365NEWSX
365NEWSX
Subscribe

Welcome

America's Foster Care System Is a Dangerous Place for Trans Teens. Now They're Fighting for Change

America's Foster Care System Is a Dangerous Place for Trans Teens. Now They're Fighting for Change

America's Foster Care System Is a Dangerous Place for Trans Teens. Now They're Fighting for Change
Dec 07, 2021 2 mins, 39 secs

An Oregon Department of Human Services spokesperson said the department “disputes many of [Ben’s] allegations,” but refused to comment on children in its care.

In 2019, Ben became a lead plaintiff in a class-action suit filed against Oregon alleging that the state was violating the rights of children in its care.

Class-action lawsuits against state and county child-welfare systems have been a common means of addressing harms to foster children since the 1970s, when an attorney with the New York Civil Liberties Union, Marcia Lowry, pioneered this type of case against the New York City foster care system.

But Ben leads a subclass of plaintiffs who are pioneers of a different kind: foster youth who are “gender and sexual minorities.” This marks the first time a lawsuit of this kind is specifically addressing the particular issues LGBTQ foster children face in care.

While all foster youth are at increased risk of harm compared to American children overall, and are more likely to experience incarceration and homelessness both while in care and as adults, the situation is more dire for LGBTQ youth, and especially for trans youth.

LGBTQ children are far overrepresented in foster care—one multi-year study found that 30% of foster youth identified as LGBTQ, versus 11% of the general population.

If the judge certifies the SGM subclass, it will be the first of its kind in a major lawsuit against a state foster system, and attorneys hope it will start a national shift toward ensuring legal protections for this vulnerable subset of foster children.

Part of what the plaintiffs want out of the lawsuit, Southwick says, is to require that Oregon gather data about the number of SGM youth the state has in its care.

(Once identified, LGBTQ children could hopefully be placed in homes where their identity is affirmed, Southwick explains.) This is not currently the case.

As a result, Oregon has estimated that just two percent of its foster population is LGBTQ, a figure researchers say is a drastic undercount.

A 2014 survey of teens in foster care in Los Angeles county, meanwhile, found that 19% of respondents identified as LGBTQ.

Nationally, data on LGBTQ youth in care is limited.

A 2017 Lambda Legal report found that only four states have policies that trans youth should be placed in out-of-home care in accordance with their gender identities; 24 states have no specific policies stating that trans youth should be allowed to dress in accordance with their identities.

Like so many other trans foster youth, Eli has experienced housing instability due to hostile placements.

He’s now in a safe environment; he used his independent-living payments through extended foster care to move with his partner to New York City, where they share an apartment and he attends Queens College—but studies have shown that between 20 and 45% of youth experiencing homelessness identify as LGBTQ, and that LGBTQ homeless youth are more than seven times more likely to experience sexual violence than their straight peers.

Ben said he’s participating in the lawsuit against Oregon, which seeks system improvements and not monetary damages, because he wants things to be better for trans kids who come into the system after him

Summarized by 365NEWSX ROBOTS

RECENT NEWS

SUBSCRIBE

Get monthly updates and free resources.

CONNECT WITH US

© Copyright 2024 365NEWSX - All RIGHTS RESERVED