Implementing Supports for Lgbtqia+ Youth in Care amidst Increasing Anti-Lgbtqia+ Discourse and Extremism

On April 3, 2025, the US President issued a proclamation as part of National Child Abuse Prevention Month which included reference to Executive Order 14187 prohibiting public schools from "indoctrinating children with transgender ideology" and equated gender affirming treatment as "sexual mutilation." Anti-LGBTQIA+ hate groups have dramatically increased in the US, based on documentation by the Southern Poverty Law Center which reported the highest number of anti-LGBTQIA+ hate groups recorded to date in 2023, i.e., 86. In Winter 2024, the Human Rights Campaign declared a national state of emergency for LGBTQIA+ Americans, recognizing a record-breaking number of anti-LGBTQIA+ bills signed into law by state legislatures.

Scholars have recently conducted reviews of qualitative research on the needs and experiences of LGBTQIA+ youth, and particularly of LGBTQIA+ youth in care (Schaub et al., 2022; Wilson & Cariola, 2020). This research has found that LGBTQIA+ youth in care experience greater adversity to their mental and physical health, and greater stressors to their well-being compared to non-LGBTQIA+ youth experiencing foster care or residential placement. In addition, racial and ethnic minorities who are LGBTQIA+ youth in care, lesbian and bisexual girls, and transgender and non-binary youth have experienced an array of challenges as child welfare systems have historically been poorly equipped to meet their specialized needs.

In 2025, Illinois may be the first statewide child welfare agency to conduct a statewide survey on the needs and characteristics of youth in care, relative to their Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Expression (SOGIE), as part of planning for implementation of supports to improve services to LGBTQIA+ youth in care. This study is being implemented through a partnership between leaders at the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, and the Translational Research team at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

In 2022, our Illinois team found similar results to researchers from other jurisdictions on the high prevalence of LGBTQIA+ youth in State care compared to children not in care (i.e., 25% in Illinois; 34% in New York City using sample weighting techniques). Among 914 survey respondents, Illinois youth in care called for non-judgmental and affirming support from adults and peers for their SOGIE. From a representative sample of New York City youth in care, Sandfort (2020) found that placement types of LGBTQIA+ youth in care were different from non-LGBTQIA+ youth in care, and reported on the challenging nature of family experiences for LGBTQIA+ youth, and the heightened risk for depression among this population.

Many national groups such as the Human Rights Campaign, the Trevor Project, GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), have mobilized supports, advocacy, and resources to increase needed protections for LGBTQIA+ youth, and youth with lived experience in care. In this roundtable discussion, participants are invited to discuss protective approaches and strategies for addressing anti-LGBTQIA+ hate and violence, particularly in relation to the needs of youth in care. Roundtable panelists will share findings and challenges experienced in Illinois, and invite participants to share their own research, questions, challenges, and created supports.