Executive Summary Sneak Peek

Happy Thursday Everyone!!!

5 days until I'm headed to Capitol Hill!!!

We were all asked to write a paragraph explaining our selected topic for our policy report this summer.  I thought I'd kick off my blog by giving you some information on what I'm working towards!  Please feel free to provide any feedback, as I would love more ideas I can incorporate (with your permission, of course)

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Terrence Scraggins

FYI Program Executive Summary

17 April 2018

Establishing Education Requirements for Foster Parents Serving the LGBTQI Community

A topic that continues to resonate with me as a gay man is the LGBTQI community within the foster care system.  While it may have been over 10 years since I aged out of foster care, there is still a lot of work is to be done when it comes to this community’s specific rights, as well as social justice issues.  The Human Rights Campaign website identifies only 14 states with “Foster Care Non-Discrimination Laws or Policies Inclusive of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity” and only seven states with “Foster Care Non-Discrimination Laws or Policies Inclusive of Sexual Orientation Only” (Human Rights Campaign).  This is unacceptable.  As an adolescent, I knew and identified as homosexual but at no time in the system did I feel comfortable discussing or addressing my sexuality with foster parents, as I was afraid of being judged, shunned or treated differently.  Implementing some sort of mandated training and/or education on how to approach and address unique situations within the LGBTQI community (with special emphasis with the constantly emerging and growing transgender community) would be extremely beneficial for both lawmakers, foster parents as well as the youth who face constant discrimination while becoming comfortable with the gender they associate with as they identify.

Works Cited:

Human Rights Campaign. “LGBTQ Youth in the Foster Care System.” Human Rights Campaign, Human Rights Campaign, www.hrc.org/resources/lgbt-youth-in-the-foster-care-system.