Providing Unbiased Services 

for LGBTQ Youth Programs 

Contents

Collaboration Overview ......................... 1

Collaboration Purpose........................... 2

About the Collaboration......................... 2

Collaboration Structure.......................... 3

Promising Practices............................... 4

Lessons Learned................................... 5

Accomplishments .................................. 6

Resources ............................................. 7

Collaboration Overview

The Providing Unbiased Services for LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, 

Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) Youth Project is a collaborative 

effort that originated in Multnomah County, Oregon, and focuses 

on training staff and encouraging policy changes to provide 

unbiased services for LGBTQ youth in in-home and out-of-home 

care settings.

The collaboration structure includes: 

 An established, representative, advisory committee that 

meets on an ongoing basis

 An effort to share its message by presenting at conferences 

 Strategic partnerships with organizations that are 

experienced in the subject matter

Best practices include: 

 Involving allies and advocates from a variety of organizations 

and perspectives on the advisory committee

 Securing support from key advocates within the systems

 Recognizing how to navigate the political nuances and 

organizational objectives

 Ensuring training materials are easily available

The collaboration has faced a number of challenges and learned 

the following lessons:

 There is a lack of data in this area.

 Instability within partner organizations can slow down the 

process. 

 It can be a challenge to find funders to support the work.

 It is important to develop a plan to establish local buy-in and 

reach out to local organizations and champions when trying 

to expand. 
Collaboration Purpose

The mission of the collaboration is to train staff and encourage organizational policy changes 

to provide unbiased services for LGBTQ youth in in-home and out-of-home care settings. The 

collaboration has predominately focused its efforts on out-of-home care including juvenile 

justice detention, foster care placements, and homeless shelters. The primary goal is to 

support organizational policy changes and trainings so that organizations will be better able to 

meet the needs and improve the outcomes for LGBTQ youth as well as others that the 

organizations serve.

About the Collaboration

The Providing Unbiased Services for LGBTQ Youth Project is a local collaboration that began 

in 2004 as a Juvenile Justice Committee focused on researching the state of in- and out-ofhome services for LGBTQ youth. This committee was established through the support of the 

Equity Foundation, a nonprofit organization in Portland, Oregon, that’s mission is to support 

and ensure equality across all sexual and gender orientations, and the dedication of a defense 

lawyer in Portland who had recognized the overrepresentation of LGBTQ youth in her clients. 

A 2008 Juvenile Justice Summit held in Portland brought together over 40 agencies to 

brainstorm challenges faced in trying to best serve LGBTQ youth. Portland State University’s 

Regional Research Institute for Human Services was invited to participate in the summit to 

provide an academic presence and to support an evaluation of the effort. Summit participants 

identified a need for basic understanding and training in working with LGBTQ youth and 

subsequently the Equity Foundation established an advisory committee that represents 

researchers, lawyers, community advocates, child welfare workers, juvenile justice staff, and 

homeless youth services providers.

The advisory committee applied for a United Way grant in order to establish the Providing 

Unbiased Services for LGBTQ Youth Project and develop a model training program to help 

staff in social service and criminal justice organizations provide unbiased services for LGBTQ 

youth. Trainings were provided to a subset of Multnomah Child Welfare staff, staff from the 

Homeless “Continuum” (New Avenues for Youth, Outside In, Janus Youth, NAYA Family 

Center), and staff from Multnomah County Juvenile Justice. While the collaboration started at 

the local level within Multnomah County, the hope is that trainings will expand to include

service providers across the state and eventually become mandatory for service providers in 

order to increase their knowledge about LGBTQ youth.

LGBTQ Collaboration Profile Page | 2
Collaboration Structure

The collaboration is supported by the following:

An established, representative advisory committee that meets on an 

ongoing basis 

The advisory committee, established after the 2008 Juvenile Justice Summit, consists of 

members of:

 The Equity Foundation

 Multnomah County Child Welfare

 Multnomah County Juvenile Justice

 Portland State University

 The Homeless “Continuum” (New Avenues for Youth, Outside In, Janus Youth, NAYA 

Family Center)

 Sexual and Gender Minority Youth Resource Center (SMYRC)

 Legal representatives

The advisory committee communicates regularly both through e-mail and in-person meetings. 

Advisory committee meetings are held at least quarterly, if not more often, to plan next steps 

and discuss challenges.

An effort to share its message by presenting at conferences

Following trainings in Multnomah County, the collaboration is looking to spread the word about 

the trainings and the importance of the topic by presenting a workshop specifically focused on 

gender-nonconforming youth at the 2012 Meaningful Care Conference, which attracts 

attendees from across the state. In order to spread the trainings to service providers across 

the state, the collaboration is hoping to establish champions or advocates for the work in other 

counties. In addition, it provides free downloads of all its training materials online. 

Strategic partnerships with organizations that are experienced in the 

subject matter 

The trainings supported by the collaboration were developed and delivered by partners from 

SMYRC and Portland State University’s Regional Research Institute for Human Services with 

key subject matter expertise in LGBTQ issues. SMYRC, a nonprofit organization focused on 

working with LGBTQ youth through empowerment, community building, education and direct 

services, provided a background and overview of LGBTQ issues. The Regional Research 

Institute for Human Services conducts research and evaluation with the goal of improving 

peoples' lives through better human services, supports, and policies. The Regional Research 

Institute provided expertise in evaluation and helped to develop training materials for the project.

LGBTQ Collaboration Profile Page | 3
Promising Practices

The following practices have helped the Providing Unbiased Services for LGBTQ Youth 

Project to be successful in working collaboratively and achieving results.

Allies and advocates from a variety of organizations and perspectives are 

represented within the advisory committee

The collaboration has been able to establish a team of allies and advocates that represent the 

diverse array of partner organizations on its advisory board, including child welfare, juvenile 

justice, higher education, and the homeless population . The collaboration ensures that people 

with these different perspectives are at the table and have an equal voice as they discuss next 

steps and express their concerns and goals.

The diverse array of partners has benefited the collaboration as each brings its own skills, 

perspectives, connections, and expertise. For example, having an academic institution 

involved has helped to provide a level of credibility that can be beneficial in opening doors with 

decision makers, while having grassroots organizations has brought a level of understanding 

about the realities of LGBTQ youth in the community.

Support from key advocates within the systems

Having strong allies on the advisory committee is important, but the collaboration has also found 

that it is essential to have allies that help carry out and support the work from inside the system. 

For example, the collaboration has a strong ally within Multnomah County Juvenile Justice who 

helped to establish, schedule, and tailor the trainings to ensure that they meet the needs of its 

juvenile justice system. She was also a strong advocate for getting its director on board and 

helped navigate the political changes and reorganizations that occurred within the organization. 

One of the key advocates that the collaboration was able to establish was the former director 

of Multnomah County Juvenile Justice. Through his role, he was able to mandate that all of the 

staff in the Multnomah County Juvenile Justice Department participate in the training.

Recognizing how to navigate the political nuances and organizational 

objectives 

Recognizing how to frame the training objectives so they fit with the missions and mandates of 

the organizations was essential for the success of the training. For example, the collaboration 

benefited from being able to adapt the training objectives to reflect the key language and align 

with the professional development policies of the Multnomah County Juvenile Justice.

Ensuring training materials are easily available 

While the collaboration does not actively market its training materials or track page views on its 

website, all of the training materials, including PowerPoint presentations, handouts, and additional 

resources, are available online for free download and use. It also makes its materials available in a 

binder and in CD format for local organizations and entities interested in the training. 

LGBTQ Collaboration Profile Page | 4
Lessons Learned

The Providing Unbiased Services for LGBTQ Youth Project has learned the following lessons 

through the challenges they have faced.

There is a lack of data in this area 

One challenge that the collaboration faces is a lack of data and information on LGBTQ youth, 

specifically gender-nonconforming youth and youth in the juvenile justice and child welfare 

systems. This is a problem in Oregon and the nation as a whole. While there are some data 

showing that LGBTQ youth are overrepresented in the homeless population, data about 

overrepresentation in other systems are not as clearly established. One reason for the lack of 

data on this population is that youth often don’t feel safe disclosing their sexual or gender 

preference. In addition, when data are available, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender youth 

are often lumped together as one category, therefore not capturing the distinct experiences of 

each population. For example, as many out-of-home placements are segregated by sex, it can 

create unique challenges for gender-nonconforming youth.

Information is slowly becoming more available, but it is still heavily reliant on anecdotal 

information or case studies rather than large-scale data collection and analysis. The lack of 

data and information on this population of youth both at the national and local level makes it 

difficult to show that

 More efforts and funding needs to be targeted at this population.

 Action should be taken to help eliminate the disproportionate representation of LGBTQ 

youth in the juvenile justice, homeless, and child welfare populations.

 Efforts need to be taken to ensure that LGBTQ youth experience a safe and supportive 

environment.

Instability within partner organizations can slow down the process

The collaboration has faced a number of reorganizational challenges in recent years. Multnomah 

County Juvenile Justice recently underwent reorganization and a shift in its leadership due to 

budget cuts. While the previous director was a key advocate for the collaboration, making the 

training mandatory for all staff, new leadership has a different background, approach, and 

priorities. Another shift in the collaboration’s structure occurred when the executive director of 

SMYRC moved out of state and SMYRC merged with another organization—the Q Center, a 

community center supporting all LGBTQ people, not just youth. SMYRC developed and 

delivered part of the training, so their organization changes raised questions of who would 

provide that piece of the training going forward though the collaboration hopes that SMYRC will 

continue to be a training partner. As some of the partner organizations were in flux, the 

collaboration recognized that while it is important to ensure its presence is still felt, it is also 

important to allow the partner organizations to stabilize and reestablish buy-in prior to trying to 

expand their efforts and make large demands of the partner organizations.

LGBTQ Collaboration Profile Page | 5
It can be difficult to find funders to support the work 

The collaboration was able to secure initial funding for trainings through a grant with the United 

Way, but it continues to struggle to find additional funds to expand and sustain its efforts. The 

Equity Foundation, as a partner in the collaboration, has been able to provide some funding to 

sustain the work of the collaboration, but securing additional funding and deciding which 

partner should be the key applicant continues to be difficult.

Plan to establish local buy-in and reach out to local organizations and 

champions 

As Oregon is a large state with distinct cities and rural areas, the collaboration recognized it 

would be important to work with local communities rather than imposing its views and values 

on communities across the state in a top-down manner. As it plans to expand the trainings to 

audiences throughout the state, the collaboration is cognizant of the importance of establishing 

local buy-in, developing local advocates, and generating local partners to support the work of 

the collaboration.

Accomplishments

The project trained 107 service providers in Multnomah County that work with youth. As a 

result of the trainings, the participating organizations have seen an increase in awareness and 

shifts in organizational attitudes. Specifically:

 Most respondents, even those who had previously shown resistance, expressed that they 

had learned something they could apply to practice.

 Safe zone signs have been posted throughout Multnomah County Juvenile Justice 

Department, and few have been removed despite a history of the signs being torn down 

prior to the training.

 Multnomah County Child Welfare made recommendations that are currently in the approval 

process to alter the intake forms that are used in order to support gender-nonconforming 

youth. This includes providing a place for the name that they prefer to be called and 

separating questions for assigned sex and gender.

 The Homeless Continuum continues to provide services that have been responsive to 

LGBTQ youth.

LGBTQ Collaboration Profile Page | 6
Resources 

Learn more about the Providing Unbiased Services for LGBTQ Youth Project on the project 

website.

 Find resources about LGBTQ issues: http://www.rri.pdx.edu/lgbtq/lgbtq_resources.php

 View and download the training curriculum:

http://www.rri.pdx.edu/lgbtq/lgbtq_curriculum.php

View the LGBT Youth and Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention youth topic on 

FindYouthInfo.gov to learn more. 

LGBTQ Collaboration Profile Page | 7