Legislating and adjudicating the rights of LGBTQ youth in child welfare

Summary: Over the past 40 years, protections have been enacted in recognition of the unique struggles faced by LGBTQ youth in systems of child welfare, including adoption, foster care, probate and family court, and child protection. These protections have been enacted out of recognition that LGBTQ children are both highly vulnerable and disproportionately represented in these systems. This article examines the history, rhetoric and current landscape of conflicting efforts to both protect LGBTQ youth and erode such protections where they presently exist. Findings: Presently, forces are attempting to roll back protections for LGBTQ youth in social services through the courts, as well as enact new avenues for discrimination as part of a political campaign broadly centered under the rhetoric of “parental rights.” In addition to legal battles, new legislation has been proposed which would prevent 社会工作ers, teachers, and other human service providers from taking LGBTQ identities into account when assessing a child’s best interest. While public debate has focused on these challenges with respect to schools, less attention has been paid to other domains such as foster care. Applications: 社会工作ers and other human service providers must respond to this challenge and preserve protections for vulnerable youth. A failure to institute and maintain policies which elevate youth self-determination represents a fundamental failure to protect youth. This must be resisted by individual social workers and our respective professional organizations.

本研究探讨了过去40年中为应对LGBTQ青少年在儿童福利系统中面临的独特困境而实施的保护措施，包括在收养、寄养、遗嘱和家庭法院以及儿童保护领域的措施。这些保护措施的出台是为了认识到LGBTQ儿童在这些系统中高度脆弱且比例过高。本文考察了保护LGBTQ青少年的努力与削弱这些保护措施的相互矛盾的历史、话语和当前形势。

该研究通过回顾过去40年LGBTQ青少年在儿童福利、收养和寄养系统中的特殊需求，分析了这些青少年面临的挑战，并探讨了相关的政策和立法背景。研究重点聚焦于LGBTQ青少年在美国和英国的过度代表现象，特别是跨性别青少年在收养家庭中的居住情况，并考虑性别确认医疗护理对这些青少年的影响。此外，研究分析了过去十年中，儿童福利、收养和寄养系统在LGBTQ特定项目和培训方面的进展，以及LGBTQ法律团体在为青少年争取权益中的作用。研究还着眼于保守派政府在美国对LGBTQ青少年保护政策的反击，特别是德克萨斯州的相关政策，探讨这些政策如何影响跨性别儿童的家庭和青少年福利。这些措施被视为通过政治话语手段削弱或撤销已有保护LGBTQ青少年的法律和政策。

该研究发现，跨性别青少年和LGBTQ青少年面临着美国历史上最大规模的立法和司法打压，保护LGBTQ青少年的需求比以往任何时候都更加迫切。社会工作者和其他儿童福利专业人士需要明确表达对保护这些青少年政策的支持，同时反对可能导致青少年遭受非确认或强制性做法的政策。研究指出，儿童福利服务，尤其是在涉及监护权和抚养权的问题上，容易被滥用，且这种责任伴随着道德上的保护义务。研究表明，确认LGBTQ青少年的性取向或性别认同是预防他们面临一系列风险的关键保护因素，而未能实施维护青少年自我决定权的政策，实际上是对青少年的保护失败。此外，研究强调社会工作者面临的伦理挑战，特别是在德克萨斯州和佛罗里达州，社会工作者有时被要求执行针对LGBTQ青少年的政策，这与美国社会工作者的伦理规范相悖。