile-justice-commission-complaint/
New Mexico Grievance Procedure: Office of Children’s Rights – How to file a complaint Email: CYFD.YouthGrievance@cyfd.nm.gov Phone: (505) 228-6797 https://www.cyfd.nm.gov/cyfd-office-of-childrens-rights/how-to-file-a-complaint/ New Mexico Children, Youth & Families PO Drawer 5160 P.E.R.A. Room 254 Santa Fe, New Mexico 87502 Phone: (505) 827-7606 Fax: (505) 827-4053 Email: harry.montoya@state.nm.ushttp://cyfd.org/about-cyfd/constituent-affairs N.M. Admin. Code § 8.14.20.15 Right of Grievance Complaint and Appeal “The client grievance and appeal procedure is written and made available to all clients and families and includes at least one level of appeal. The published process for submitting a grievance is posted and grievance boxes are provided nearby in conspicuous places for clients and families in each living unit and common areas. Grievances are transmitted confidentially and without alteration, interference, or delay to the party responsible for receipt and investigation. A written report on the final disposition of a grievance is prepared and filed, and a copy given to the client.”
Substitute Care Advisory Council PO Box 3204 Mesilla Park, NM 88047 Phone: 833-272-2255 Email: nm.crv@state.nm.ushttp://www.scacnm.org/
Ombuds: Office of Children’s Rights – How to file a complaint Email: CYFD.YouthGrievance@cyfd.nm.gov Phone: (505) 228-6797 https://www.cyfd.nm.gov/cyfd-office-of-childrens-rights/how-to-file-a-complaint/
New York
Grievance Procedure: Contact the Office of the Ombudsman https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/ombudsman/contact.php Ombuds: New York State Office of Children and Families
Office of the Ombudsman Phone: (888) 219-9818 Email: MyAllies@ocfs.ny.gov 52 Washington Street, 230N Rensselaer, NY 12144
Contact Form: https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/ombudsman/contact.phphttps://ocfs.ny.gov/main/ombudsman/
North Carolina
Grievance Procedure: North Carolina Department of Public Safety Policy and Procedures G.03000 Administrative Remedy Procedure https://files.nc.gov/ncdps/div/Prisons/Policy_Procedure_Manual/G.0300_08_01_13.pdf
Appeals for Grievances: Inmate Grievance Resolution Board 4207 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-4207 (919) 850-2936 https://www.ncdps.gov/about-dps/boards-commissions/inmate-grievance-resolution-board
N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 9, § 7332.3 “(a) The director shall ensure the development and implementation of written policies and procedures consistent with this Part. (b) Such policies and procedures shall include, but are not limited, to: (1) a detailed description of grievance program operations including steps, timelines, investigative processes and available internal and external appeal procedures;”
North Dakota
Grievance Procedure: North Dakota Facility (Detention) Rules, Prepared by the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation division of Juvenile Services, Each facility is required to advise youth of their rights including their rights to nondiscrimination and a written grievance procedure: “Rule 31: The rights of juveniles in detention may not be diminished or denied for disciplinary reasons. Written policies and procedures must provide that juveniles are assured their rights, subject only to the limitations necessary to maintain order and security in the facility. The juvenile shall sign a document stating that the juvenile understands his or her rights. Juvenile rights include: A. Freedom from discrimination because of race, national origin, religion or creed, genetics, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability, and shall receive equal treatment under all policies and procedures of this facility D. A written grievance procedure, which must be explained and made available to juveniles. A facility may not subject a juvenile to disciplinary action for reporting a grievance. The facility shall provide at least one level of appeal, which may not be reviewed by the same individual who initially reviewed the grievance. The reviewing authority shall document the findings and the disposition of the appeal. The facility shall provide a copy of the appeal report to the juvenile and shall file the appeal report in the facility records.” https://www.docr.nd.gov/sites/www/files/documents/jails/Jail Standards/ND Juvenile Detention%20Rules.pdf
Ohio
Grievance Procedure: Ohio Department of Youth Services, Youth Grievance Process 159-YRI-07 https://public.powerdms.com/ODYS/tree/documents/465109https://dys.ohio.gov/about-us/contact-us/contact-us Ginine M. Trim, Deputy Director – Chief Inspector Tel: (614) 644-7640 Fax: (614) 728-0472 Email: Ginine.Trim@dys.ohio.gov
Oregon
Grievance Procedure: Oregon Youth Authority – Reporting Line and Professional Standards Office Phone: 1 (800) 373-5440 Email: professionalstandards.office@oya.oregon.govhttps://www.oregon.gov/oya/Pages/contact_us.aspx
Oregon Youth Authority, Youth Grievance Process – Facility, F: Justice – 1.1 https://www.oregon.gov/oya/policies/ii-f-1.1.pdf
Oregon Youth Authority, Youth Rights and Grievances in the Community, B: Intake – 4.0 https://www.oregon.gov/oya/policies/III-B-4.0.pdf
Pennsylvania
Grievance Procedure: Pennsylvania Department of Human Services – Feedback https://www.dhs.pa.gov/contact/Pages/Feedback.aspx
Rhode Island
Grievance Procedure: “You have the right to file a complaint with the Department if you believe the Department has discriminated against you, or someone you know, based on disability, race, color, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, national origin, religious or political belief, ancestry, familial or marital status, genetic information, association, or previous assertion of a claim or right.”
Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General 150 South Main Street Providence, RI 02903 Phone: (401)222-2661 https://riag.ri.gov/forms/civil-rights-complainthttps://dcyf.ri.gov/about-us/dcyf-policies-operating-procedures/adacivil-rights-compliance
Ombuds: Rhode Island Office of the Child Advocate 6 Cherrydale Court. Cottage 43 Cranston, RI 02920 Phone: (401) 462-4300 Fax: (401) 462-4305
http://www.child-advocate.ri.gov/index.php
Puerto Rico
Grievance Procedure: Oficina Del Ombudsman De Puerto Rico, https://www.ombudsman.pr.gov/ Ave. de la Constitución Núm. 8, Edif. Ramón Mellado Parsons, Viejo San Juan Email: ombusdmanpr@opc.pr.gov Phone: (787) 724-7373 Fax: (787) 724-8130
South Carolina
Grievance Procedure: Department of Juvenile Justice, Juvenile Grievance Process (May 2, 2019) https://djj.sc.gov/sites/default/files/Documents/Policy 920-%20Juvenile%20Grievance%20Process.pdf
South Carolina Department of Children’s Advocacy – File a Complaint https://childadvocate.sc.gov/complaints
South Carolina Office of Ombudsman Wade Hampton Building 1205 Pendleton Street Columbia, South Carolina 29201 Phone: (803) 734-5049 https://admin.sc.gov/ombudsman
Ombuds: South Carolina Department of Children’s Advocacy 1205 Pendleton Street, Suite 471A Columbia, SC 29201 Phone: 803-734-3176 Toll Free Complaint Line: 1-800-206-1957 Email: info@childadvocate.sc.gov File a Complaint: https://childadvocate.sc.gov/complaintshttps://childadvocate.sc.gov/
Tennessee
Grievance Procedure: TCCY Ombudsman for Children and Families – Complaint Form https://www.tn.gov/tccy/programs0/ombuds.html State of Tennessee, Department of Children’s Services, Administrative Policies and Procedures: 13.28, Grievance Procedures for Delinquent Youth, https://files.dcs.tn.gov/policies/chap13/13.28.pdf
Tennessee Department of Children’s Services Office of Civil Rights UBS Tower, 7th Floor 315 Deaderick Street Nashville, TN 37243 (615) 532-5552 https://www.tn.gov/dcs/contact-us/civil-rights.html
DCS Customer Relations Unit 315 Deaderick St. UBS Tower, 7th Floor Nashville, TN 37243 Phone: (800) 861-1935 Email: DCS.Custserv@tn.govhttps://www.tn.gov/dcs/contact-us/customer-relations.html
Ombuds: Ombudsman for Children and Families Cory Bradfield TCCY Ombudsman Program Director Phone: 615-532-1589 Email: Cory.Bradfield@tn.govhttps://www.tn.gov/tccy/programs0/ombuds.html
Texas
Grievance Procedure: https://www.tjjd.texas.gov/index.php/doc-library/category/492-ch380d-youth-rights Select 380.9331 Youth Grievance System Office of the Independent Ombudsman for the Texas Juvenile Justice Department https://www.tjjd.texas.gov/index.php/independent-ombudsman Ombuds: Office of the Independent Ombudsman for the Texas Juvenile Justice Department Building H, 11209 Metric Boulevard Austin, Texas 78758 Phone: (512) 490-7973 Toll-free: (855) 468-7330 Fax: (512) 490-7626 Email: independent.ombudsman@tjjd.texas.govhttps://www.tjjd.texas.gov/index.php/independent-ombudsman
Utah
Grievance Procedure: https://public.powerdms.com/UTAHDHS/documents/215351 Department of Human Services Juvenile Justice Services Policy and Procedures, Youth Grievance Process, Policy No. 04-08 https://public.powerdms.com/UTAHDHHS/documents/215351/04-08 Youth Grievance Process
Department of Human Services Juvenile Justice Services, Youth Grievance Request https://public.powerdms.com/UTAHDHS/documents/145495 The Office of Quality and Design (OQD) Phone: (801) 538-4277 195 North 1950 West Salt Lake City, UT 84116 https://hs.utah.gov/oqd
Vermont
Grievance Procedure: Voice A Concern/Make A Complaint https://dcf.vermont.gov/contacts/concerns/voice VT Consumer Concerns Team- Commissioner’s Office, Department for Children and Families 280 State Drive, HC 1 North, Waterbury, VT 05671-1080 Phone: (802) 241-0925 Email: AHS.DCFConsumerConcerns@vermont.govhttps://outside.vermont.gov/dept/DCF/Shared Documents/About/Nondiscrimination-Policy.pdf
AHS Secretary 280 State Drive, HC 1 North, Waterbury, VT 05671-1080 802-241-0440 Secretary@vermont.govhttps://humanservices.vermont.gov/sites/ahsnew/files/1.11 Nondiscrimination Policy
Virginia
Grievance Procedure: https://www.djj.virginia.gov/documents/residential/Resident_Handbook.pdf (Page 32)
Bureau of Investigative Operations https://djj.virginia.gov/pages/about-djj/investigations.htm Ombudsman: Department of Juvenile Justice, Ombuds Program (804) 323-0888 or (833) 941-1370 (toll free) https://www.djj.virginia.gov/pages/policy/policy.htmhttps://www.djj.virginia.gov/documents/residential/Resident_Handbook.pdfhttps://www.djj.virginia.gov/documents/residential/PREA/Ombuds Program Trifold English%2010.13.21.pdf
Washington
Grievance Procedure: Juvenile Rehabilitation – Division Policy 2.10, Handling Youth Complaints https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/jr-policies/Policy2.10.pdf Washington State Office of the Family and Children’s Ombuds – Filing a Complaint https://ofco.wa.gov/filing-complainthttps://ofco.dynamics365portals.us/complaint-form/
Ombuds: Washington State Office of the Family and Children’s Ombuds 6840 Fort Dent Way, Suite 125 Tukwila, WA 98188 Phone: (206) 439-3870 Toll-Free: (800) 571-7321 Fax: (206) 439-3877 https://ofco.wa.gov/
West Virginia
Grievance Procedure: Bureau for Children and Families: Youth Services Policy 11.3 Complaint Procedure and Due Process Standards https://dhhr.wv.gov/bcf/policy/Documents/Youth Services Policy February2022%20%281%29.pdf
(Select page 54) West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources Office of Human Resource Management EEO/Civil Rights Officer Phone: (304) 558-3313 Fax: (304) 558-6051 Email: DHHRCivilRights@WV.Gov
Wisconsin
Grievance Procedure: Chapter DOC 310, Complaints Procedures https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/code/admin_code/doc/310
Chapter DOC 380, Complaint Procedure for Youth in Type 1 Secured Correctional Facilities https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/code/admin_code/doc/380
The Department of Children and Families – File a Complaint https://dcf.wisconsin.gov/about-us/complaint[DCFBROCWComplaints@wisconsin.gov](mailto:DCFBROCWComplaints@wisconsin.gov) or call 608-422-6886 https://dcf.wisconsin.gov/about-us/complaint/child-welfare
Wisconsin Department of Children and Families DCF Equal Opportunity Officer 608-422-6889 DCFCivilRights@wisconsin.gov 201 East Washington Avenue, Second Floor PO Box 8916 Madison, Wisconsin 53708-8916 Phone: 608-422-7000 Fax: 608-422-7163 Email: dcfweb@wisconsin.govhttps://dcf.wisconsin.gov/civilrights/complaint-procedures
Wyoming
Grievance Procedure: Wyoming Department of Family Services Complaint Resolution Clint Hanes Phone: (307) 777-6597 Email: clint.hanes1@wyo.govhttps://dfs.wyo.gov/about/complaint-resolution/
District of Columbia
Grievance Procedure:
Office of the Ombudsperson for Children Online Complaint Form https://octo.quickbase.com/db/bswvknnw4?a=nwrhttps://cfsa.dc.gov/service/be-heard#gsc.tab=0
Ombuds: District of Columbia Child and Family Services Agency Youth Ombudsman 200 I Street, SE Washington, District of Columbia 20003 Phone: (855) 874-3273 Fax: (202) 727-6505 Email: yo.bud@dc.govhttps://ofc.dc.gov/
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Alex Citrin (she/her), MSW, MPP, University of Michigan, is a Senior Associate at the Center for the Study of Social Policy and has 15+ years of experience in child and family public policy and direct practice. She currently leads CSSP’s child welfare and prevention policy portfolio, providing overall direction for CSSP’s work. She is an expert in child welfare and prevention policy and practice and its effect on communities of color, LGBTQ+ youth, and immigrant families. Alex advances CSSP’s policy agenda through direct work with federal, state, local, and community partners. She currently leads the team providing intensive technical assistance across the country to states developing and implementing prevention continuums and is working in multiple jurisdictions with leadership to transform existing child welfare systems to be anti-racist. Her system-reform work also includes providing technical assistance to states and community-based organizations on utilizing racial equity impact assessments to drive change, state and local child welfare systems through child welfare systems operating under federal consent decree, the Infant Toddler Court Team Program, and the Quality Improvement Center on Family-Centered Reunification. Her policy expertise includes child welfare system and finance reform, prevention, and immigration—with a focus on using frontline practice—knowledge to inform equity-focused policymaking. In addition, she supports organizations in building their organization capacity and knowledge on key racial equity concepts and strategies to mitigate and undo systemic racism. Prior to joining CSSP, she was a family advocate at the Center for Family Representation, Inc. in New York, where she engaged in direct practice with parents and families involved in the child welfare system.
Alex Coccia (he/him) is a Senior Policy Analyst at CSSP, where he advances policy work on family and community economic security. He makes connections between policy development, empirical research, and community organizing to focus on making public systems robust, equitable, accessible to people and communities who have long been excluded from them, and responsive to the needs of and generous in supporting children and families across the continuum. He has professional and academic expertise in anti-poverty and family economic security policy and strives for a politics that will eliminate poverty in the United States.
Alex has a multi-disciplinary background with experience in a variety of roles, including in community organizing, strategic communications and storytelling, academia, research, non-profit, and federal government. In addition to his policy role, Alex was an adjunct assistant professor in Political Science at Notre Dame. Prior to joining CSSP, Alex was a policy consultant for Children’s Defense Fund Ohio, and a special assistant and policy analyst at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. He received his DPhil (PhD) in Politics and MPhil in Comparative Social Policy from the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. Prior to receiving his BA from Notre Dame, he was awarded the Harry S. Truman Scholarship.
Currey Cook (he/him) is Senior Counsel and Director of the Youth in Out-of-Home Care Project at Lambda Legal, where he collaborates with and advocates for LGBTQ+ youth in child welfare and juvenile justice systems and experiencing homelessness. He works at the state and federal level and achieves systemic change through a mix of litigation, proactive law and policy development, and training for professionals working with LGBTQ+ youth. Prior to his work at Lambda, Cook was an attorney for children in the foster system and delinquency cases in Alaska, New Jersey, and New York. He is a member of the board of directors for the National Association of Counsel for Children and the American Bar Association’s Children’s Rights Litigation Committee and is based in Lambda Legal’s NYC office.
Daniele Gerard (she/her) is a senior staff attorney at Children’s Rights. She received a B.A. from Johns Hopkins University and a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law, where she was Notes Editor on the Journal of Environmental Law.
A former litigation associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore and staff attorney at North Carolina Prisoner Legal Services, she was also a member of the development staff at Food & Water Watch for three years. Since joining Children’s Rights in 2016, Daniele has played a principal role in C.K. v. Bassett, a federal lawsuit brought to ensure New York State’s Medicaid-eligible children receive timely and appropriate mental health care while in their communities and remaining at home with their families.
LGBTQ+ youth and youth of color are disproportionately affected by NY’s failure to provide adequate mental health services. Daniele has also been responsible for organizing a team preparing for trial, taken and defended depositions, drafted expert reports, monitored cases, and run two advocacy projects: the LGBTQ+ Rights Project and the Juvenile Justice Rights Project, which advocates on behalf of Young Adults on Rikers Island.
Daniele has coordinated panels on mental health and child welfare, and established the Interfaith Coalition for Children’s Rights to fight discrimination against LGBTQ+ families that want to foster and adopt children. Outside her work with CR, she serves as an officer of Three Parks Independent Democrats, and a board member of the Voter Assistance Advisory Committee of the NYC Campaign Finance Board.
Meredith Giovanelli (they/them) is a Policy Analyst for the Advocacy & Policy Department at Children’s Rights. Their work sits at the intersection of racial and economic justice, de-institutionalization, and mental health. Prior to joining Children’s Rights in 2021, they were a research assistant at GMHC, studying the implementation of behavioral health models to improve HIV health outcomes. Meredith earned a Master of Public Health with a concentration in Policy Analysis from Columbia University.
Elliott Hinkle (they/them) is a skilled consultant, facilitator, trainer, speaker, advisor, and national expert focused on elevating lived experience and expertise in systems that serve children, youth, and families. As Principal and Founder of Unicorn Solutions LLC, they are an advocate and professional that brings 12+ years’ experience on topics such as child welfare, youth mental health, and the LGBTQIA2S+ community through training, advising, and facilitating culture change efforts. They are a graduate of Portland State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Women, Gender, Sexuality, and Queer studies.
While completing their degree they worked at the Portland State University, School of Social Work, Regional Research Institute (RRI) as a coach on the My Life and Better Futures Projects. At PSU they also held the role of the Youth/Young Adult Coordinator on the Oregon Healthy Transitions grant funded via the Oregon Health Authority and SAMHSA. Since August of 2019, they have been certified as a Traditional Health Worker, Youth Peer Support Specialist in the state of Oregon through the Oregon Health Authority. They have served as Vice Chair and Commissioner to the Oregon Governor’s Child Foster Care Advisory Commission. They currently serve in their 3rd year as a Federal Lived Experience Expert Partner for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) — Equity Technical Assistance Center (ETAC).
Elliott has lived experience in the Wyoming Foster Care System as a young person but calls Oregon home. They have assisted and participated in child welfare and youth mental health research, they actively work to reduce barriers to access to care for LGBTQIA2S+ youth and families and are trained in evidence-based peer coaching. Additionally, their skills include consultation and reviewing state’s Independent Living programs and National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD) survey work as well as providing support in program and policy development. Since 2014, Elliott has been a trainer and advisor of the Center for the Study of Social Policy’s Youth Thrive initiative and is a certified trainer for Youth Thrive for Youth.
In 2022, Elliott was recognized as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Award for Healthy Equity winner via Youth Move National. As a volunteer, Elliott enjoys board service for a variety of organizations such as the HOPE National Advisory Board and Family and Community Experts Council for HOPE (Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences) and the Casper Pride Board of Directors. In March of 2024, they joined the Center for the Study of Social Policy’s Board.
To learn more and reach Elliott visit www.unicornsolutions.org or @unicornsolutionsllc on Instagram.
Sruti J. Swaminathan (they/them), who is a staff attorney with the LGBTQ+ Project at the American Civil Liberties Union, was a Staff Attorney for Youth at Lambda Legal from 2021-2024, where they worked to advance the rights of LGBTQ+ Youth, particularly youth of color, who are over-represented in the foster system, juvenile justice systems, and homeless settings. Sruti’s litigation efforts center on the nationwide attack on transgender youth. Sruti currently serves as lead counsel to B.P.J. in B.P.J. v. West Virginia Board of Education, a federal lawsuit challenging West Virginia’s law banning girls and women who are transgender from participating in school sports. Sruti is also lead counsel to L.W. and other plaintiffs in L.W., et al v. Skrmetti, et al, a federal lawsuit challenging Tennessee’s total ban on gender affirming care for transgender and nonbinary youth, and counsel in the Voe v. Mansfield litigation, a federal lawsuit challenging North Carolina’s total ban on gender affirming care for transgender and nonbinary youth. In 2023, Sruti was named one of the “Best LGBTQ+ Lawyers Under 40″ by the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association. Prior to joining Lambda, Sruti spent four years practicing in the Litigation Department of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, where they spent much of their legal career supporting underserved populations, including LGBTQ+ people and undocumented immigrants. Sruti graduated with a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center in 2017, and received a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from New York University in 2014.
Maia Zelkind (she/her) is the paralegal for the Youth in Out-of-Home Care Project at Lambda Legal. Her work as part of the Project includes federal and state policy advocacy on behalf of LGBTQ+ youth in child welfare and juvenile justice systems, and youth experiencing homelessness. She also supports litigation efforts combatting state legislative attacks on transgender youth, specifically bans on accessing gender-affirming health care. She is an alumna of Wellesley College where she received a bachelor’s degree in political science in 2020 and in Fall 2024 will begin pursuing her J.D. at NYU School of Law.
GLOSSARY
We have shifted from some terms used in Safe Havens I to reflect how language people use to describe themselves continues to evolve.
TNGD—transgender (or trans), nonbinary, gender diverse. Used throughout the report, except where cited research uses other terms such as TGNC (transgender, gender nonconforming). Since cultural norms around gender still negatively impact youth who express themselves outside of those norms, the authors emphasize that every individual is unique and there is no one “correct” way to identify or express oneself.
Transgender or trans—used to describe a person whose gender identity (i.e., their innate sense of being male, female, or outside of the binary) differs from the sex they were assigned or presumed to be at birth. For 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 diverse, gender-expansive, and gender creative—broad terms 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. They include youth who do not identify with the sex they were assigned at birth as well as those who do.
Gender Non-conforming or Gender Variant—describe a person whose gender expression differs from how their family, culture, or society expects them to behave, dress, and act.
LGBTQ+ emphasizes that there are a variety of ways people identify or describe themselves in addition to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning. For example, youth from some indigenous communities may identify as Two-Spirit. For more information about the concepts of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression (“SOGIE”) or terms youth may use to describe or identify themselves, please see https://cssp.org/resource/key-equity-terms-concepts/. Because people use labels in different ways, or reject labels altogether, the authors recommend that best practice is to honor the language individuals use to describe themselves.
SOGIE—sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression are three aspects of every person’s identity. In some instances, the authors use “SOGI” to reflect where just sexual orientation and gender identity considerations are at play, and not gender expression.
Two-Spirit—“Though Two-Spirit may now be included in the umbrella of LGBTQ, the term ‘Two-Spirit’ does not simply mean someone who is a Native American/Alaska Native and gay. Traditionally, Native American two-spirit people were male, female, and sometimes intersexed individuals who combined activities of both men and women with traits unique to their status as two-spirit people. In most tribes, they were considered neither men nor women; they occupied a distinct, alternative gender status. In tribes where two-spirit males and females were referred to with the same term, this status amounted to a third gender. Most Indigenous communities have specific terms in their own languages for the gender-variant members of their communities and the social and spiritual roles these individuals fulfill; with over 500 surviving Native American cultures, attitudes about sex and gender can be very diverse. Even with the modern adoption of pan-Indian terms like Two-Spirit, not all cultures will perceive two-spirit people the same way, or welcome a pan-Indian term to replace the terms already in use by their cultures. The disruptions caused by conquest and disease, together with the efforts of missionaries, government agents, boarding schools, and white settlers resulted in the loss of many traditions in Native communities. Two-spirit roles, in particular, were singled out for condemnation, interference, and many times violence. As a result, two-spirit traditions and practices went underground or disappeared in many tribes. Today, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender native people throughout North America are reviving the two-spirit role and its traditions. National gatherings of two-spirit people have been held since the early 1990s, and regional gatherings are held in many parts of the country.” Read more at https://www.ihs.gov/lgbt/health/twospirit/.