This resources offers best practice guidelines for supporting gay and lesbian adoptive parents.
Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute (2011)
The purpose of this study was to estimate the population of sexual minority or LGB (lesbian, gay and bisexual) children and youth involved with the child welfare system, and to compare their health, mental health, placement and permanency outcomes to those of non-LGB youth. Data were drawn from the Second National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW-II), a nationally representative sample of children who were referred to child welfare due to a report of abuse or neglect over a fifteen month period. Results indicate that approximately 15.5% of all system involved youth identified as lesbian, gay or bisexual, and that lesbian and bisexual females, and LGB youth of color are both overrepresented within child welfare systems. Although no substantive difference in risk factors, permanency and placement were found between LGB and Non-LGB youth, LGB youth were significantly more likely to meet the criteria for adverse mental health outcomes. Implications for child welfare practice and policy are presented, along with recommendations for future research in this area.
RISE offers comprehensive care coordination through a Care Coordination Team (CCT). The CCT partners with families of LGBTQ youth ages 5 and older and focuses on barriers to permanency. RISE also includes an outreach and relationship-building component to support public and private agencies in working with LGBTQ youth. This component includes a three-hour LGBTQ foundation training, a three-hour social work practice with LGBTQ training for foster parents and kinship care, and organizational coaching.
Wilson et al, 2016