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COVID-19

• The LGBTQ Community and COVID-19, Human Rights Campaign, 2020
  This is a resource developed by the Human Rights Campaign that highlights the unique challenges faced by the LGBTQ community during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• All Children - All Families: COVID-19 & LGBTQ+ Clients - Key Considerations, Human Rights Campaign Foundation, 2020
  This is a tip sheet developed by All Children - All Families that offers key areas to consider when working through the challenges posed by this global pandemic.
• Fostering Inequity: How COVID-19 Amplifies Dangers for LGBTQ+ Youth in Care, Children’s Rights, 2020
  Developed with extensive input from LGBTQ+ young people currently or formerly in foster care or experiencing homelessness, this report identifies the ways in which the pandemic is amplifying some of the risks for LGBTQ youth in child welfare systems and proposes practices to mitigate them.
• How COVID-19 is Impacting LGBTQ Youth, the Trevor Project, 2020
  The Trevor Project conducted a poll among a national sample of 600 LGBTQ Youth, 175 Black LGBTQ Youth, 600 Straight/Cisgender Youth, and 196 Straight Cisgender Youth. Their findings show that COVID-19 has negatively impacted the mental health of LGBTQ youth, presenting them with unique challenges.
• Supporting Safety of LGBTQ Children and Youth: Risk Factors of Child Abuse and Neglect During COVID-19, Human Rights Campaign Foundation, 2020
  This research brief provides information about the risk that LGBTQ children and youth will face during COVID-19, and provides tips and resources for what can be done to prevent child abuse during this time.

Anti-Racism, Race Equity & Inclusion

• Scaffolded Anti-Racist Resources
  This document provides resources, activities and concrete steps to take become an allies and ultimately an accomplice for anti-racist work. It is regularly updated and ordered in order to be maximally accessible.
• Racial Equity Tools
  This website provides extensive resources in the pursuit of racial equity.

For Professionals Serving LGBTQ+ Families

Professional Statements & Support for LGBTQ+ Parenting

• Groups Issue Joint Statement on LGBT Parenting, 2015
  Child Welfare League of America (CWLA), Voice for Adoption (VFA), the Donaldson Adoption Institute, and the North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC) issue a joint statement opposing discriminatory practices that rule out LGBT prospective parents from being able to provide permanent, loving homes to waiting children.
• Professional Organizations on LGBTQ Parenting, Human Rights Campaign
  Professional organizations, including the American Psychiatric Association and the National Association of Social Workers, issue individual statements in agreement that a parent's sexual orientation and/or gender identity does not impact the parent’s ability to raise a child.
• Too High a Price: The Case Against Restricting Gay Parenting, American Civil Liberties Union (2nd Edition), 2006
  With relevant legislation, clinical studies, and research, the ACLU argues that restricting lesbian and gay parenting is not in line with positive child welfare policy and, ultimately, harms children.

Perspectives of LGBTQ+ Families

• Barriers & Success Factors in Adoption from Foster Care: Perspectives of Lesbian and Gay Families, AdoptUSKids, 2010
  This executive summary of research findings from AdoptUSKids and University of Texas at Austin focuses on the experiences of lesbian and gay parents during the adoption process, including their interactions with adoption agencies, the home study application, and the impact of negative stereotypes.

• Perspectives of Youth Adopted from Foster Care by Lesbian and Gay Parents, AdoptUSKids, 2012
  This longitudinal study focuses on the personal perspectives of 40+ children and youth adopted by lesbian and gay parents. The youth discuss their feelings about being placed with lesbian or gay parents, their experiences with social workers, interactions with friends, and more.
  

Best Practices

All Children - All Families offers best practice guidance and model policies in the following areas:

• LGBTQ Non-Discrimination
  • Client Non-Discrimination Policy
  • Agency Grievance Procedures
  • Employment Non-Discrimination Policy
  • Organizational Partnerships & Non-Discrimination
  • LGBTQ Competent Referrals
• “Rolling Out the Welcome Mat” for LGBTQ Clients
  • Inclusive Agency Forms
  • Staff Advocates
  • Agency External Communications
• LGBTQ Cultural Competency Staff Training
  • Core Competencies for Staff Training
  • Staff Training FAQ (for ACAF participants)
• Engaging LGBTQ Resource Parents
  • Promising Practices Guide, Human Rights Campaign Foundation, 2012
    This guide gives agencies the tools and resources necessary to take these actions to achieve cultural competency in working with LGBT families, both adoptive and foster. The guide aims to make changes in order to improve the actual experience of LGBT prospective families and waiting children and youth.
  • Promising Practices Serving Trans & Non-Binary Foster and Adoptive Parents, Human Rights Campaign, 2017
    This guide gives agencies tools to work with trans & non-binary foster and adoptive parents, and is intended for a range of audiences inside child welfare agencies and arranged by key areas of need.
  • LGBTQ Family Recruitment
  • Post-Permanency Support
  • Placement & Finalization with LGBTQ Families

• Working with LGBT Families in Adoption, Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2016
  This 11-page resource from CWIG provides much of the basic information child welfare and adoption professionals need to work effectively with LGBT families in adoption, including relevant terminology, recruitment tips, challenges to overcome, and more.
• Expanding Resources for Children III: Research-Based Best Practices in Adoption by Gays and Lesbians, Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, 2011
  This report on the Adoption Institutes’ four-year study presents empirical data about the experiences of families headed by “non-heterosexual” adults and recommends best-practices to improve pre-adoption and post-adoption services for LGBT families.
• Engaging LGBT Families - Talking with Experts, AdoptUSKids, 2010
  In this 3-part series, three experts share the best tools and practices for child welfare agencies to recruit and retain prospective LGBT foster and adoptive parents.
  • Creating A Welcoming Environment (Part 1 of 3)
  • How Leaders Can Build Agency Competency (Part 2 of 3)
  • Important Conversations in Child Welfare (Part 3 of 3)
• Expanding Resources for Waiting Children II: Eliminating Legal & Practice Barriers to Gay & Lesbian Adoption from Foster Care, Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, 2008
  This report recommends key changes to agency policy and state legislation to eliminate barriers that prevent lesbian and gay adoptive parents from providing permanent homes to foster children.

For Professionals Serving LGBTQ Youth

Research on Experiences of LGBTQ Youth in Care

• Experiences and Well-Being of Sexual and Gender Diverse Youth in Foster Care in New York City, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2020
  This report focuses on the experiences and well-being of sexual and gender minority youth in the care of New York City’s Administration for Child Services. The data show that over a third of youth in the child welfare system in NYC identify as LGBTQ, and they are disproportionately youth of color. The report discusses their experiences in the system, their placement characteristics and risk factors for their social well-being.
• LGBTQ Youth of Color Impacted by the Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice Systems: A Research Agenda, the Williams Institute, 2019
  This report is a collection of working papers summarizing current research into the lives of youth involved in the child welfare and juvenile justice system who are both LGBTQ and racial/ethnic minorities..
• LGBTQ Youth in Unstable Housing and Foster Care, Pediatrics, 2019
  This study focuses on the disparities in different wellbeing outcomes between LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ youth in unstable housing and foster care.
• LGBTQ in Child Welfare: A Systematic Review of the Literature, Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2016
  This report offers a comprehensive literature review on LGBTQ youth in the child welfare system that analyzes unique risks and vulnerabilities, explores policy protections, and offers best practice recommendations.
• Sexual and Gender Minority Youth in Foster Care, The Williams Institute, 2014
  This report out of Los Angeles County provides demographics and highlights the mistreatment and discrimination faced by LGBTQ youth in foster care.
• Out of the Margins: A Report Highlighting the Experiences of LGBTQ Youth in Care, CWLA Press, 2006
  CWLA and Lambda Legal partner to create Out of the Margins, a report that highlights the experiences of LGBTQ youth in care and offers strategies to improve the child welfare system for LGBTQ youth in care.
• Youth in the Margins: A Report on the Unmet Needs of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Adolescents in Foster Care, Including a Survey of Fourteen States and Proposals for Reform, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, 2001
  Broken into three parts, Youth in the Margins discusses “unaddressed problems of LGBTQ youth in out-of-home care,” strategies for reform in the child welfare system, and policy recommendations based on fourteen states’ foster care policies.

Best Practices

Assessing/Discussing SOGIE

• The Whole Youth Model: How Collecting Data About Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Gender Expression (SOGIE) Helps Probation and Youth Courts Build More Authentic Relationships Focused on Improved Well-Being, Ceres Policy Research, 2019
  This resource guides juvenile justice workers on how to collect SOGIE data in an affirming way, and how this model of data collection works to improve the well-being of the youth under their care.
• SOGIE Data Collection in Public Systems of Care, Santa Clara County, 2019
  This guide provides an overview of SOGIE data collection in public youth-serving systems in California and nationally, discusses the lessons learned from these efforts, and concludes with recommendations for public agencies.
• Asking Youth About Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Gender Expression (SOGIE), 3/40 Blueprint Project, 2017
  This resource provides information to improve data collection on SOGIE, providing key points, youth perspectives, and provider perspectives.
• All Children - All Families SOGIE Data Collection, The Human Rights Campaign Foundation, 2017
  All Children—All Families developed this guide in response to the growing number of questions on the effective, safe and competent collection of SOGIE (sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression) data that we receive from our participating agencies. It is intended for agencies that understand the importance of SOGIE and have done considerable work to create a safe and affirming environment for clients with diverse SOGIE—including implementing policies to protect LGBTQ clients from discrimination and conducting regular staff training on LGBTQ cultural competency.
• Progress Towards Building an Affirming and Supportive Child Welfare System: getREAL in Allegheny County, 2019
  This report outlines efforts taken by the Allegheny County Department of Human Services in partnership with the Center for the Study of Social Policy to better support children and youth in achieving healthy sexual and identity development.
• Respectfully Asking Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) Questions, NYC Administration for Children’s Services, 2016
  The purpose of this resource is to assist staff members with how best to present the opportunity for youth to disclose their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. This information may also prove relevant to decisions regarding educational services, the PINS and delinquency diversion processes, disposition, reunification and placement.
• Guidelines for Managing Information Related to the Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression of Children in Child Welfare Settings, NCL Rights, 2013
  This resource offers professional guidelines to collect, record, and disclose information on youth’s sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. The publication also includes age-appropriate strategies and considerations of privacy.

Child Welfare/Foster Care & Adoption

• Advancing Healthy Outcomes: Eight Ways to Promote the Health and Well-Being of LGBTQ+ Youth Involved with Child Welfare through FFPSA, Center for the Study of Social Policy, 2019
  This report outlines eight best practice strategies that child welfare agencies can implement to best serve the LGBTQ children and families they serve.
• Out of the Shadows: Supporting LGBTQ Youth in Child Welfare through Cross-System Collaboration, Center for the Study of Social Policy, 2016
  This resource presents research on LGBTQ youth in the child welfare system from an intersectional perspective and evaluates cross-system policy strategies to improve outcomes including successful state examples.
• LGBTQ Incident & Inquiry Reporting, NYC Administration for Children’s Services, 2016
  This resource offers guidelines to agencies on how to report discrimination and harassment on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression (SOGIE); including examples of incidents/inquiries that can be seen as non-compliant with nondiscrimination requirements and a sample incident/inquiry reporting form. See here for most current resources.
• Identifying LGBTQ Affirming Homes, NYC Administration for Children’s Services, 2016
  This resource looks carefully at affirming homes for LGBTQ youth; including core competencies that meet the definition of an affirming home, questions to assess LGBTQ-affirming homes,and information on how to report inappropriate placements. See here for most current resources.
• A Guide for Understanding, Supporting, and Affirming LGBTQI2-S Children, Youth, and Families, Technical Assistance Partnership (NASW, SAMHSA, NASP), 2014
  Geared towards service providers, educators, and allies, this resource guide offers myth busters on LGBTQI2-S youth, information on the coming out process, and more.
• beFIERCE A Toolkit for Providers Working with LGBTQ Foster Youth, Sunny Hills Service, 2015
  This publication provides insight into the worldview, experiences, and intersecting identities of LGBTQ youth in care including recommendations for improving practice and trauma-informed care.
• CWLA Recommended Practices to Promote the Safety and Well-Being of LGBTQ Youth, Lambda Legal, 2012
  This guide from the Child Welfare League of America consolidates and summarizes recommended practices from previous publications. In addition to practice recommendations, content includes a historical perspective on the development of standards of care for LGBTQ youth and youth living with or at risk of contracting HIV.
• Getting Down to Basics: Tools to Support LGBTQ Youth in Care, CWLA Press, 2012
  This toolkit provides brief factsheets with specific data, tips, and best practices based on service setting. Sections include: caseworkers, attorneys, guardians, faith-based providers, and more.
• CWLA Best Practice Guidelines: Serving LGBT Out-of-Home Youth, CWLA Press, 2006
  This in-depth, 75-page guide offers child welfare and juvenile justice professionals recommendations to improve child welfare services through inclusive organizational culture, revised policies and practices, updated training materials for staff, and more.

Congregate Care/Group Homes

• A Place of Respect: A Guide for Group Care Facilities Serving Transgender and Gender Non-conforming Youth, National Center for Lesbian Rights, 2011
  This guide addresses nine common obstacles that transgender and gender non-conforming (GNC) youth face in group home facilities. Recommendations include working with school administrators to ensure a safe school environment and avoiding gender-inappropriate placements.
• Transforming Mainstream Residential Treatment Programs into Safe Environments for LGBTQ Youth Residential Group Care Quarterly, Vol. 7, Issue 3
  This resource (beginning on page 5) is a collection of articles from Residential Group Care Quarterly, a publication of the Child Welfare League of America, that aims to enhance residential treatment programs for LGBTQ youth, youth of color, and youth in the juvenile justice system.

Transgender & Gender Non-Conforming Youth

Understanding Transgender & Gender Non-Conforming Youth

• Supporting & Caring for Transgender Children, HRC Foundation, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians, 2016
  This resource explains the difference between children who are gender-expansive and those who are transgender, outlines why experts, based on emerging scientific evidence, are embracing a "gender-affirming" approach and describes what it means to affirm a child's gender identity through "transition".
• The Transgender Teen: A Handbook for Parents and Professionals Supporting Transgender and Non-Binary Teens, Stephanie Brill & Lisa Kenney, 2016
  The Transgender Teen is a guidebook that explores the unique challenges that families face raising a teenager who may be transgender, non-binary or other gender-expansive.
• The Transgender Child by Stephanie Brill, Available on Amazon, 2008
  Using research and thousands of stories/interviews of the families of transgender youth, this guidebook answers a series of questions surrounding transgender children from birth through college.

Ensuring Equitable Care

• Model Policy: Transgender, Gender Nonconforming, and Intersex Youth in Confinement Facilities, National PREA Resource Center, 2019
  The guide provides model policies for agencies that work with trangender, gender nonconforming, and intersex youth that live in confinement facilities such as group homes, mental health facilities, and detention centers.
• Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Children in California Foster Care
  This brief uses a question and answer format to provide child welfare professionals information to guide services to transgender and gender nonconforming children in foster care including terms and concepts, legal and professional standards for service/treatment, and information on gender identity development.
• Safe & Respected: Policy, Best Practices, & Guidance for Serving Transgender & Gender Non-Conforming Children and Youth Involved in the Child Welfare, Detention, and Juvenile Justice Systems, New York City Administration for Children's Services, 2014
  This guide provides child welfare professionals best practices and policies for working with transgender and gender non-conforming children and youth in various care facilities.
• A Place of Respect: A Guide for Group Care Facilities Serving Transgender and Gender Non-conforming Youth, National Center for Lesbian Rights, 2011
  This guide addresses nine common obstacles that transgender and gender non-conforming youth face in group home facilities and offers several recommendations to provide these youth with quality care.

Healthcare

• Final HHS Regulations on Health Care Discrimination: Frequently Asked Questions
  This resource answers frequently asked questions about Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), that includes gender identity in discrimination in health coverage and care.
• Guidance for Trans Related Healthcare, NYC Administration for Children’s Services, 2013
  This resource summarizes the method by which foster care agencies can request that Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) review, approve, and reimburse trans-related healthcare that is categorically excluded from New York State’s Medicaid coverage. See here for most current resources.

Homelessness

• Resources from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development
  
  • Equal Access for Transgender People: Supporting Inclusive Housing and Shelters, US Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2016
    This report details the requirements and implications of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Equal Access Rule for supporting transgender people.
  • Equal Access Decision Tree, US Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2016
    This document details how to support equal access across the full spectrum of services by providing examples of encouraging and discouraging practices at each level of service.
  • Training Scenarios: Equal Access Expectations, US Department of Housing and Urban Development. 2016
    This document gives seven different scenarios for agencies to think through and discuss to develop best practice techniques to create an inclusive shelter community.
  • Self-Assessment for Shelters and Projects, US Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2016
    This spreadsheet had a self-assessment to analyse where an agency is at in regards to complying with equal access, as well detailed steps to take to meet these standards, and a glossary of definitions.

• A Collaborative Resource on LGBTQ Youth Homelessness, At the Intersections, True Colors Fund & LGBTQ Taskforce, 2019
  This resource explores youth experiencing homelessness who live at the intersections of various marginalized identities, which may include their race, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, immigration status, ability, and more.
• Serving Our Youth 2015: The Needs and Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Youth Experiencing Homelessness, The Palette Fund, True Colors Fund, & The Williams Institute, 2015
  This report uses the findings from a survey of youth homelessness service providers to explore the current state of LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness.
• Surviving the Streets of New York: Experiences of LGBTQ Youth, YMSM, and YWSW Engaged in Survival Sex, Urban Institute, 2015
  This report interviews and provides care recommendations for New York City LGBTQ youth, young men who have sex with men (YMSM) and young women who have sex with women (YWSW) who engage in survival sex.
• Street Child: A Memoir by Justin Read Early, Available on Amazon, 2013
  This book focuses on a young boy’s difficult experience as he escapes his violent home, gets remanded into state custody, and then lives on the streets of Seattle and San Francisco with LGBTQ homeless youth.
• Toolkit for Practitioners/Researchers Working with LGBTQ Runaway and Homeless Youth, National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections, 2012
  This toolkit offers various evidence-based programs, practice models, and assessment tools for practitioners and researchers to use with LGBTQ runaway and homeless youth.
• Preventing the Tragedy of LGBT Youth Homelessness, Social Work License Map, 2012
  This infographic provides statistics on LGBT youth homelessness, including factors that lead to homelessness and mental health problems within the population.
• National Recommended Practices for Serving LGBT Homeless Youth, National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2009
  This publication categorizes recommendations for homeless youth service providers in three sections: steps that caretakers should take to better the experiences of LGBT youth, ways to improve agency culture in serving LGBT youth, and steps that youth workers and administrators can take to improve residential settings.
• Working with Homeless LGBTQ Youth, Lambda Legal, 2002
  By providing information on homeless shelters, risks that homeless LGBTQ youth face, the special needs of homeless transgender youth and more, this article offers child welfare professionals best tips to work with LGBTQ homeless youth.

Juvenile Justice

• Unjust: How the Broken Juvenile and Criminal Justice Systems Fail LGBTQ Youth, Movement Advancement Project and Center for American Progress, 2016
  This report offers a snapshot of how the U.S. criminal justice system fails lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth. As a result, too many LGBTQ youth, both as youth and adults, find themselves in a cycle of poverty, homelessness and incarceration.
• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Youth in the Juvenile Justice System, Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2015
  This practice guide focuses on providing policies and procedures that promote the safety and well-being of LGBTQ youth in the juvenile justice system.
• Toward Equity Training Curriculum, Equity Project, 2015
  This training curriculum offers juvenile justice professionals “interactive training lessons that increase competency around sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression (SOGIE).”
• Restoring Justice: A Blueprint for Ensuring Fairness, Safety, and Supportive Treatment of LGBT Youth in the Juvenile Justice, Center for American Progress, 2014
  This issue brief reviews nondiscrimination policies to compile best practice guidelines that can improve services and support for LGBTQ youth in the juvenile justice system.
• Hidden Injustice: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Youth in Juvenile Courts, Legal Services for Children, the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the National Juvenile Defender Center, 2009
  This comprehensive report discusses the experiences of LGBT youth in various juvenile courts, identifying significant obstacles that LGBT youth face and recommending policy reforms to protect rights of LGBT youth.
• Opening Doors for LGBTQ Youth in Foster Care: A Guide for Lawyers and Judges, American Bar Association Center for Children and the Law, 2008
  This guide uses statistics, surveys, and listening forums to uplift the stories of LGBTQ youth in foster care by delving into the helpful tools that lawyers and judges can utilize.

Schools

• Schools in Transition, Human Rights Campaign, 2015
  This guide offers fundamental information about gender, guidelines for meeting the needs of transgender or gender-expansive students, talking points for common questions and concerns, and other practical resources.
• Welcoming Schools, Human Rights Campaign Foundation
  Welcoming Schools is a comprehensive approach to creating respectful and supportive elementary schools. On the program’s web page, you can find resources and professional development to embrace family diversity, create LGBTQ-inclusive schools, prevent bias-based bullying and gender stereotyping, and support transgender and gender-expansive students.
• Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN)
  GLSEN works to improve our nation’s K-12 schools for LGBTQ youth and their website includes lesson plans, programs to help teachers and students take action, research on LGBTQ issues in education, and much more.
• GSA Network
  This LGBTQ racial and gender justice organization’s website includes resources to help youth and their advisors start their own Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA), leadership and activist training for youth, and research about the experiences of LGBTQ youth in schools.

Resource Compilations

• Center for States, Child Welfare Capacity Building Collaborative
  This website provides a compilation of publications, videos, and webinars for states and territories to help build their capacity to more effectively serve and support LGBTQ youth and foster/adoptive families.
• NYC Administration for Children’s Services, LGBTQ Support
  The Administration for Children’s Services in NYC offers a compilation of resources for youth, families, and practitioners to help LGBTQ youth and families thrive.
• Recommended LGBTQ Children, Youth, and Families Cultural Competence Tools, Curricula, and Resources, 2015
  This compilation offers resources to promote the well-being of LGBTQ youth including a strategic planning tool that delves into ten standards of care.
• Resources from NRCPFC, Hunter College School of Social Work Compilation, 2014
  This compilation offers resources from the Administration for Children and Families, the Children’s Bureau Training and Technical Assistance Network. to professionals working in the child welfare system.
• LGBTQ Youth in Care: Information & Resources, National Resource Center for Youth Development, 2014
  This one-pager offers statistics about LGBTQ youth in the foster care system and provides a list of organizations that help professionals who work with LGBTQ youth in care.

Federal & State Policy

• Disregarding the Best Interest of the Child: Why Creating Licenses to Discriminate for Government Contractors Hurts Children in the Child Welfare System, HRC Foundation, 2020
  This resource explains how allowing agencies who receive government funding to discriminate against LGBTQ people based on religious beliefs is harmful to the youth who are involved in the child welfare system. It also includes an overview of state laws in this area.
• Supporting All Our Values: How Publicly Funded, Faith-Based Child Welfare Providers and Non-Discrimination Laws Can Promote Well-Being, Center for the Study of Social Policy, 2019
  This report details how faith-based child welfare providers can, and do, exist in harmony with non-discrimination laws.
• Child Welfare Map, CSSP, Children’s Rights, Lambda Legal
  This visual resource provides a map of legal protections across the United States.
• California Senate Bill 731, 2015
  This landmark legislation establishes critical protections for transgender youth in California’s foster care system; requiring that all youth in out-of-home care, including those who identify as transgender, be placed according to their gender identity, regardless of the gender listed on their official documents.
• State Policies Concerning LGBTQ Youth, CSSP, 2014
  This resource highlights state legislation from 2014 as it relates to LGBTQ youth, including public accommodations, educational facilities, foster care and more.
• Working with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender And Questioning/Queer Youth, Minnesota Department of Human Services, 2012
  This practice guide from MN DHS offers specific tips for engaging LGBTQ youth, preserving their relationships and placement prevention, and ensuring safety in placements.
• Information Memorandum from Administration on Children, Youth and Families on LGBTQ Youth in Foster Care, 2011
  This information memorandum strongly encourages child welfare workers and facilities to ensure that LGBTQ youth are supported and protected while in care.

National Programs

• All Children - All Families, Human Rights Campaign Foundation
  The All Children - All Families project promotes LGBTQ cultural competency among child welfare agencies through innovative resources that include online agency self-assessment tool, comprehensive staff training, free technical assistance and more.
• 3/40 Blueprint: Creating the Blueprint to Reduce LGBTQ Youth Homelessness, 3/40 Blueprint, 2017
  The project aims to, in 3 years, reduce the 40% of homeless youth that identify as LGBTQ by developing interventions that best suit these youths' unique needs.
• 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, the Institute at University of Maryland
  This project has chosen four sites across the country to develop, integrate, and sustain best practice with LGBTQ2S youth.
• "Get R.E.A.L." (Recognize. Engage. Affirm. Love), The Center for the Study of Social Policy, 2016
  The get R.E.A.L. program works to improve the “healthy sexual and identity development for all children and youth in the child welfare system.”
• Youth in Out-of-Home Care Project, Lambda Legal, 2016
  The Youth in Out-of-Home Care Project “raises awareness and advances reform on behalf of LGBTQ youth in child welfare, juvenile justice and homeless systems of care.”

Staff & Foster Parent Training Resources

• All Children - All Families Training Curriculum, Human Rights Campaign Foundation
  All Children – All Families has developed an expert LGBTQ competency training program that can be customized for the needs of individual agencies.
• All Children - All Families Online Learning Offerings, Human Rights Campaign Foundation
  All Children – All Families has produced various webinars covering promising practices in serving LGBTQ children, youth and families.
• All Children - All Families "Field Forward" E-Newsletter, Human Rights Campaign Foundation
  All Children - All Families delivers the latest best practice tips and resources for LGBTQ inclusion to your inbox every month.
• LGBTQ-Inclusive Parent Preparation Training, Human Rights Campaign Foundation
  All Children - All Families compiled best practice information on how to make parent preparation trainings LGBTQ-inclusive. It includes specific recommendations for agencies.
• REACHING HIGHER: A Curriculum for Foster/Adoptive Parents and Kinship Caregivers Caring for LGBTQ Youth, National Center for Child Welfare Excellence, 2015
  This curriculum offers information about the needs of LGBTQ youth to help prepare foster, kinship, and adoptive parents to care for LGBTQ youth.
• RISE, Los Angeles LGBT Center
  The center provides foster parent training to help them be supportive parents to any LGBTQ children or youth who may be placed with them.

Archived Webinars on LGBTQ Youth in Care

• All Children - All Families: Online Learning Archive
  HRC's All Children - All Families regularly provides online learning offerings covering promising practices in serving LGBTQ children, youth and families.
  
• beFIERCE: Actively Engaging and Supporting LGBTQ Foster Youth, Center for the Study of Social Policy, 2015
  This webinar focuses on beFIERCE, a publication that highlights the experiences of LGBTQ foster youth.
• #BornPerfect, Center for the Study of Social Policy, 2015
  An attorney from the National Center for Lesbian Rights provides research on conversion therapy and its harmful effects on LGBTQ people.
• Get R.E.A.L Allegheny, Center for the Study of Social Policy, 2015
  This webinar details the implementation, successes, and challenges of the get R.E.A.L program by Pennsylvania’s Allegheny Department of Human Services.
• Making Residential Treatment Safer for LGBTQ Youth, Center for the Study of Social Policy, 2015
  This webinar focuses on the residential care facility, Indian Oaks Academy in Illinois, and its creation of a safer environment for LGBTQ youth.
• Gay and Lesbian Youth in the Foster Care System: Understanding the Role of Family Acceptance, Center for the Study of Social Policy, 2014
  This webinar discusses the importance of foster family rejection and acceptance in the lives of LGBTQ youth in the child welfare system.
• Making Rural Youth Serving Systems More LGBTQ Inclusive, Center for the Study of Social Policy, 2014
  Napa County professionals discuss their efforts to make their rural county child welfare system more LGBTQ-inclusive.
• True Colors Inc.: System Experiences Serving Gender Non-conforming Youth, Center for the Study of Social Policy, 2014
  This webinar discusses the partnership between nonprofit, True Colors’ and the Connecticut State Department of Children and Families partnership in creating and implementing culturally-competent strategies to better serve transgender and gender non-conforming youth.
• Yes, There Are Way More Than 3!: Estimating LGBTQ Youth in the Foster Care System, Center for the Study of Social Policy, 2014
  This webinar discusses the “current state of sexual orientation and gender identity demographic research among adolescents” and discusses disparities of LGBTQ youth in care.
• Standards of Care for Serving Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Youth, Technical Assistance Partnership, 2012
  These webinar slides share recommendations and strategies for high-quality care of LGBTQ youth, and then explores federal and local perspectives on the strategies.
• Building Systems of Care to Support Effective Therapeutic and Programmatic Interventions and Resources for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Youth and Their Families, Technical Assistance Partnership, 2012
  By focusing on “Improving Emotional and behavioral Outcomes for LGBT Youth” these webinar slides discuss resources that improve the lives of LGBTQ youth.
• Foster Care’s Invisible Youth, In The Life Media, 2012
  This short video follows seven young people who have faced rejection from their foster families and experienced challenges within the child welfare system.

LGBTQ+ Parent Perspectives

• Frequently Asked Questions from LGBT Prospective Foster and Adoptive Parents, Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2016
  This article answers some of the most frequent questions asked by prospective LGBT foster and adoptive parents. Questions range from finding an LGBT-friendly agency to navigating the homestudy process.
• Once Denied, LGBTQ Couple Finds Joy in Foster Parenting, Human Rights Campaign, 2017
  Sam and Nicole’s story shows how important LGBTQ+ inclusive practices are for both LGBTQ+ parents and the youth in their care in this video from HRC.
• Legal Recognition of LGBTQ Families, NCLR, 2019
  From the National Center for Lesbian Rights, this resources provides an overview of the legal rights of LGBTQ+ parents and their children in the United States.
• FAQ About the Rights of Transgender Parents, Lambda Legal
  This resource from Lambda Legal addresses some basic legal questions about experiences specific to transgender parents.
• Parent Testimonials, RaiseAChild
  Families are diverse, and what makes a family is love. Hear from parents, including Cleo and Camille, about their journeys to bring young people in their lives from RaiseAChild.
• Gay Dads Share Their Journey To Fatherhood, NBC OUT, 2016
  Gay dads talks to NBC OUT about their journey to fatherhood and the unique benefits and challenges of being a gay dad.
• National Network of LGBTQ Family Groups, Family Equality Council
  From Family Equality Council, find a local group for other LGBTQ families.

For LGBTQ+ Youth

• Trans Youth Handbook, Harvard Law School LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic and the National Center for Lesbian Rights, 2020
  This resource provides information on the rights of transgender youth across a variety of situations, including sections on changing identity documents, rights at school, accessing transition-related health care, non-affirming care environments, rights at work and additional resources and definitions.
• Safer Sex for Trans Bodies/Sexo Seguro Para Los Cuerpos Trans, HRC Foundation & Whitman-Walker Health, 2016
  This is a safer sex guide for transgender and gender expansive people, and for their partners and lovers. This guide explores ways to talk to one’s partner(s) (romantic, casual, and transactional) about sex and suggestions for exploring one’s own sexuality. This guide is available for download in both English and Spanish.
• National Resources for LGBTQ Youth, Lambda Legal, 2019
  This guide offers a comprehensive list of national organizations committed to helping LGBTQ youth.
• Know Your Rights: LGBTQ Youth and Youth Living with HIV in Foster Care and Juvenile Justice Systems, Lambda Legal, 2010
  This resource lists the basic rights of LGBTQ youth and youth living with HIV in foster care and juvenile justice systems.
• Suicide Prevention Resources for LGBTQ Youth, The Trevor Project
  The Trevor Project is a national organization that provides crisis and suicide intervention resources for LGBTQ youth.

For Foster & Adoptive Parents of LGBTQ+ Youth

• Support for LGBTQ Youth Starts at Home: An #AsYouAre Project, the Institute at University of Maryland, 2019
  This animated video provides examples of how families can support LGBTQ youth in their homes.
• Caring for LGBTQ Children and Youth, Human Rights Campaign Foundation, 2013
  This guide includes information on terminology and several basic tips on how to best support and care for LGBTQ children and youth. Also included are resources and helpful websites for more information on serving and caring for LGBTQ youth is also included in the guide.
• Supporting Your LGBTQ Youth: A Guide for Foster Parents, Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2013
  This factsheet details specific actions foster parents can take to understand and relate to LGBTQ youth in the child welfare system. How to create a welcoming home for youth and promoting youth's’ health and well-being in the community is also outlined.
• Family Acceptance Project, San Francisco State University
  This project offers extensive research on the impact of family acceptance for LGBTQ youth and how it can minimize the risk for suicide, homelessness, and HIV infection. On their website you can also find information on their family intervention model and family-oriented services to help families support their LGBTQ children.

Resources by and for Youth with LGBTQ+ Parents

• COLAGE
  COLAGE is the only national organization dedicated to supporting people with one or more LGBTQ+ caregivers.
• LGBTQ Family: I Have Two Moms, AMAZE, 2020
  This video from AMAZE talks about how families can look different and how there are many families with LGBTQ+ parents.
• Elementary and Middle Grade Book Suggestions, Human Rights Campaign Foundation
  From the HRC Foundation’s Welcoming Schools project, find books that can help LGBTQ+ youth see families like theirs.