California Bill Would Enhance Protections for LGBTQ Youth in Foster Families

Roughly a third of California youth in foster care identify as LGBTQ. So, to ensure their home environments are affirming, one state senator wants to enhance the screening process for prospective foster caregivers through a new state law.

SB 407, announced Friday by state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), would create a standard for documenting needs for LGBTQ youth and measuring whether those needs are met in at-home assessments for foster families.

“We need to do everything in our power to make sure foster youth are in supportive, affirming homes,” Wiener told KQED. “We know there is a strong possibility foster parents will have an LGBTQ kid in their home, so we want to make sure everyone is screened for whether they are willing and able to provide that safe and affirming home.”

LGBTQ youth are disproportionately represented in the foster care system. And whether their household is supportive and affirming of their queer identity can make a major difference in their outcomes.

Adolescents who felt support from their parents regarding their gender identity were 93% less likely to attempt suicide compared to parents who were less supportive, according to data from The Trevor Project, an LGBTQ research and advocacy group.

SB 407 would outline how anti-LGBTQ conduct at home can pose a health and safety risk and would clarify such as a valid reason for denying a family to care for a foster youth.

The bill would also build on a California law passed in 2019 that gave foster youth explicit rights to use the name and gender pronouns they identify with as opposed to those assigned at birth.

“We see states that are banning trans kids from using the restroom or play sports, or banning their health care. Laws that are banning kids from learning about LGBTQ history or culture,” Wiener said. “It’s really important for California to go in the other direction for our most at-risk LGBT youth, which are foster kids, and make sure they are in a safe and affirming household.”

Compared to other U.S. states, California has some of the strongest anti-discrimination language in its screening process for foster parents. But those who work in the space say there still is a big gap for parents understanding LGBTQ youth needs, and whether or not those needs will be strongly considered in a screening process can vary county by county.

Whether a home is safe and affirming for queer and trans youth is among the top considerations for evaluators at Family Builders, a Bay Area organization that connects foster families, and works to rehabilitate and reunite families that have been separated as a result of LGBTQ discrimination in the home.

“When our social workers go out to do a family evaluation, we have an extensive conversation about this. What would you do if your teenager came out as gay? What if your toddler told you they were a different gender? Some families break down,” said Jill Jacobs, founder and executive director of Family Builders. “We want to strengthen these regulations to make it painfully clear that this is a requirement.”

Supporters of the bill point to a number of bills and laws across the country that attempt to restrict the rights and identities of LGBTQ youth.

One recently proposed bill in California, AB 1314, would require school staff to notify parents or caregivers if a student identifies as a gender that doesn’t match their birth certificate. LGBTQ rights advocates have slammed the idea, saying it forces outing students to parents, some of whom may not support their identities or decisions, which could put them in harm's way.

AB 1314 “is absolutely disgusting,” Wiener told KQED. “Anyone who is LGBTQ will decide for themselves when to tell their parents, friends or colleagues. That is a personal decision. The idea that teachers and schools would be forced to take that decision away from trans kids is incredibly disrespectful, and it could lead to violence.”

It’s not uncommon for LGBTQ youth to enter the foster care system after coming out to their families and facing violence or discrimination at home. So Jacobs says that all caregivers should be prepared to offer a safe and welcoming home to queer and transgender youth.

To that end, Family Builders and similar organizations around the state work directly with families who want to be more supportive of their foster child by providing instruction and development for foster parents. California’s foster youth bill of rights includes having the right to caregivers and welfare personnel who have received instruction on cultural competency for working with LGBTQ youth.

“We don’t always know who those youth will be when we first replace them with a family, so we have to make sure all families will be supportive or affirming,” she said, referring to how youth may come out after they are already placed with a family. “If you can’t, then you don’t meet the criteria.”