May 2023

The SOGIE Newsletter is a publication of The National Center for Youth with Diverse Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, & Expression at Innovations Institute, University of Connecticut.

In This Issue:

• Community Corner
• Resources for Families
• Practical Tools
• Webinars/Virtual Events
• Articles/Research
• Policy News

Community Corner

Community Corner is a place where you can share news about the work you are doing with young people with diverse SOGIE (sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression). To submit information about your program to be highlighted in this newsletter, please email SOGIECenter@uconn.edu. heinstitute@ssw.umaryland.edu.

Hats Against Hate Raises Funds for KY Youth with Custom Derby Hats

Derby hats are a Kentucky mainstay this time of year. That’s why one Louisville organization is selling custom hats to raise money for LGBTQ+ youth. Manager Amy Kunzler sells hats and fascinators inside her store, Nitty Gritty. “This is a project as a fundraiser for the Louisville Youth Group to stand up against anti-LGBTQ+, anti-trans legislation,” Kunzler said. The “Hats Against Hate” fundraiser comes a month after the Kentucky legislature voted to override Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto of Senate Bill 150, which bans all gender-affirming care for transgender youth and put limits on discussing gender and sexuality in schools, among other provisions. “And I know they’ve used a lot of the colors that are the transgender colors,” Kunzler said while describing the hats. Volunteers created 100 hats to sell at $100 each at various stores around Louisville. “I get asked a lot about how this legislation will impact young people, and the truth is it already is,” Rosenberg said. “Young folks are seeing whether or not they should exist being debated in their government.” Proceeds go directly toward services and resources for the children at Louisville Youth Group. Learn more

Resources for Families

Transgender & Gender Diverse Youth and Family Study

This study aims to understand more about how sibling relationships and family environment contribute to well-being of gender creative and gender diverse kids. Specifically, the study is looking for families where 1 caregiver, 1 transgender or gender diverse youth (TGDY), and 1 sibling can participate. They are looking for families where the TGDY and siblings are between 10 and 19 years old and have regular contact with one another. Families will be scheduled a time with the study team to participate in surveys, and for some families a follow-up interview. For more information, email FamilyWellbeingStudy@gmail.com

Level Up! Survey for LGBTQ+ Teens Who Play Video Games

The International Partnership for Queer Youth Resilience (INQYR) is exploring LGBTQ+ youth’s positive and negative experiences of video gaming and gaming communities, and how this relates to wellbeing. They are seeking participants aged 14-29 years old living in the USA, Canada, Australia, or Mexico who identify as a sexual or gender minority person and plays video games regularly on any platform to take part in a survey taking approximately 20-30 minutes. Participants may enter a raffle to win one of ten $50 CAD Amazon gift cards and may also be eligible to participate in an interview with a further incentive. To learn more about the study and participate in the survey, head to the study link: Learn more

Trans Lifeline Library

The Trans Lifeline Library is a Stand With Trans project funded by The HOPE Fund of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan. This is a living resource–it will continue to be reviewed, updated, and content and vetted information added over time, so check back often! If you have a great resource to share, please let us know. For questions, concerns, or resource/information requests, please contact the Research Librarian at  logan@standwithtrans.org. Thank you to STATCOM and CTAC from the University of Michigan for their pro bono assistance regarding evaluation and resource vetting. Learn more

Practical Tools

HRC's Toolkit for National Foster Care Month

May is National Foster Care Month (NFCM)! This month, HRC is highlighting the needs of the more than 391,000 youth in foster care, 30% of whom are LGBTQ+. Throughout NFCM, the All Children - All Families (ACAF) Program will be hosting events and sharing resources in support of LGBTQ+ youth in foster care and LGBTQ+ adults who are interested or have already become foster/adoptive parents. Read on to learn more about the virtual events and to download the NFCM toolkit! Join All Children - All Families in showing support for LGBTQ+ youth in foster care by downloading and sharing the toolkit designed for NFCM. The toolkit includes graphics and sample messages that you can share on social media. It also has key facts and ways that folks can go beyond sharing the toolkit to show their support for young people in care. We hope that you’ll join us in sharing this toolkit and help ensure that LGBTQ+ youth are a part of how you observe National Foster Care Month. Be sure to tag the Human Rights Campaign in your social posts for a chance to be reshared on our social media channels. Download now

Providing Welcoming Transportation to the LGBTQ+ Community

If you are someone who provides transportation services to our communities, it is important to understand how to provide a welcoming environment for LGBTQ+ people, and making them feel supported in community spaces, like the use of transportation. When people feel safe while traveling with us, it is much more likely that they will use these services to access important community resources or appointments. This new resource from the Center of Excellence on LGBTQ+ Behavioral Health Equity and the National Aging and Disability Transportation Center shares some helpful tips for ensuring your interactions on public transportation services are LGBTQ+ affirming and welcoming. Download now

Webinars/Virtual Events

Best Practices for Serving LGBTQ+ Parents

Tuesday, June 6, 1:00pm - 2:30p.m. ET

This webinar from Human Rights Campaign's All Children, All Families program provides an in-depth look at role-specific best practices for serving LGBTQ+ foster and adoptive parents. Topics include facts and myths around LGBTQ+ parenting, law and policy, LGBTQ+ parent recruitment, homestudies, and matching/placement. Register now

LGBTQ+ CoE Pride Month Webinar Series: Walking with Tribal Youth on Their Sacred Journey

In recognition of Pride Month, the Center of Excellence on LGBTQ+ Behavioral Health Equity will be hosting a four-part webinar series on Supporting Native LGBTQ+ and Two-Spirit youth! Join us every week in the month of June for the following sessions:

• Embarking on a Journey: Where Have We Been?

• Understanding How to Support Tribal Youth

• What Do We Need to Embark on This Journey?

• Panel Focusing on Lived Experience

Each session will begin and end with a breathing exercise and acknowledgment of attendees tending to their own spirit. Attendees are encouraged to attend all four sessions to embark upon this journey of learning together.

Safe & Effective LGBTQ+ Data Collection Learning Community:

Discussing SOGI With Children & Youth

Thursday, June 22, 2:00-3:00 p.m. ET

This Learning Community from the National SOGIE Center provides learners the opportunity to hear from experts in the field on serving LGBTQ+ populations and on collecting sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) data in safe and effective ways. Join us for our next webinar, Discussing SOGI with children and youth. In this session, providers will gain skills and language on having discussions about SOGI with children, youth, and their families. Gender identity can be declared as early as two years of age and sexual orientation as early as age six. Knowing how to discuss SOGI in age-appropriate ways is essential to providing LGBTQ+ affirming services. Check out our promotional clip to learn more, and you can register for the series here!

Putting Intersectionality Into Practice

Monday, June 26, 2:00pm - 3:30p.m. ET

This webinar from Human Rights Campaign's All Children, All Families program will introduce participants to intersectionality -- a theory that calls on us to recognize that oppressions are linked and cannot be resolved alone -- and how it informs our efforts to achieve safety, permanency, and well-being for all young people. Case scenarios focused on serving LGBTQ youth and adults in child welfare will illustrate what intersectionality can look like in practice. Register now

Safe & Effective LGBTQ+ Data Collection Learning Community:

Supervising & Coaching Providers on Discussing SOGI in Affirming & Appropriate Ways

Wednesday, July 19, 2:30-3:30 p.m. ET

This Learning Community from the National SOGIE Center provides learners the opportunity to hear from experts in the field on serving LGBTQ+ populations and on collecting sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) data in safe and effective ways. Join us for our next webinar, Supervising & Coaching Providers on Discussing SOGI in Affirming & Appropriate Ways. Many providers report wanting to talk about SOGI and knowing why collecting this data is important. However, a lack of confidence in addressing topics about sexuality, gender, family, and beliefs may prevent them from collecting the information. This session will help attendees, and particularly those who supervise providers, understand how to support others in building confidence around these important discussions. Check out our promotional clip to learn more, and you can register for the series here!

Announcements

SAMHSA Behavioral Health Equity Challenge: Outreach & Engagement Strategies for Underserved Racial & Ethnic Communities

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)'s Office of Behavioral Health Equity is sponsoring the Behavioral Health Equity Challenge: Outreach and Engagement Strategies for Underserved Racial and Ethnic Communities organized by the Office of Behavioral Health Equity’s Elevate CBOs Initiative. The goal of this Challenge is to identify and highlight Community-Based Organizations’ (CBO) innovative outreach and engagement strategies that improve access to behavioral health services in these communities. As CBOs often play an important role in addressing the behavioral health needs of the community, this Challenge will inform SAMHSA about community-based strategies to connect people to care. The Challenge fund has $500,000 available for up to ten awards through this competition. Four awards will be dedicated to the winning strategies that address mental health; three awards will be dedicated to the winning strategies that address substance use prevention; three awards will be dedicated to the winning strategies that address substance use treatment, respectively. The challenge prize for each winner is expected to be $50,000 plus multiple opportunities for recognition. Submission will be accepted until June 8, 2023 at 5pm ET. Learn more and apply

2023 KU LGBTQ+ Research Symposium: Queering Community & Kinship

Virtual | June 1-2, 2023

This year’s program builds on the important traditions established over the past ten years, providing researchers and advocates opportunities to present their work, discuss challenges and opportunities, and network with others conducting LGBTQ+ research across disciplines. The theme, “Queering Community & Kinship,” emphasizes constructing and maintaining queer connections through the continuation of LGBTQ+ narratives and research. The Center for LGBTQ+ Research & Advocacy at the University of Kansas acknowledges the importance of building queer connections by advancing LGBTQ+ research. The fully online, digital format of the 2023 symposium presents unique and creative opportunities to enhance accessibility of the symposium and integrate digital humanities ideas and concepts. The symposium will include live presentations, panel discussions, roundtables, workshops, and creative, innovative, and technological presentations. Pre-recorded presentations, posters, and creative submissions will also be included. Register now

2023 National Rural Institute on Alcohol, Drugs & Addictions:

Spotlight on LGBTQ+ Care 

Virtual & In-Person Options | June 25-29

The annual Conference of NRADAN, Inc

Training for Addiction Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Professionals is excited to continue their tradition of partnering with NALGAP (The Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Addiction Professionals and Their Allies) to provide training specific to care for the LGBTQ+ community. This year, there are two tracks and a special topic focusing on care for the LGBTQ+ community, totaling nine hours of training for interested attendees. The 2023 annual Institute "The Rural" is being planned as a hybrid event. In-person sessions will be hosted at the University of Wisconsin-Stout in Menomonie, Wisconsin. Real-time and on-demand virtual options will be available to accommodate those who may still be impacted by COVID-19 during summer 2023. Attendees at The Rural can earn 2.4 CEUs by attending the in-person event and will be able to earn up to 120 CEUs by watching recorded content on demand. Register now

Gender Diversity in Children & Youth Certificate Program

This certificate provides comprehensive graduate continuing education coursework specific to understanding the scope of gender diversity, intersectional challenges and considerations, and the need for educators and other professionals working in youth serving roles to be both allies and advocates for the elimination of arbitrary and destructive gender role stereotypes. The first of its kind in the country, this program prepares participants to actively engage within classrooms, school boards, and communities regarding curriculum review/development, policies and practice, and social justice advocacy related to gender diversity in children and youth. Participants will gain an increased awareness and understanding of how natural human gender diversity impacts their lives, and the lives of those around them, and be better prepared to act as an advocates for change. This certificate program is beneficial for: School teachers, administrators, counselors, and board members; support service providers, nonprofit employees, attorneys, early-childhood providers, state and county professionals. The application deadline for the 2023-2024 cohort is June 30th. Learn more and apply

Articles/Research

Depression in LGBTQ+ Youth Linked with Lack of Parental Support, Controlling Behavior 

In a new study published in the journal Child Development, researchers examined data from youth aged 15-21 in three different cities in the United States. Among study participants, those who perceived their parents as being generally supportive had fewer reported depressive symptoms than those who perceived their parents as being less supportive. The researchers also examined the effect of parental control on depressive symptoms in LGBTQ+ young people. This includes attempts to intrude into the psychological and emotional development of the child, such as thinking processes, self-expression, emotions, and attachment to parents. Study participants who perceived their parents as more controlling had more reported depressive symptoms than participants who perceived their parents as less controlling. Results from the study showed that for youth whose parents did not know their LGBTQ identities, experiencing a combination of high psychological control and high social support from parents was linked with greater depressive symptoms. Read more

The Trevor Project Releases 2023 US National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People

The Trevor Project’s 2023 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People amplifies the experiences of more than 28,000 LGBTQ+ young people ages 13 to 24 across the United States. This survey gives a voice to LGBTQ+ young people — at a time when their existence is unfairly at the center of national political debates and state legislatures have introduced and implemented a record number of anti-LGBTQ+ policies. For the fifth consecutive year, these data underscore that anti-LGBTQ+ victimization contributes to the higher rates of suicide risk reported by LGBTQ+ young people and that most who want mental health care are unable to get it. Importantly, this research also points to ways we can all support the LGBTQ+ young people in our lives by highlighting protective factors like creating affirming spaces and respecting pronouns, as well as the topics about which LGBTQ+ young people wish those in their lives knew more.  Learn more

LGBTQ+ Data Availability: What We Can Learn From Four Major Surveys

LGBTQ+ identification has doubled over the past decade, yet data on the overall LGBTQ+ population remains limited in large, nationally representative surveys. These surveys are consistently used to understand the wellbeing of individuals, but they fail to fully capture information related to one’s sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI). Asking incomplete SOGI questions leaves a gap in research that, if left unaddressed, will continue to grow in importance with the increase of the LGBTQ+ population, particularly among younger cohorts. In this report, authors provide an overview of four large, nationally representative, and publicly accessible datasets; each survey varies by sample size, sample unit, periodicity, geography, and the SOGI information they collect. The difference in how these datasets collect SOGI information impacts the estimates of LGBTQ+ prevalence. Learn more

Policy News

Policy Report: 1 in 5 Trans Youth Live in State Banning Medical Care

Movement Advancement Project's new report, LGBTQ+ Policy Spotlight: Bans on Medical Care for Transgender People provides the most comprehensive look to date at the sweeping attempts to ban and restrict medical care for not only transgender youth—but also transgender adults. MAP analyzed the more than 250 bills introduced in recent years that attack access to medical care for transgender people. In this detailed analysis, MAP illustrates the extent of how recent bills targeting medically necessary care for transgender people are expanding and becoming more extreme. Prior to 2021, no states banned medical care for transgender youth, but now 15 states have bans on at least some forms of medical care, and many more states are actively pursuing similar bans. As a result, nearly one in five (19%) transgender youth currently live in states where they are banned from receiving best-practice medical care. Download now

Tell Your Member of Congress: Reject Anti-Transgender Healthcare Ban

The anti-transgender agenda is on the move in Congress. Extreme lawmakers in both the House and Senate have introduced bills that would single out transgender students for discrimination. These bills, if passed, would block every single transgender youth in the country from receiving the affirming medical care they need to thrive. As Southerners fight back against anti-LGBTQ+ bills in state legislatures across the region and work to help people access the care they need and deserve, it's critical that we let our members of Congress know that we urge them to oppose these unnecessary, dangerous bills. Send a message to your U.S. Representative and Senators now – just enter your information here to get started. Learn more

Several Orgs Join to File Lawsuit Against New Law Banning Healthcare for Transgender Youth in Texas

Transgender Law Center, the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, and Lambda Legal today pledged to file a lawsuit against a sweeping new law banning transgender youth from accessing medically necessary healthcare that the Texas legislature passed last week. 

Texas Senate Bill 14 bans the only evidence-based care for gender dysphoria for transgender people under 18 and aims to strip doctors of their medical licenses for providing their patients with the care they know to be medically necessary. Texas lawmakers have ignored the warnings of transgender youth, their families, and the medical establishment about the harms of this law. Similar restrictions in Alabama and Arkansas have been enjoined by federal courts, and legal advocates have filed challenges in federal court to bans enacted in Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Montana. A state court judge in Missouri recently blocked enforcement of the Missouri attorney general’s emergency order blocking provision of gender-affirming care. Read more

FL Gov. Signs Slate of Extreme Anti-LGBTQ+ Bills, Enacting a Record-Shattering Number of Discriminatory Measures Into Law

he Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization, condemns Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for signing a slate of anti-LGBTQ+ bills designed to scale back the freedoms of LGBTQ+ people and other vulnerable communities. Florida is enacting a record six expressly anti-LGBTQ+ bills into law this year, more than the last seven years combined. Last week, Gov. DeSantis signed HB 1069, which silences educators by prohibiting any instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity from Pre-K through 8th grade, SB 254, an extreme gender affirming care ban, and HB 1521, an anti-trans bathroom bill. Gov. DeSantis has also signed SB 266, which doubles down on his attacks on academic freedom, and SB 1580, a “​​License to Discriminate in Healthcare” bill that will allow healthcare providers and insurers to deny a patient care on the basis of religious, moral, or ethical beliefs. A sixth bill, SB 170, which would discourage cities from passing non-discrimination ordinances by raising the barriers to proposing ordinances and making it easier to challenge ordinances in court, is still to be signed by DeSantis. Learn more

For more information on gender-affirming care, best practices, and federal guidance, please visit the Center of Excellence on LGBTQ+ Behavioral Health Equity's Resource Page on Supporting Trans Youth.

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