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                                    Resources
                                    Resources By Area of Practice
                                    Topics In Corrections
                                    LGBTQI Juveniles

      

                    
          
    LGBTQI Juveniles
Adolescents face a variety of challenges in their transition to adulthood. A recent study conducted by the Human Rights Campaign indicates that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth face additional challenges over their more traditional peers that may impact them significantly. These challenges include discrimination, bullying, harassment, and exposure to physical and sexual violence. When the youth surveyed by the Human Rights Campaign were asked to describe the most important problem facing their lives, 26% of LGBT youth cited non-accepting families and 21% named school/bullying problems; while 15% of their non-LGBT peers identified classes/exams/grades and 14% said college/career as their most pressing concerns.

According to research by Garnette, Irvine, Reyes, and Wilber (2011)[1], LGBT youth are twice as likely to become homeless, generally due to rejection by family members and either voluntarily leave or are forced out of their homes. Homelessness exposes LGBT youth to increased risk of victimization, including assault, robbery, and rape. Some of these youth end up committing "survival crimes" such as theft and prostitution which lead them to contact with the criminal justice system. The work by Garnette et al, suggests that LGBT youth are disproportionately represented in the juvenile justice system.

While the above referenced research addresses LGBT as a group, NIC has chosen to include "Q" for Questioning and "I" for Intersex when referring to this juvenile population in our resources. NIC is committed to assisting correctional agencies in meeting the particular challenges associated with the housing and supervision of LGBTQI juveniles.

Agencies wishing to examine and improve their response to the management of LGBTQI juvenile offenders may apply for limited, short-term technical assistance to aid their efforts.

[1]Garnette, L., Irvine, A., Reyes, C. and Wilber, S. (2011) Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Youth and the Juvenile Justice System, in Juvenile Justice: Advancing Research, Policy, and Practice (eds F. T. Sherman and F. H. Jacobs), John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey. doi: 10.1002/9781118093375.ch8

    Resource Links
          Parent Initiative: LGBTQI Persons in Custody and Under Supervision
          Related Initiative: LGBTQI Medical & Mental Health
                   Parent Initiative
          LGBTI Persons in Custody and Under Supervision



This webpage provides information on the safe and respectful management of LGBTQI persons in custody, using best practices and considering legal perspectives. Agencies can apply for limited technical assistance to improve their response to managing LGBTQI persons.

Topic Categories and Resources
The following grey bars are accordions that can be expanded to show a list of "top-shelf" resources that have been hand-picked by our library team around this topic. If you would like additional research assistance on this topic, please contact our help desk. They have access to specialized databases and thousands of resources you won't find online. Click on a grey box below to browse resources in that section.
            
      Accordion    Multimedia
      
      LGBT Youth in Juvenile Justice: Creating Agency Policies for an Equitable System Webinar

            
      
Many juvenile justice systems don't know how many young people in their system identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) and often lack appropriate policies that meet their unique needs ...
      
  Accession Number
              031374
              Accordion    LGBTI Organization & Resources
      
      Practice Guide: Creating a Juvenile Justice LGBTQ Task Force

            
      
"In an effort to adopt policies and/or establish community relationships so that LGBTQ [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning] youth and their families have access to supportive resources, some jurisdictions convened LGBTQ task forces or workgroups. The purpose of this practice guide
              Keeping LGBTQ Youth Safe in Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Placements

            
      
“Many young people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning their sexual orientation or gender identity (LGBTQ) and in the custody of juvenile justice and delinquency systems are unsafe in their placements and are not receiving appropriate services. Professionals working within
              A Practitioner's Resource Guide: Helping Families to Support Their LGBT Children

            
      
This resource guide provides very important information for individuals helping families with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) children involved with the juvenile justice system. Its intent is to help practitioners “understand the critical role of family acceptance and rejection in
  
      Human Rights Campaign Homepage
              Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Homepage
              ACS Office of LGBTQ Child and Family Well-Being
              The Annie E. Casey Foundation Homepage
              Gender Spectrum Homepage
              TransYouth Family Ally Homepage
              Nurse’s Guide to Caring for LGBTQ+ Youth (2022)
              Accordion    Research
      
      Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Youth in the Juvenile Justice System

            
      
Accession Number
              031227

            The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) and other "changes in law and policy have created new expectations of juvenile justice personnel. Implementation of these new requirements, however, varies widely across the country and has created a demand for clear professional guidance. This practice guide
              LGBTQ Youth and Sexual Abuse: Information for Mental Health Professionals

            
      
While this tip-sheet is intended for mental health practitioners, it provides invaluable information for anyone working with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning (LGBTQ) youth. Sections of this brief cover: terms to know when working with LGBTQ youth; continuums of sex
              Surviving the Streets of New York: Experiences of LGBTQ Youth, YMSM, and YWSW Engaged in Survival Sex

            
      
This is "the first study to focus on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning (LGBTQ) youth; young men who have sex with men (YMSM); and young women who have sex with women (YWSW) who get involved in the commercial sex market in order to meet basic survival needs, such as food
              Restoring Justice: A Blueprint for Ensuring Fairness, Safety, and Supportive Treatment of LGBT Youth in the Juvenile Justice System

            
      
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, or LGBT, youth continue to be significantly over-represented in the nation’s juvenile justice system, even as overall rates of youth incarceration are on the decline ... This brief [explains] what works for LGBT youth by outlining the critical components of
              LGBTQ Youth of Color: Discipline Disparities, School Push-Out, and the School-to-Prison Pipeline

            
      
This is an excellent report about an issue that is little known-the involvement of LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning) youth of color in the juvenile justice system. Topics discussed include: LGBTQ youth of color and the school-to-prison pipeline (STPP); school push
              OJJDP MPG Literature Review: LGBTQ Youths in the Juvenile Justice System

            
      
Youths’ sexual orientations and gender identities are complex. Youths experience an ongoing process of sexual development as they mature into young adults. Adolescence presents a time in people’s lives when they are unsure of themselves and begin to question who they are ... Lesbian, gay, bisexual
              Safe & Respected: Policy, Best Practices & Guidance for Serving Transgender & Gender Non-Conforming Children and Youth in the Child Welfare, Detention, and Juvenile Justice Systems

            
      
You should be familiar with this report if you work with transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) youth. This guide "offers child welfare and juvenile justice practitioners concrete guidance, strategies for success, and resources that will enable staff to meet the specific needs of TGNC children
              Ensuring Access to Mentoring Programs for LGBTQ Youth

            
      
"Youth mentoring programs, such as those of 4-H, Big Brothers Big Sisters and Boys and Girls Clubs of America, are an important strategy for supporting at-risk youth and preventing them from becoming entangled with the juvenile justice system. This white paper summarizes research showing that LGBTQ
              The Unfair Criminalization of Gay and Transgender Youth: An Overview of the Experiences of LGBT Youth in the Juvenile Justice System

            
      
“Gay and transgender youth are pipelined into the juvenile justice system at disproportionate rates, often stripped of their basic dignity and civil rights, and treated in a harmful and discriminatory manner once in the system. The current policies and practices of schools and the juvenile justice
  
      Trevor Project: National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health (2021)
              Visualizing the unequal treatment of LGBTQ people in the criminal justice system (2021)
              20 Years of Advocating for LGBTQ Youth in Out-of-Home Care (2018)
              LGBTQ Youth of Color in the School-to-Prison Pipeline: Freedom, Liberation, and Resistance (2017)
              Emerging Best Practices for the Management and Treatment of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Intersex Youth in Juvenile Justice Settings
              CSG Justice Center Releases Roadmap for Reforming School Discipline (2014)
              Recommendations for promoting the health and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender adolescents: a position paper of the Society for Adolescent ...
              Accordion    Training & Curriculum
      
      Emerging Best Practices for the Management and Treatment of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Intersex Youth in Juvenile Justice Settings
              Accordion    Court Cases & Legislation
      
      Keeping Vulnerable Populations Safe under PREA: Alternative Strategies to the Use of Segregation in Prisons and Jails

            
      
"The purpose of this guide is to provide prison and jail administrators and staff with strategies for safely housing inmates at risk of sexual abuse without isolating them. Inmates at risk for sexual victimization-whether identified through screening or victimized in confinement-need protection from
              Responding to Sexual Abuse of Youth in Custody: Responding to the Needs of Boys, Girls and Gender Non-Conforming Youth

            
      
This is a 24-hour training covering the national Prison Rape Elimination Act Standards and implications for responding to the different needs of boys, girls and gender non-conforming youth who are sexually abused in custody. The following are the goals of this training: (1) review the applicable
              The Legal Rights of Young People in State Custody: What Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice Professionals Need to Know When Working with LGBT Youth

            
      
The legal rights of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) youth are discussed through the use of scenarios that show professionals in child welfare and juvenile justice what they may experience working with this population. This paper is divided into four parts: the Constitutional right to
  
      Lambda Legal: How the Law Protects LGBTQ Youth
              Supreme Court: 1964 Civil Rights Act Protects LGBT Employees from Workplace Discrimination (2020)

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          Lorie Brisbin
      
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