Shannan Wilber Youth Policy Director Transgender and Gender nonconforming youth in the California foster care system Shannan Wilber Youth Policy Director

Agenda Concepts and terminology Research and data Professional standards CA Laws Recommended practice

Dimensions of Identity All vocabulary slides start with just the terms. As you click through the definitions will fly onto the screen one at a time. Source: Allegheny County Department of Human Services (2015)

SOGIE Sexual Orientation Gender Identity Gender Expression A person’s romantic, physical and/or sexual attraction to other people that ranges from attraction to only men/boys or women/girls, to varying degrees of attraction to both, to attraction to neither. Gender Identity A person’s core and hard-wired sense of their own identity as a man/boy, woman/girl, something in between, or something outside the gender binary. All vocabulary slides start with just the terms. As you click through the definitions will fly onto the screen one at a time. Gender Expression A person’s presentation or communication of their gender to others through hairstyles, clothing, physical mannerisms, alterations of their body, or name and pronoun.

Gender Identity: Everybody Has One Think beyond the binary! This slide has animation. It starts with just the image of the binary and then as you click through it will change to a spectrum. GENDER IS A SPECTRUM

Concepts and Terminology Sex Assigned at Birth A designation usually made by a medical professional and generally based on appearance of external genitalia. Cisgender Describes people whose gender identity is the same as their sex assigned at birth. Transgender An umbrella term that refers to people whose gender identity is different from their sex assigned at birth. Nonbinary Describes a person whose gender identity is neither exclusively male nor female.

1. Allow the young person to self-identify (when ready). language Learning about terms youth use to identify themselves (and terms that are offensive to some) is helpful and important, but it can be hard to keep up. A few guidelines: 1. Allow the young person to self-identify (when ready). 2. Mirror their language. 3. Ask questions in a respectful way that helps you understand what the terminology or language they use means to them. 4. Adjust your language if and when a youth’s identity or expression shifts. Language, identity, and expression are fluid, especially for adolescents.

Gender Expansive A broad term referring to aspects of gender expression, identity, and interests that go beyond cultural binary prescriptions of behaviors and interests associated primarily with boys or girls. Gender-expansive includes young people who do not identify with the sex they were assigned at birth as well as those who do, but may nonetheless find themselves barraged with questions based on their dress, appearance, or interests, such as, “Are you a boy or a girl?” or “Why do you play with that? It’s a boy/girl toy!” Other words with similar meetings include gender diverse and gender creative. Nat’l Ass’n of School Psychologists & Gender Spectrum, Gender Inclusive Schools: Overview, Gender Basics, and Terminology (2016), https://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources/diversity/lgbtq-youth/gender-inclusive-schools-faqs/gender-inclusive-schools-overview-gender-basics-and-terminology. This slide starts with the NASW definition of gender expansive (with the spectrum beneath it to reinforce that concept) and then when you click through the slide will wipe clean and be replaced with the HRC poster of the ways youth describe their own gender.

Overrepresentation of LGBTQ Youth in Out-of-Home Care Rejection and Neglect at Home Unsafe Schools Social Isolation As you click through this slide will start with the factors that lead to LGBTQ youth being overrepresented in care, then the three types of care systems we discuss, and then the arrows will appear to display the results of these factors and the ways that they cycle through systems. Homelessness Juvenile Justice System Child Welfare System

LGBTQ Youth in the Child Welfare System 5.6% 13.4% 19.1% TRANSGENDER LGBTQ LGBQ The Williams Institute Sexual & Gender Minority Youth in Foster Care: Assessing Disproportionality and Disparities in Los Angeles (2014)

Medical and Behavioral Science A clinical psychiatric diagnosis characterized by intense, continuous distress caused by the discrepancy between an individual’s gender identity and their assigned sex at birth. In previous versions of the DSM, gender dysphoria was known as gender identity disorder (GID). Gender Dysphoria Another definition slide

GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBT Equality Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine Society for Physician Assistants in Pediatrics American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry American Nurses Association American Academy of Pediatrics American Public Health Association American Medical Women’s Association Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs American Psychoanalytic Association American Academy of Family Physicians American Psychiatric Association Endocrine Society American Academy of Physician Assistants American College of Physicians American Medical Student Association American Academy of Nursing Pediatric Endocrine Society Mental Health America National Association of Social Workers “Exclusionary policies perpetuate such stigma and discrimination, not only by forcing transgender individuals to disclose their status, but by marking transgender individuals as “others” who are unfit to use the restrooms used by everyone else. Indeed, the very existence of exclusionary policies targeting transgender individuals fosters stigma and discrimination.” “For over 30 years, the generally-accepted treatment protocols for gender dysphoria have been aimed at alleviating the distress associated with the incongruence between gender identity and birth-assigned sex, rather than attempting to force individuals to live in conformance with their natal sex.” This slide has a lot of animation, but it’s intended for effect (and to bridge the gap between medical and legal info). It starts with a photo of Gavin Grimm and then has two pull quotes from the SCOTUS amicus brief by medical experts in his case. The first quote is about medical treatment and the second is about policy. (The second covers up the first one.) Then you have to click many more times and each author of the brief will pop up one by one, until eventually there are so many orgs supporting Gavin that we can’t even see him.

Dr. Johanna Olson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuZ7AlsTczI

The Importance of Pronouns http://individualandcouplestherapy.com

The Importance of Names A 2018 study studied the use of chosen names by transgender youth in four contexts (at home, at school, at work, and with friends). Researchers found youth who were able to use their chosen names in all four contexts had the lowest levels of depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and suicidal behavior. An increase by one context in which a preferred name could be used predicted a 29% decrease in suicidal ideation and a 56% decrease in suicidal behavior.

California laws Foster Care Nondiscrimination Act Gives foster youth: The right to fair and equal access to services, placement, care, treatment and benefits The right NOT to be subjected to discrimination or harassment on the basis of actual or perceived SO/GI

California laws California Student Safety & Violence Prevention Act Protects students in California public schools against discrimination or harassment based on Sexual orientation Gender identity Gender nonconforming appearance or behavior

California laws School Success and Opportunity Act Requires public schools to permit students to participate in sex-segregated programs, activities and facilities consistent with their gender identity regardless of the gender listed in their school records

California laws Conversion Therapy Ban Prohibits licensed therapists from administering conversion therapy to any person under the age of 18

California laws Placement According to Gender Identity Children and nonminor dependents in out-of-home care shall be placed according to their gender identity, regardless of the gender or sex listed in their court or child welfare records.

California laws Gender Affirming Health and Behavioral Health Care The right of minors and nonminors in foster care to health care and mental health care includes covered gender affirming health care and gender affirming mental health care

HOW can YOU HELP tgnc YOUTH?

TALK TO YOUTH ABOUT SOGIE Familiarize yourself with SOGIE terms and concepts Appreciate and affirm youth when they disclose TGNC status Use the language they use to describe their identities Use the name and pronouns they currently use Ask about any concerns or needs Consult with youth about placement, roommates, privacy

Advocate for TGNC youth Families Social worker Placement Schools Health care Court

Thank you for your attention! Shannan Wilber Youth Policy Director National Center for Lesbian Rights swilber@nclrights.org 415.365.1331