Currently, there are over 59,000 youth in the foster care system in California. A recent study from the RISE Project in Los Angeles County documented that 19% of children in foster care self-reported as LGBTQ. This is the first research to document the number of LGBTQ youth in foster care.   

Other research reported that lesbian, gay, and bisexual young adults experiencing high levels of family rejection during adolescence were 8.4 times more likely to report having attempted suicide, 5.9 times more likely to report high levels of depression, 3.4 times more likely to use illegal drugs, and 3.4 times more likely to report having engaged in unprotected sexual intercourse compared with peers who had experienced little or no family rejection.  Additionally, there is a clear overlap and intersection with LGBTQ youth in foster care and commercially sexually exploited minors and vulnerability to sexual predators.

The Youth Acceptance Project is a family preservation and family reunification tool for LGBTQ youth in foster care designed to help families struggling with the sexual orientation, gender identity and expression (SOGIE) of their child.  Family advocates provide advocacy and therapeutic support to youth and their families around issues related to the youth’s SOGIE, addressing the misinformation, resistance, fear, and grief that families often struggle with.  The goal is that family members and caregivers will learn, grow and become the affirming and advocating caregivers that their LGBTQ children need them to be. The intervention ultimately reduces the time that children spend in foster care and reunites children with their families.