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Abstract
This article is based on the findings from a subset of gender identity and sexual orientation questions from The Casey Field Office Mental Health Study (CFOMH). It aims to contribute the experiences of youth in the care of Casey Family Programs to the increasing body of research on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning (LGBTQ) youth in foster care, as well as inform future studies in this area. The CFOMH study interviewed 188 adolescents ages 14 to 17 who were receiving foster care services from Casey Family Programs in 2006. The experiences in care of youth who identified as LGBQ (n = 10) are presented in narrative form, along with data from all youth in care (N = 188) regarding their perceptions of the foster care environment for LGBTQ youth. These findings are intended to underscore the need to conduct a larger, more in-depth study of the experiences of LGBTQ youth in foster care and the environment that foster care provides for them.
Acknowledgments
Special thanks to Dr. Gerald Mallon, Professor, City University of New York, Hunter College, School of Social Work for helping to generate the interview questions and for reviewing this paper and to H. J. David Ambroz, Esq., Executive Director of Los Angeles City College Foundation, who also reviewed this article. Also, thanks to the University of Michigan Survey Research Center for conducting the interviews, and to the Casey field office staff for helping to coordinate the interviews with youth.