NCLR and Ceres Policy Research partner with the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown University to present an annual certificate program, “Supporting the Well-Being of Systems Involved LGBTQ Youth.” Multidisciplinary teams from jurisdictions across the country participate in a week-long intensive program designed to provide participants with the knowledge and skills to implement a Capstone Project in their communities to improve outcomes for LGBTQ youth.

NCLR and the National Juvenile Defender Center (NJDC) are founding members of the Equity Project, a national initiative to ensure the fair and equitable treatment of LGBTQ youth in the justice system. In 2009, the project published its seminal report entitled “Hidden Injustice,” documenting widespread discrimination against LGBTQ youth by law enforcement, probation, courts and institutional staff. Through training, technical assistance and development of agency policies and professional standards, the Equity Project has increased professional awareness and competence and improved the outcomes of countless LGBTQ youth involved in the justice system.

NCLR is a partner in the getREAL (Recognize. Engage. Affirm. Love.) project, a national initiative sponsored by the Center for the Study of Social Policy. The getREAL collaborative works to transform child welfare policy nationally to promote the healthy development of LGBTQ and gender expansive youth through working intensively with sites, supporting a national professional network and developing research-based knowledge in the child welfare field.

NCLR is a partner in getREAL (Recognize. Engage. Affirm. Love) California, a collaboration with the Center on the Study of Social Policy, Family Builders by Adoption, and the RISE Initiative of the Los Angeles LGBTQ Center. The focus of the work is to integrate sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression (SOGIE) into the state’s Continuum of Care Reform and the state law requiring child welfare agencies to collect SOGIE data.

NCLR is working with the Office of LGBTQ Affairs in Santa Clara County, California to implement “Support OUT,” a multi-year initiative designed to promote the health and well-being of the LGBTQ youth living in the county. This public health initiative seeks to address the risk factors that jeopardize LGBTQ youth – especially low-income LGBTQ youth of color – and contribute to their overrepresentation among homeless youth and in child welfare and juvenile justice systems. The vision of the initiative is that all LGBTQ and gender nonconforming children and youth in the county thrive in their homes, schools, and communities, and successfully transition to adulthood.

NCLR partnered with the Ruth Ellis Center and the Michigan Center for Youth Justice to create a justice system in Wayne County, Michigan that prevents the criminalization of LGBTQ youth, addresses their unique needs in community-based settings and prevents harms associated with detention and incarceration.

NCLR co-sponsored AB 2119, a bill to give California foster youth the right to access gender affirming health and behavioral health care. The legislation, which amended the Foster Care Bill of Rights, was the first of its kind in the nation and ensures that transgender youth receive health care consistent with national standards of care. Governor Brown signed the bill in September 2018, and the California Department of Social Services issued guidance in May 2019.

NCLR served on a workgroup to revise the Title 15 regulations, which govern county-run youth detention facilities, ranches and camps in California. Convened by the Board of State and Community Corrections, the process included input from probation officials, youth advocates and community-based organizations serving currently and formerly incarcerated youth. This inclusive process resulted in several new protections for youth, including LGBTQ youth. NCLR worked with other advocates to create a resource that clearly spelled out new rights for youth in custody.

NCLR received support from the National Prison Rape Elimination Act Resource Center (PRC) to develop a model policy for confinement facilities housing transgender, gender nonconforming and intersex youth. NCLR and the Center for Children’s Law and Policy worked with a diverse group of youth justice stakeholders, including advocates for TGNCI communities, formerly incarcerated young people, facility personnel, and youth justice practitioners from across the country. Together, we produced the model policy which was published by the PRC. Based on the policy, NCLR and the National Juvenile Defender Center created a checklist for juvenile defenders to help juvenile defenders advocate for the safety and well-being of TGNCI youth in secure and non-secure facilities.