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Youth who enter the foster care system in New Mexico and nationally tend to be between the ages of 1 and 10 years old. In New Mexico, 6% are less than a year old, 38% are 1 to 5 years old and 30% are 6 to 10 years old, making up 74% of the total foster child population.
They enter the child welfare system as victims of physical and sexual abuse and neglect as defined by federal and state laws. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and questioning (LGBTQ) youth enter foster care at an older age because they tend to come out to parents during adolescence. A national study found that 11.2% of teenagers in foster care are LGBTQ youth, which is twice the rate found in the general population. There were 2,362 youth in the foster care system in New Mexico for fiscal year 2019.
Sam Terrazas
Why are LGBTQ youth who also tend to have “stable” and loving homes with parents or caretakers ending up in foster care? Arguably, acceptance of LGBTQ people has made some positive strides in the U.S. New Mexico has high levels of acceptance based on laws and polices protecting the LGBTQ community. However, nationally conservative Christian views and values are deeply engrained in the “genes” of this nation, which sees same-sex relationships as a “sin” and antithetical to Christian values.
These discriminatory views infect our political process, and some politicians leverage anti-LGBTQ beliefs to shore up their political standing. These discriminatory views and values continue to influence the social norms of sexuality and what married couples should look like. These views are often very strongly rooted and perpetuated by groups and people who spout hateful rhetoric based on an interpretation of scripture or religious views that supports their views.
These views reinforce and perpetuate a heteronormative society that is experienced by the general populace through the day-to-day interactions with their proximal environments and media. We do see same-sex couples on television and social media; however, those committed to heteronormative views avoid and are often repulsed by TV shows and other forms of media depicting same-sex couples and transgendered people in a positive light.
Youth who do not fit this narrow heteronormative lens can experience hostile reactions and physical abuse and neglect from their parents or caretakers, resulting in emotional, physical and psychological harm. In our work we have had parents tell us “I’d rather my child have cancer than be gay,” “He is evil and disgusting,” “I don’t have a son anymore; he is dead to me.”
Foster system no haven
These types of emotional abuse can also be exacerbated by conversion therapy, which was banned in New Mexico in 2017 by SB 121. While this type of therapy has been banned in 16 states, it has been rebranded or continues to be used in an attempt to change people’s sexual orientation. It has been found to be very harmful by many professional behavioral health organizations.
Some LGBTQ youth who are abused and/or forced into conversion processes decide to run away or are thrown out of their homes, ending up in the foster care system or on the streets. These youth often find themselves engaged in dangerous survival behaviors that make them highly susceptible to traumatic events such as sexual and physical assaults.
Once in the foster care system they can face the same challenges they had in their own homes, so it is not uncommon for child welfare professionals to suggest that LGTBQ youth not disclose their sexual orientation. LGBTQ youth can face verbal and physical harassment from other foster youth and foster parents.
LGTBQ youth are often blamed by foster parents and child welfare workers for physical assaults and bullying perpetrated on them by other foster youth because those youth report feeling uncomfortable or offended with LGTBQ youth. Beyond the trauma of being assaulted, abused, neglected, rejected by parents and losing connections with family and friends, they face continued trauma in the foster care system, resulting in chronic and acute psychological problems.
LGBTQ youth face disproportionally higher rates of self-harming behavior, suicide attempts, substance abuse, depression, anxiety and PTSD, self-harming behavior, substance abuse and suicide than their heterosexual counterparts. Suicide attempts among LGTBQ youth are five to six times that of heterosexual youth.
LGBTQ youth who face family rejection have been found to be 1.5 to 3.5 times more likely to abuse illegal drugs. As many as 78% of LGBTQ youth run away from foster care as a result of aggression based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Reportedly, up to 30% of LGBTQ youth have been physically abused by parents during the coming out process.
Child welfare workers, foster parents need extra training
Foster parents are not always prepared to respond to the challenges that LGBTQ youth face; therefore, they find themselves overwhelmed and ill-prepared to meet their needs. Some foster care parents can also hold discriminatory beliefs and mistreat or allow mistreatment of LGBTQ youth in their care.
LGBTQ youth in the foster care system find themselves having several placements, which increases their exposure to traumatic events resulting in increased rates of mental health problems. Alternative placements like group homes can also become safety hazards for LGBTQ youth, who are bullied and physically and sexually assaulted, and again caretakers may not be adequately trained or prepared to respond to the needs of LGBTQ youth.
Child welfare workers focused on family preservation and reunification find these efforts to be very challenging when parents refuse to accept their child’s sexual orientation and who are often pressured by others to abandon their child. This leaves child welfare workers with the daunting task of finding a stable and long-term placement for youth who in many cases had stable homes and parents until the moment they came out, when their homes instantly transformed into unsafe and abusive.
LGBTQ youth subjected to foster care face significant traumatic events before and after they enter the system. It is imperative that their specific needs be met to address their complex reactions to abandonment and rejection by their parents and family.
Child welfare workers need to be trained about sexual minorities and to identify the unique problems LGBTQ foster care youth face while in the child welfare system. Child welfare workers and those entrusted to care for LGBTQ foster youth also need to be provided with insight-oriented processes to examine their personal biases and beliefs about sexual minorities.
Training should be rooted in trauma-informed care so that those who care for these youth understand how triggering events can be de-escalated and processed so these events are responded to appropriately. As with any group or population that finds itself on the fringes of society, it is important that LGBTQ foster youth have access to support in systemic ways that includes all environments and spaces they find themselves in.
The reunification mission of the New Mexico Children, Youth & Families Department is not always a safe option for LGBTQ youth. Therefore, long-term safe and affirming placements must be found for these youth whose lives are derailed and whose hopes and dreams are replaced with the task of getting their basic needs met.
The foster care placement process should include assessment of foster parents’ and placements’ openness and understanding of the unique needs of LGBTQ youth. Placements that appear to be safe and affirming places for LGBTQ youth should be asked to complete training and be provided increased supports.
These placements should have access to legal remedies for school- and community-level bullying, assaults and harassment; evidence-based group therapy/supports for youth, community-based safe places for youth to socialize and evidence-based psychotherapy. Foster parents also should be provided with supports and ongoing education to help them best care for their foster children.
When foster home placements are not available, the development of group homes and facilities that provide these youth with long-term stability, safety, care and nurturance should be the goal. Again, with caretakers, professional and administrators who are well trained, educated and compensated who will advocate, care for and provide LGBTQ youth with a stable home that will allow them to hope and dream once again.
Sam Terrazas, Ph.D., LCSW, is a professor of social work at the Facundo Valdez School of Social Work. He has conducted research in the areas of mental health, child welfare, LGBTQI foster youth, rural social work, secondary trauma and professional supervision.
