Skip to main content
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact

Search form

American Institutes for Research

  • Our Work
    • Education
    • Health
    • International
    • Workforce
    • ALL TOPICS >
  • Our Services
    • Research and Evaluation
    • Technical Assistance
  • Our Experts
  • News & Events

You are here

  • Home
2 Nov 2012
Presentation

D.C. Family Court Hosts Annual Interdisciplinary Conference; Focuses on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth

The Family Court of the District of Columbia held its 11th Annual Interdisciplinary Conference on October 4th, 2012. This year’s topic focused on ways that professionals in the juvenile justice system can provide supports that are culturally appropriate and inclusive of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth and their families.

AIR’s Jeffrey Poirier and research assistant Mitchell Delaney shared the LGBTQ Toolkit at the conference. The toolkit includes more than 125 resources related to LGBT youth and their families, and was developed through the Technical Assistance Partnership for Child and Family Mental Health (TA Partnership). The toolkit provides information and resources from organizations around the country to build knowledge about LGBTQ populations and implement recommended practices.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) children and youth experience various disparities, including barriers to effective, fair supports in juvenile justice settings. A 2009 national report from The Equity Project found, for example, that juvenile justice professionals lacked knowledge about and did not accept LGBT identity. The report also noted that delinquency courts failed to protect the due process rights of LGBT youth (especially effective counsel), and that LGBT youth were unnecessarily and disproportionately detained while awaiting trial because of a lack of understanding of their life experiences. Given these conditions, it is important to build capacity in juvenile justice systems to more effectively support and more fairly treat LGBT youth.

The TA partnership, run in collaboration by AIR and the National Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health, provides training and technical assistance to professionals from the juvenile justice, child welfare, and mental health fields to build their capacity to improve services and outcomes for children, youth, and families. The TA Partnership is supported with funding from the Child, Adolescent and Family Branch of the Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The D.C. Family Court selects a different topic each year related to youth and families who come into contact with the court and other D.C. systems. Over 350 participants attended the conference, including judges, attorneys, probation officers, social workers, court staff, psychologists, and those working in the D.C. Public Schools.

Hidden Injustice: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth in Juvenile Courts (Report from the Equity Foundation)

Related Projects

Project

Technical Assistance Partnership for Child and Family Mental Health (TA Partnership)

The TA Partnership provides technical assistance to state, regional, and county system of care communities currently funded to operate the Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children and Their Families Program, including those that have juvenile justice-involved youth as a population of focus.

Further Reading

  • The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, Intersex, and Two-Spirit (LGBTQI2-S) Learning Community
  • AIR Is Represented at U.S. Education Department’s First LGBT Youth Summit
  • Preventing Homelessness in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (LGBTQ) Youth
  • Standards of Care for LGBT Youth
  • Health and Human Services Secretary Releases Statement on LGBT Health Awareness Week
Share

Topic

Juvenile Justice
LGBTQ Youth

RESEARCH. EVALUATION. APPLICATION. IMPACT.

About Us

About AIR
Board of Directors
Leadership
Experts
Clients
Contracting with AIR
Contact Us

Our Work

Education
Health
International
Workforce

Client Services

Research and Evaluation
Technical Assistance

News & Events

Careers at AIR


Search form


 

Connecting

FacebookTwitterLinkedinYouTubeInstagram

American Institutes for Research

1400 Crystal Drive, 10th Floor
Arlington, VA 22202-3289
Call: (202) 403-5000
Fax: (202) 403-5000

Copyright © 2021 American Institutes for Research®.  All rights reserved.

  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap