LA County to Establish Gender Affirming Resources Program for Foster Youth

Los Angeles County supervisors Tuesday directed the Department of Children and Family Services to establish a pilot program that will establish gender-affirming care “resource closets” to support LGBTQ+ youth in the foster system.

The pilot program will focus initially on First and Third supervisorial districts, with community organizations helping to develop and operate the “resource closets” to provide items such as clothes, shapewear and makeup, which will be accessible free of charge for foster youth.

The motion introduced by Supervisors Hilda L. Solis and Lindsey P. Horvath — in honor of June being celebrated as Pride Month — highlighted issues facing LGBTQ+ youth in the foster care system and the need for resources to support gender identity and expression.

Noting that 24 states have enacted bans on gender-affirming care, Solis said, “Over 36% of LGBTQ+ youth nationwide are left without access to much-needed treatment, resources and services.”

In 2020, DCFS’ Office of Equity developed a program to provide tailored services for LGBTQ+ youth in the welfare system. The program included a Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression dashboard, which assesses real-time data on sexual identities and gender expressions of youth with open DCFS cases.

According to the motion, the Office of Equity identified a crucial need to provide youth with access to gender-affirming products such as shapewear, makeup, and clothing. The motion cites research that suggests gender-affirming care can help reduce self-harm and mental health challenges in transgender people, as well as individuals who are non-binary and gender non-conforming.

“We know of the challenges the youth who are system-involved face, especially when they are also part of the LGBTQ community and ensuring that they have the support to feel safe in how they identify and express is vital and in some cases, life-saving,” Solis said.

In collaboration with Pritzker Foster Care Initiative and Casey Family Programs, the pilot program will also provide all DCFS staff with information on ways to access the resources and support those who need them.

The motion also calls on the county CEO and DCFS to work to identify permanent funding sources to implement and expand gender-affirming resource closets throughout the county.

The board also approved a separate motion calling for expanding the county’s existing gender-affirming resources, which foster public awareness, offer mental health services and medication, and provide other informational resources.