Florida’s Department of Children and Families has restored protections for LGBTQ youth in group home care. Equality Florida and child welfare experts met with DCF Secretary Mike Carroll immediately after language that would have protected LGBTQ youth was removed from proposed changes to the rules governing group homes. Child welfare agencies had advocated for the new language to address the unique challenges LGBTQ foster youth face, and the removal of this language prompted a three hour public hearing in which every single person who testified unanimously expressed strong support for reinstating protections for LGBTQ youth.
“We are grateful to Secretary Carroll for his commitment to ensuring LGBTQ youth are properly protected,” said Nadine Smith, executive director of Equality Florida. “These rule changes are common sense; they reflect tested, best practices and confront the reality that LGBTQ youth disproportionately face discrimination, bullying and psychological abuse. It is impossible to ignore the painful existence of homophobia and bigotry in our state, and we thank the Department of Children and Families for taking this important step towards protecting all youth in their care. We join other child welfare advocates in praising the specific ban on forcing young people into debunked and harmful “conversion therapy” programs.
“We appreciate this significant step towards improving the safety and wellbeing of LGBTQ youth in the child welfare system, but group home care is only one part of the system We are pleased that DCF has also announced its plan to develop long-term training for care providers and other professionals in the system to implement nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ youth as well as hiring an ombudsman to specifically address discrimination in the child welfare system.”
