A Hidden Crisis: The Pipeline from Foster Care to Homelessness for LGBTQ Youth [chronicleofsocialchange.org]

This article points out the inequity of the foster care system in meeting the needs of LGBTQ youth, especially LGBTQ youth of color - all of whom often experience trauma as a result of rejection from their primary caregivers, both biological parents and foster parents. It's true, child welfare systems across the country are under-funded, staff are over-worked, and there is a troubling shortage of foster parents in general, and even more so when speaking of foster parents willing to foster LGBTQ youth. This should no longer be a "hidden crisis," there is a lot more we can all do to support LGBTQ youth in foster care - beginning with recruitment and training of specialized foster parents and increasing LGBTQ youth connections to supportive adults. These would be perfectly appropriate first steps to reduce further trauma to a vulnerable subset of the foster care population.

Following is an excerpt from the article, click here to read the whole article.

There are more than 400,000 youth in the American foster care system today, roughly that of the population of Sacramento, California. Foster care, created to protect the welfare of children, is a broken system, hobbled by an outdated bureaucracy, underfunded agencies, and overburdened workers frequently resulting in dire outcomes. Research shows that children placed in foster care are more likely to develop Post-traumatic Stress Disorder than veterans of war. In some states, youth are just as likely to be abused in foster care as they are in the home from which they were removed. Foster care has also become a gateway into homelessness. Nearly half of the youth experiencing homelessness today have had at least one placement in a foster home, or group home.

LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning) youth in particular face significant prejudice and discrimination in foster care. Many queer identified young people, who are disproportionately represented in the system, report intolerance, physical and emotional mistreatment, or neglect by caregivers or peers. LGBTQ youth are more likely than their heterosexual counterparts to be placed in group homes. An overwhelming majority of those youth in group homes have been victims of violence.