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LGBTQIA+ Children Deserve Happy and Healthy Childhoods ​
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Children’s Advocacy Centers of California believes every child deserves a happy and healthy childhood. This belief remains steadfast regardless of a child’s sexual orientation or gender identity. CACC envisions a world where children are able to grow up in safety and support. Unfortunately, we know that is not the case for many children and that LGBTQIA+ youths face higher rates of maltreatment and subsequent negative mental health outcomes than their straight/cisgender counter parts.

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  • Nearly half (48 percent) of bisexual women who are rape survivors experienced their first rape between ages 11 and 17. Source: Human Rights Center  

  • 29% of LGBTQ have experienced homelessness, been kicked out of their homes or runaway. Source: The Trevor Project  

  • 30% of LGBTQ youth experienced food insecurity in the past month, including half of all Native/Indigenous LGBTQ youth. Source: The Trevor Project  

  • 40% of LGBTQ respondents seriously considered attempting suicide in the past twelve months-including MORE than HALF of transgender/nonbinary youth. Source: The Trevor Project  

  • 61% of transgender and non binary youth reported being prevented or discouraged from using a bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity - Source: The Trevor Project  

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These statistics are devastating and unacceptable. The maltreatment of LGBTQIA+ youth is intolerable and CACC is committed to defending these children’s right to safe and healthy childhoods. CACC stand with prominent professional societies like National Children’s Alliance and the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children in support of LGBTQIA+ youth.  Below are a list of resources for our children and families regarding LGBTQIA+ children and their families.

Resources:

  • Advocates for Youth This organization partners with youth leaders, adult allies, and youth-serving organizations to advocate for policies and champion programs that recognize young people's rights to honest sexual health information, affordable sexual health services, and the resources and opportunities to create sexual health equity for all youth.

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  • CenterLink is a nonprofit organization that works to help build the capacity of many national organizations to advance the rights of LGBT individuals and to provide LGBT community centers with information and analysis of key issues. Additionally, CenterLink offers several programs and services; YouthLink is the newest program that works to bring a stronger youth voice to policy issues at the national level while also providing support and technical assistance to Centers in the CenterLink membership network.

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  • Equality Federation is the national alliance of State-based lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) advocacy organizations.

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  • Family Acceptance Project (FAP)  provides research-based educational materials and interventions to strengthen families and their support of their LGBT youth. Related goals include improving the health, mental health, and wellbeing of LGBT youth; helping create an environment in which LGBT youth can stay in their homes; and informing public policy. In collaboration with the Institute for Innovation and Implementation, FAP also launched a national searchable map(opens in new window) of community support services that affirm LGBTQ young people, along with multilingual and multicultural evidence-based resources to increase family support for LGBTQ children and youth.

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  • Family Equality Council connects, supports, and represents the three million parents who are LGBTQ in this country and their six million children.

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  • Gender Spectrum provides education, training, and support to help create a gender-sensitive and inclusive environment for all children and teens. Gender Spectrum also offers a wide range of resources, training, and consultation to support schools to be more welcoming for all students, regardless of their gender.

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  • Lambda Legal aims to achieve full recognition of the civil rights of the LGBT community and those with HIV through impact litigation, education, and public policy work.

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  • LGBT National Help Center serves the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning community by providing free & confidential peer-support and local resources.

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  • National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) is a national legal organization committed to advancing the civil and human rights of LGBT people and their families through litigation, legislation, policy, and public education.

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  • National LGBTQ Task Force   The mission of the National LGBTQ Task Force is to build the grassroots power of the LGBTQ community.

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  • The Trevor Project provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to young LGBTQ people under 25.

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  • Trans Youth Equality Foundation (TYEF) is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation, provides education, advocacy, and support for transgender children, youth, and their families. TYEF advocates for transgender, gender nonconforming, and intersex youth ages 2-18.

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  • Trans Youth Family Allies (TYFA)  empowers children and families by partnering with educators, service providers, and communities to develop supportive environments in which gender may be expressed and respected.

Professional Resources:

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  • Child Welfare Information Gateway: Resources on this page support child welfare workers serving this population, while subpages include resources for LGBTQ+ youth in out-of-home care and resources offering support and guidance for LGBTQ+ youth and their families.

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