Report

LGBTQ Youth in Unstable Housing and Foster Care

March 2019

Using data from the California Healthy Kids Survey, this study assesses whether LGBTQ youth are overrepresented in unstable housing and foster care and examines disparities in school functioning, substance use, and mental health. It appeared in Pediatrics in March 2019.

AUTHORS
  • Laura Baams
    Assistant Professor, University of Groningen
  • Bianca D.M. Wilson
    Senior Scholar of Public Policy, Former
  • Stephen T. Russell
    Professor, University of Texas at Austin
Highlights
LGBTQ youth are overrepresented in foster care and unstable housing.
LGBTQ youth in foster care report worse school functioning, higher substance use, and poorer mental health than youth in stable housing.
LGBTQ African American youth in unstable housing report poorer outcomes compared with their LGBTQ White peers.
Data Points
30%
of youth in the California foster care system identify as LGBTQ
LGBTQ Youth in Unstable Housing and Foster Care