Trauma and Resilience: A new look at legal advocacy for youth in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems
While rates of trauma are high for all youth, they are particularly high for youth in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems.
Other Resources
State v. Limon
A defendant convicted of a sexual offense challenged state statutory provisions which punished homosexual sodomy between adults and children far more severely than heterosexual sodomy between adults and children. The Kansas Supreme Court struck the disparate sentencing rules from the statute, holding that the statutory distinction violated equal protection under both the Federal and State Constitutions.
R.G. v. Koller
Three youths who identify as or who are perceived to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender filed a motion for preliminary injunction seeking relief from the discrimination, harassment, and verbal, physical, and sexual abuse they suffered at the hands of Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility (HYCF) staff and wards. The court partially granted the plaintiff’s preliminary injunction on due process grounds, finding that the conditions at HYCF were physically and psychologically unsafe for the plaintiffs. The court ruled that the defendants were deliberately indifferent to the health and safety of the plaintiffs in failing to provide (1) policies and training necessary to protect LGBT youth, (2) adequate staffing and supervision, (3) a functioning grievance system, and (4) a classification system to protect vulnerable youth. The court found that the practices of isolating the LGBT youths, ostensibly for their protection, and failing to protect them from physical and psychological abuse were clear violations of due process.
Doe v. Bell
A New York Superior Court ruling that a transgender youth’s Gender Identity Disorder constitutes a disability within the meaning of the State Human Rights Law. As such, the court required the New York City Administration for Children’s Services to make reasonable dress code accommodations for the youth’s disability. The petitioner was granted exemption from the dress policy and permitted to wear feminine clothing in the all-male foster care facility
Letter from Equity Project to the District of Columbia Office of Human Rights
This letter was written to oppose the proposed amendments to the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations which would have exempted the Department of Corrections for the gender identity and expression provision of the D.C. Human Rights Act.
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Young People in State Custody: Making the Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice Systems Safe for All Youth through Litigation, Advocacy, and Education
An article that highlights the difficulties faced by the disproportionately high numbers of LGBT youth in the foster care and juvenile justice systems. The authors address the key arguments made by attorneys on behalf of LGBT youth in state custody and the many ways lawyers can use civil rights principles to stimulate policy reform and encourage systematic changes in institutional conditions. The article pairs statements made by LGBT youths in both systems with the authors’ specific recommendations as to how the rights of LGBT youth have been violated while in state custody as a means of illustrating both legal and non-legal strategies attorneys can use to remedy injustices, combat discrimination, and promote the civil rights of LGBT youth.
Preventing the Sexual Abuse of Youth in Correctional Settings: Comments Submitted to Department of Justice in response to proposed PREA Standards
On May 10, 2010, the Equity Project joined the nation’s leading LGBT civil rights groups and the nation’s leading juvenile justice reform organizations in submitting two sets of comments to Attorney General Eric Holder, urging him to adopt the proposed NPREC standards to prevent sexual abuse in prisons, jails, and youth facilities. The comments expressed strong support for the standards with suggested modifications to strengthen the protection of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) people from sexual abuse.
CWLA Best Practice Guidelines: Serving LGBT Youth in Out-of-Home Care
A set of comprehensive guidelines, published by the Child Welfare League of America, that articulate the constitutional and statutory obligations of public systems serving LGBT youth in out-of-home care in both child welfare and juvenile justice forums. The guidelines address the systematic shortcomings of the juvenile justice system in meeting the needs of LGBT youth, and attempt to provide insight into the unique challenges confronting LGBT youths in out-of-home facilities. The eight topical areas covered in the guidelines cover a range of LGBT youth issues, the ways in which these issues may affect the attorney-client relationship, and the steps that can be taken by individuals to ensure that LGBT youths in institutional settings are afforded proper care and treatment.
Coming Out for Kids: Recognizing, Respecting, and Representing LGBTQ Youth
An article on the need for lawyers to recognize the ways in which lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning youths are uniquely vulnerable to abuse, violence, and discrimination, so that lawyers can be effective and zealous advocates for LGBTQ young people. Fedders argues that the adaptive behaviors engaged in by LGBTQ youth may often render them vulnerable to involvement and struggles in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Rather than identifying LGBTQ clients for special treatment, Fedders encourages lawyers for juveniles to adopt practice strategies that are sensitive to and supportive of all youth regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity.
10 Tips: Working with LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning) Youth
Ten suggestions to help juvenile defenders build positive and effective relationships with their LGBT clients.