Show Your Pride! Share New and Updated Resources to Support LGBTQ+ Communities
Across the nation, people come together during Pride Month to honor and celebrate lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ+) communities. LGBTQ+ youth and families have faced many challenges over the years, including marriage inequality, bullying and violence, and barriers in accessing needed mental and physical health services. We can improve the well-being and safety of LGBTQ+ communities by working to create welcoming and affirming agencies and organizations that acknowledge and support their needs.
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LGBTQ+ children and youth make up an estimated 30% of those in out-of-home care. These youth face unique challenges and need support navigating their specific experiences.
- Help LGBTQ+ individuals and couples start their foster care or adoption journey by sharing Frequently Asked Questions From LGBTQ+ Prospective Foster and Adoptive Parents. Navigating the child welfare system can be complex, and LGBTQ+ families often face greater challenges.
- Share Supporting LGBTQ+ Youth: A Guide for Foster Parents with the foster families in your community. Both foster parents and professionals can use this factsheet as an opportunity to learn how to be a better ally and provide the support LGBTQ+ youth need.
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As professionals work to recruit and maintain a diverse pool of potential parents, LGBTQ+ individuals and couples are an often-untapped resource of prospective parents for the thousands of children and youth in foster care. In addition to being highly motivated and qualified parents, they often have experience with some of the same issues foster children and youth may face, such as dealing with feelings of isolation or being "different." These are feelings that many foster and adopted youth—not only LGBTQ+ youth—experience.
For insight into the advantages of engaging LGBTQ+ families, helping LGBTQ+ families overcome barriers, and supporting these families, read Working With LGBTQ+ Families in Foster Care and Adoption.
Visit these webpages for even more resources to support LGBTQ+ youth and families:
