Lambda Legal has published an update to its 2017 report on federal, state and local policies that impact queer, transgender, nonbinary and gender diverse youth who have experienced the child welfare and/or juvenile justice systems.
Safe Havens II follows the formula of its predecessor in pairing the legal and policy assessment with several written accounts of systems-involved youth, which tie the discussion to real life experience.
“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,” writes Jaxsyn, a 19-year-old living in South Dakota. “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 lead to my family being able to be educated and me being in the house, in the apartment, that I am now.”
The report finds that during the intervening years since the original Safe Havens report, “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.”
A few of the tallies from the latest report on policy and law:
34 states now have nondiscrimination protection for youth on the basis of gender identity in their child welfare system in law or policy, and 37 states have such a policy in juvenile justice.
23 states have banned the use of conversion therapy on minors, up from just five in 2017. The Biden administration, in a recent federal rule on safe placements for LGBTQ+ youth in foster care, told states that “attempts to undermine, suppress, change, or stigmatize a child’s sexual orientation or gender identity or expression through so-called ‘conversion therapy’ is a form of prohibited retaliation against any child known or perceived to have an LGBTQ+ status and/or identity.”
While several states have moved to ban or greatly limit gender-affirming care for youth, the report notes that 14 states and Washington, D.C., have passed “shield laws” protecting access to that care. And 26 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico explicitly permit Medicaid coverage for transgender-related health care, including coverage for minors.