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

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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

25%

of unstably housed youth in the state identify as LGBTQ

12%

of youth in California who are stably housed identify as LGBTQ

Read the open-access journal article

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LGBTQ Youth in Unstable Housing and Foster Care

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