Gay youths more likely to report trouble in foster care, study finds

[theHandpuppet]

A vitally important yet woefully underreported issue in the LGBT community. Please read and share!

The Los Angeles Times
Gay youths more likely to report trouble in foster care, study finds
By Hailey Branson-Potts
August 27, 2014, 12:30 AM

Gay foster youths are twice as likely to report being treated poorly by the foster care system than their straight counterparts, according to a new study of Los Angeles County's foster care system..

They have more foster care placements, are more likely to be living in a group home and are three times more likely than straight youths to have been hospitalized for emotional reasons at some point in their lives.

They are also highly overrepresented in the county system, according to a study released Wednesday by UCLA's Williams Institute, which studies LGBT demographics, and Holarchy Consulting.

Nearly 1 in 5 L..A. County foster youths identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning their sexuality — twice as many as are believed to be in the general population....

MORE at http://www.latimes.com/local/countygovernment/la-me-lgbt-foster-youth-20140827-story.html

[shenmue]

1. :(

My heart goes out to these kids.

[burrowowl]

2. Sad so very sad

[RKP5637]

3. So many, so poorly treated. Yet another of my WTF's each day. The US is a very

frightening place if one falls through the cracks.

[Terra Alta]

4. this is so sad.

I think it should be a requirement that all social workers, foster parents, and adoptive parents be LGBT-friendly. Homophobia should have no place in the foster care system, and it really is sad that in 2014 these youths are still afraid to come out to social workers and foster parents.

[nomorenomore08]

5. Oh, but it's their *religion*, don'cha know...

[theHandpuppet]

6. I highly recommend this brochure to everyone

https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/LGBTQyouth.pdf

If your local social services dept doesn't have these, offer to print some out for them.