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Several advocacy groups recently took action against the Trump administration for rolling back data collection on LGBTQ foster youth and tribal youth.
According to the groups, the U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) department recently put an end to data reporting requirements regarding the welfare of tribal and LGBTQ youth in the foster system. Previous requirements implemented in 2016 – during the final month of the Obama administration – allowed foster care workers to ask about tribal affiliations and sexual orientation.
Although the rule change against this precedent may seem simple, the plaintiffs’ recent 78 page complaint against the HHS and others says that the previous rule allowed the Administration for Children & Families to keep a better track of at-risk children with the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS). With the new HHS rule stripping this authority, the needs of LGBTQ foster youth and tribal youth will reportedly be ignored by federal authorities, according to the recent lawsuit.
“The Trump administration undid more than a decade of hard work when it unlawfully prevented the collection of critical data about how American Indian and Alaska Native children and LGBTQ+ youth fare in the nation’s foster care system,” the coalition of groups said in a written statement.
“The data is critical to improving outcomes for American Indian and Alaska Native children and LGBTQ+ youth. The administration’s unlawful actions will keep many of America’s most vulnerable foster children and youth in the shadows.”
A disproportionate number of youth in foster care are reportedly LGBTQ or have tribal affiliations, according to the recent lawsuit. Despite LGBTQ individuals compromising only 5% to 10% of the country’s population, more than 20% of female foster youth and more than 10% of male foster youth reportedly identify as LGBTQ.
Similarly, Native American youth are reportedly overrepresented in the foster system considering the fact that Native individuals make up a disproportionately small amount of the country’s population. For example, in Alaska, native children reportedly make up 60% of the foster youth system.
Under previous HHS rules established in 2016 after “decades” of advocacy, foster care workers were required to report data on LGBTQ foster youth and tribal youth in the system who were over 14 years of age.
This requirement reportedly allowed federal authorities to use AFCARS data to measure how well tribal youth and LGBTQ foster youth were being cared for under foster system regulations and whether the system was meeting requirements of laws such as the Indian Child Welfare Act.
Unfortunately, under recent rule changes by the HHS, questions about how these foster youth are being treated will reportedly be removed from data collected by foster care workers.
The new HHS rule change was reportedly part of a larger goal which aimed to downsize data collection from foster youth by one third overall. However, data collection from LGBTQ foster youth and tribal youth was reportedly cut out entirely by the Trump administration.
The administration’s rule was reportedly proposed in 2019 but was only finalized in May, where it met backlash from advocates.
Advocates argue that, considering the high number of LGBTQ youth and tribal youth in foster care, measures ensuring their representation are vital.
Patrick Comerford, executive director of plaintiff organization True Colors Inc., says that LGBTQ youth are “are overrepresented in the system and are often navigating structures that are ill-equipped to respond to them in culturally competent ways.”
“AFCARS data collection is vital in making sure these young people are not invisible and is a critical part of making sure they have a system that can meet their specific needs,” Comerford added in his statement.
In their LGBTQ foster youth lawsuit, the advocates seek relief form the court which would set aside the HHS’ new rule after finding it to be “arbitrary,” “capricious,” and a violation of both the Social Security Act and the Administrative Procedure Act. The plaintiffs also seek an award of attorneys’ fees.
What do you think about the HHS’ recent LGBTQ foster youth measures? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Plaintiffs are represented by Jennifer C. Pizer, M. Currey Cook, and Sasha Buchert of the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund; Jeffery B. Dubner, Kristen Miller, and Sean A. Lev of the Democracy Forward Foundation, and Kathryn E. Fort of Michigan State University College of Law’s Indian Law Clinic.
The LGBTQ Foster Youth Lawsuit is California Tribal Families Coalition, et al. v. Alex Azar, et al., Case No. 4:20-cv-06018-KAW, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
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One thought on Tribal, LGBTQ Foster Youth Data Collection Should Continue, Advocates Say
I would like to know if I qualified for a settlement since I was in foster care in 2002-2006 and an enrolled tribal member of Graton Rancheria also a lesbian?