Listen to thisImagine being a gay or trans teen in foster care in a state that’s currently debating whether same-sex couples can adopt children. You’re 15, bullied in your new high school for being LGBT, and you’re hearing politicians say that gay parents are unfit to adopt children.
That’s exactly what’s happening in Florida, where on any given day there are some 8,000 children in foster care.
On Monday, the Florida state senate sent the governor a bill that would get rid of an outdated and unenforceable law that banned gay Floridians from adopting children – a district judge ruled the law unconstitutional in 2010 but the state has kept it in the books for symbolic reasons.
But another bill that would allow certain child placement agencies to deny services to same-sex couples in the name of religious beliefs is still up in the air.
“They used a shield of religious freedom, but really it was an anti-gay bill, and that sets a precedent that says gay youth don’t matter,” Anthony Nadeau, 19, told Fusion in a telephone interview last week. Nadeau, who is a foster care alumni, entered the system in Florida in 2006.
LGBT youth are overrepresented in foster care, and experts believe the main funnel is family rejection.
One of the most comprehensive studies on foster care youth in the U.S. surveyed children in L.A. County. About 19 percent of foster youth identified as LGBTQ – 13.4% LGB or questioning and 5.6% transgender, according to the UCLA’s Williams Institute, a think tank that studies the intersection of sexual orientation, gender identity and public policy.
“That’s as much as twice the estimated percentage of youth not in foster care who are LGBTQ,” read the report.
“It’s creepy to me that my sexuality and gender identity would be the only reason that someone would say that I’m not a good parent. It’s very unfair to say that,” Ashley Hunter, 23, told Fusion.
“It’s kind of telling [young LGBT people] that who they are is not OK and that’s not good for any kid, especially for someone going through all of the added things foster care kids are going through,” said Hunter, who is a foster care alumni who identifies as transexual. She entered the foster care system in Florida when she was nine years old.
Within three months of placement, many children exhibit signs of depression, aggression, or withdrawal, according to a 2004 Princeton study. Foster care children can also see their grades drop as they often have to deal with changeable environments.
Jorge Rivas
15 April 2015
http://fusion.net/story/120694/the-terrible-message-florida-is-sending-to-lgbt-foster-care-youth/
