IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/cysrev/v58y2015icp11-17.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sexual and gender minority disproportionality and disparities in child welfare: A population-based study

Author

Listed:
  • Wilson, Bianca D.M.
  • Kastanis, Angeliki A.

Abstract

Empirical research is needed to support ongoing efforts to improve services for sexual and gender minority youth in foster care. Further, data on the presence of sexual and gender minority youth within the child welfare system are needed to encourage counties that have not yet begun to engage in any efforts to address the unique needs and barriers to permanency for these youth. The current study reports on the findings of the Los Angeles Foster Youth Survey (LAFYS) which was designed to assess the proportion of youth placed in the Los Angeles County public child welfare system who are LGBTQ and to examine their experiences in communities, schools, and foster care. Findings indicate that approximately 19% of Los Angeles foster youth are LGBTQ. This proportion of youth is significantly higher than estimates of adolescent and young adult sexual and gender minority identification rates in the general population. Further, analyses also indicate that sexual and gender minority youth in this study are less satisfied with their child welfare system experience, are more likely to experience homelessness, are moved around to more placements, and are experiencing higher levels of emotional distress compared to their non-LGBTQ counterparts.

Suggested Citation

  • Wilson, Bianca D.M. & Kastanis, Angeliki A., 2015. "Sexual and gender minority disproportionality and disparities in child welfare: A population-based study," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 11-17.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:58:y:2015:i:c:p:11-17
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2015.08.016
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740915300463
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.childyouth.2015.08.016?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Amy Dworsky, "undated". "The Economic Well-Being of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Youth Transitioning Out of Foster Care," Mathematica Policy Research Reports b2f4fb67aab149f9a5e75f558, Mathematica Policy Research.
    2. repec:mpr:mprres:7635 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Andrew Burwick & Gary Gates & Scott Baumgartner & Daniel Friend, "undated". "Human Services for Low-Income and At-Risk LGBT Populations: The Knowledge Base and Research Needs (Brief)," Mathematica Policy Research Reports f422f7f042a946d3866808bdd, Mathematica Policy Research.
    4. Morton, Cory M. & Ocasio, Kerrie & Simmel, Cassandra, 2011. "A critique of methods used to describe the overrepresentation of African Americans in the child welfare system," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(9), pages 1538-1542, September.
    5. Cochran, B.N. & Stewart, A.J. & Ginzler, J.A. & Cauce, A.M., 2002. "Challenges faced by homeless sexual minorities: Comparison of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender homeless adolescents with their heterosexual counterparts," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 92(5), pages 773-777.
    6. Andrew Burwick & Gary Gates & Scott Baumgartner & Daniel Friend, "undated". "Human Services for Low-Income and At-Risk LGBT Populations: An Assessment of the Knowledge Base and Research Needs," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 5d6ee2c749e346f2a6fd6d635, Mathematica Policy Research.
    7. Russell, S.T. & Joyner, K., 2001. "Adolescent sexual orientation and suicide risk: Evidence from a national study," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 91(8), pages 1276-1281.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Prince, Dana M. & Ray-Novak, Meagan & Tossone, Krystel & Peterson, Emily & Gillani, Braveheart & Mintz, Laura, 2024. "Psychological comorbidities and suicidality in sexual and gender minority foster youth," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    2. Goldberg, Abbie E. & Tornello, Samantha & Farr, Rachel & Smith, JuliAnna Z. & Miranda, Liam, 2020. "Barriers to adoption and foster care and openness to child characteristics among transgender adults," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    3. López López, Mónica & Martínez-Jothar, Gabriela & ten Brummelaar, Mijntje D.C. & Parra, Luis A. & San Román Sobrino, Beatriz & Mallon, Gerald P., 2024. "“They told me that you can be with whomever you want, be who you are”: Perceptions of LGBTQ+ youth in residential care regarding the social support provided by child welfare professionals," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    4. Schaub, Jason & Stander, Willem J. & Montgomery, Paul, 2022. "LGBTQ+ Young People’s Health and Well-being Experiences in Out-of-home Social Care: A scoping review," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    5. González Álvarez, Rodrigo & Hofman, Sterre & ten Brummelaar, Mijntje & López López, Mónica, 2023. "Care professionals’ perspectives and roles on resilience among LGBTQIA+ youth in out-of-home care: A multidimensional perspective," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    6. Ramseyer Winter, Virginia & Brandon-Friedman, Richard A. & Ely, Gretchen E., 2016. "Sexual health behaviors and outcomes among current and former foster youth: A review of the literature," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 1-14.
    7. Brodie Fraser & Nevil Pierse & Elinor Chisholm & Hera Cook, 2019. "LGBTIQ+ Homelessness: A Review of the Literature," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(15), pages 1-13, July.
    8. PettyJohn, Morgan E. & Reid, Taylor A. & Miller, Elizabeth & Bogen, Katherine W. & McCauley, Heather L., 2021. "Reproductive coercion, intimate partner violence, and pregnancy risk among adolescent women with a history of foster care involvement," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    9. Salerno, John P. & Kachingwe, Olivia N. & Fish, Jessica N. & Parekh, Eshana & Geddings-Hayes, Melanie & Boekeloo, Bradley O. & Aparicio, Elizabeth M., 2020. "“Even if you think you can trust them, don’t trust them”: An exploratory analysis of the lived experiences of sexual health among sexual minority girls in foster care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    10. Mountz, Sarah & Capous-Desyllas, Moshoula, 2020. "Exploring the families of origin of LGBTQ former foster youth and their trajectories throughout care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    11. Atteberry-Ash, Brittanie & Kattari, Shanna K. & Speer, Stephanie Rachel & Guz, Samantha & Kattari, Leo, 2019. "School safety experiences of high school youth across sexual orientation and gender identity," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 1-1.
    12. Scannapieco, Maria & Painter, Kirstin R. & Blau, Gary, 2018. "A comparison of LGBTQ youth and heterosexual youth in the child welfare system: Mental health and substance abuse occurrence and outcomes," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 39-46.
    13. Austin, Ashley & Craig, Shelley L. & Matarese, Marlene & Greeno, Elizabeth J. & Weeks, Angela & Betsinger, S. Aaron, 2021. "Preliminary effectiveness of an LGBTQ+ affirmative parenting intervention with foster parents," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Scannapieco, Maria & Painter, Kirstin R. & Blau, Gary, 2018. "A comparison of LGBTQ youth and heterosexual youth in the child welfare system: Mental health and substance abuse occurrence and outcomes," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 39-46.
    2. Grafsky, Erika L. & Letcher, Amber & Slesnick, Natasha & Serovich, Julianne M., 2011. "Comparison of treatment response among GLB and non-GLB street-living youth," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 569-574, May.
    3. Andrew Burwick & Daniel Friend & Gary Gates, "undated". "Human Services for Low-Income and At-Risk LGBT Populations: Research Recommendations on Programs for Youth," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 274dc8095b7f4fb9b9a480bb5, Mathematica Policy Research.
    4. Hatzenbuehler, Mark L. & McLaughlin, Katie A. & Xuan, Ziming, 2012. "Social networks and risk for depressive symptoms in a national sample of sexual minority youth," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(7), pages 1184-1191.
    5. Wells, Elizabeth A. & Asakura, Kenta & Hoppe, Marilyn J. & Balsam, Kimberly F. & Morrison, Diane M. & Beadnell, Blair, 2013. "Social services for sexual minority youth: Preferences for what, where, and how services are delivered," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 312-320.
    6. repec:mpr:mprres:7072 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Christopher S. Carpenter & Samuel T. Eppink & Gilbert Gonzales, 2020. "Transgender Status, Gender Identity, and Socioeconomic Outcomes in the United States," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 73(3), pages 573-599, May.
    8. Prock, Kristen A. & Kennedy, Angie C., 2017. "Federally-funded transitional living programs and services for LGBTQ-identified homeless youth: A profile in unmet need," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 17-24.
    9. Côté, Philippe-Benoit & Blais, Martin, 2019. "Between resignation, resistance and recognition: A qualitative analysis of LGBTQ+ youth profiles of homelessness agencies utilization," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 437-443.
    10. Alex Abramovich, 2016. "Preventing, Reducing and Ending LGBTQ2S Youth Homelessness: The Need for Targeted Strategies," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 4(4), pages 86-96.
    11. Yeen Huang & Pengsheng Li & Zhisheng Lai & Xiaofei Jia & Di Xiao & Tian Wang & Lan Guo & Ciyong Lu, 2018. "Chinese Sexual Minority Male Adolescents’ Suicidality and Body Mass Index," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-12, November.
    12. Gwadz, Marya Viorst & Cleland, Charles M. & Leonard, Noelle R. & Bolas, James & Ritchie, Amanda S. & Tabac, Lara & Freeman, Robert & Silverman, Elizabeth & Kutnick, Alexandra & Dickson, Victoria Vaugh, 2017. "Understanding organizations for runaway and homeless youth: A multi-setting quantitative study of their characteristics and effects," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 398-410.
    13. Emily Hurren & Anna Stewart & Susan Dennison, 2017. "New Methods to Address Old Challenges: The Use of Administrative Data for Longitudinal Replication Studies of Child Maltreatment," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-12, September.
    14. Shelton, Jama, 2015. "Transgender youth homelessness: Understanding programmatic barriers through the lens of cisgenderism," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 10-18.
    15. Abramovich, Alex & Pang, Nelson & Ross MacKinnon, Kinnon, 2023. "Investigating the mental health outcomes among LGBTQ+ youth experiencing homelessness in York Region, Ontario," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    16. Ryan J. Watson & Christopher W. Wheldon & Lars Wichstrøm & Stephen T. Russell, 2015. "Cross-National Investigation of Health Indicators among Sexual Minorities in Norway and the United States," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 4(4), pages 1-14, October.
    17. Tyler, Kimberly A. & Akinyemi, Sarah L. & Kort-Butler, Lisa A., 2012. "Correlates of service utilization among homeless youth," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(7), pages 1344-1350.
    18. Tyler, Kimberly & Melander, Lisa & Almazan, Elbert, 2010. "Self injurious behavior among homeless young adults: A social stress analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(2), pages 269-276, January.
    19. Russell, Douglas H & Anderson, Joel R & Riggs, Damien W & Ullman, Jacqueline & Higgins, Daryl J, 2020. "Gender diversity and safety climate perceptions in schools and other youth-serving organisations," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    20. Prock, Kristen A. & Kennedy, Angie C., 2020. "Characteristics, experiences, and service utilization patterns of homeless youth in a transitional living program: Differences by LGBQ identity," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    21. Tyler, Kimberly A. & Ray, Colleen M., 2019. "Risk and protective factors for substance use among youth experiencing homelessness," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:58:y:2015:i:c:p:11-17. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/childyouth .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.