Identification
The first intervention is the Safe Identification Initiative, which is designed to identify LGBTQ youth.
All youth over 13 years of age along with some as young as three are to participate in a SOGIE conversation with their caseworker. The disclosureformwalks the child through a series of leading questions about pronouns, feelings of gender and expressions of gender.
Do you have crushes on boys, girls or other kinds of people? one question asks.
Another asks children to tell their social worker whether they feel more like a boy or more like a girl, some other gender or maybe somewhere in between?
The original goal was to serve LGBTQ+ youth, ages 1221 in agency care, but the age range was later changed to 521 years old to account for younger children disclosing diverse gender identity or expression and to include youth involved with DCFS, not just those in the care of DCFS, the countys AFFIRM.MEguidestates.
Acceptance
Once LGBT youth are identified, the Youth Acceptance Project (YAP) can be implemented to persuade hesitant parents to affirm their childs gender dysphoria.
In anoverviewof YAP, the programs creator, the California-based nonprofit Family Builders, touts the success story of a family who became involved with the system because they struggled to accept their child as a transgender girl.
After several months of work, there were significant improvements, the document states. The father consented to gender affirming medical care for Salima. The father gave Salima a purse for her birthday. And the father once helped Salima put on a wig.
The program is designed to help parents and caregivers of children already in the welfare system, or at risk of entering, become affirming, according to the AFFIRM.ME guide. The program also pushes families to reconcile their values, including their faith, to accept their childs identity.
Many caregivers are referred to the program because they are not allowing their youth to express themselves fully in public (hairstyles, clothing, hygiene/ beauty products) or resist using preferred pronouns and names, according to the Family Builders overview.
(RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Top Pediatric Org Quietly Colluded With Trans Ideologues To Push Child Sex Changes, Emails Show)
YAP is currently being implemented in California, New York, Pennsylvania and Missouri, along with Ohio,accordingto the SOGIE Center. Of the 34 Cuyahoga County families who started the program between 2018 and 2021, seven cases were successfully closed when parents stopped opposing their childs gender-bending desires,accordingto SOGIE Center data.
I mean, they dont say anything to my face anymore about it and they stopped being super religious around me because they used to, said one young person who was part of the program in Spring 2021, according to the data sheet. I dont know what was their problem, but they used to try to push a lot of weird religion stuff on me.
Another adolescent reported having a very conservative family approve of transitioning after going through YAP. So I could start testosterone and things of that sort soon, the youth said. And [mom is] helping me with the name change.
The Ohio-based nonprofit Kinnect, which received acontractfrom the state worth nearly $24 million, helped implement YAP in Cuyahoga County while the program was ongoing.
During the Affirm Me program, YAP was used as a prevention tool for young people who were at risk of leaving their caregivers home because of rejection, Kinnectexplains. When the grant ended, Frontline Services, a nonprofit that contracts with Cuyahoga County to provide homeless and trauma support services, embedded the program as part of their existing work with the support and partnership of Family Builders, according to Kinnect.
Kinnect did not respond to the DCNFs request for comment.
A Cuyahoga County spokesperson told the DCNF the program works with LGBTQ youth or families who have an open case with DCFS and desire additional support.
As with other supportive services offered by DCFS, this service is available to youth in county custody and those who remain in their homes in order to prevent them from coming into custody, Cuyahoga County HHS deputy communications director Deonna Kirkpatrick told the DCNF.
Family Finding
A third intervention helps foster children find adults who will affirm their identity and potentially become their legal caretaker, in some cases instead of their parents.
Chosen Affirming Family Finding (CAFF) model, developed by Kinnect, helps LGBTQ youth locate affirming family members from existing connections, who can include family, chosen family, or other important people that the young person has a relationship or contact with. The ultimate goal is building committed, life-long, and positive connections, even if this is with chosen family and not blood relatives.
These connections lead to a robust network of affirming individuals who provide emotional and potentially legal permanency for LGBTQ+ young people, the practice manualexplains.
During a first meeting, social workers ask questions, including who a young person feel is their family, would like to have in their lives and are current safe and affirming connections.
Areporton the use of CAAF in Cuyahoga County from 2019-2021 states that 12 youth completed the program, having an average of five identified connections joining their network of support.
When the Affirm Me program ended in 2021, two other Ohio foster youth programs, Kinnect to Family and Youth-Centered Permanency Roundtables, have since integrated CAFF into their programs as a cultural adaptation to their work,accordingto Kinnects website.
Preparing Foster Parents
The fourth program, called AFFIRM Caregiver, is designed to increase the number of homes available to LGBTQ youth already in the system by preparing foster parents to support kids in their care who desire to live as another gender, even if that means providing access to irreversible medical procedures.
The AFFIRM Caregiver model recognizes that pervasive exposure to homo/bi/transphobic attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors at multiple levels in society impacts the way caregivers may view and understand their childs LGBTQ+ identity, the Cuyahoga County guide states. Through a variety of didactic and interactive activities delivered over seven sessions, the AFFIRM Caregiver model helps caregivers adopt an affirming approach toward their youths identity as a critical step toward creating safe and healthy environments for their LGBTQ+ youth.
A pre-testgiven to caregivers prior to the training asks them to rate their ability in areas like creating a safe space for LGBTQ youth or making affirmative statements, according to material obtained by the DCNF.
Anotherformlater asks caregivers how strongly they would support behaviors associated with different gender identities.
I would take my child to a medical facility for hormone treatment that would help them look like a different gender if thats what they wanted, one statement reads.
Parents are also asked if they display pro-LGBTQ+ symbols in their home or would allow their child to bring a same-gender significant other to family events and celebrations.
Promising Model For Replication
As the HHS developed its rule, grant-funded researchers who established the QIC-LGBTQ2S center helped connect federal officials with the team operating in Cuyahoga County. Angela Weeks, project director for the center, made the introduction in May 2023.
Weeks told the county team that HHS senior advisor Julie Kruse had closely followed the work and was really impressed with all that you did at Cuyahoga County, according to anemailobtained by the DCNF.
She would like to bring in ACF leadership to hear from you, including Assistant Secretary January Contreras, Weeks said.
Kruse quickly followed up on Weeks introduction by heaping praise on the Cuyahoga County group, calling them trailblazers and letting them know their work was very appreciated at ACF.
The email exchange led to a June 9callwith Kruse and an invitation to present to Contreras in July.
Emails indicate the Cuyahoga County teamunderstoodtheir conversation with HHS leadership to be part of fulfilling a direct charge to the agency from Biden, whoannouncedin a 2023 pride month statement that the HHS would advance rulemaking designed to protect LGBTQI+ youth in foster care by requiring state agencies to provide affirming placements.
In preparation for the July call, the Cuyahoga County team put together a presentation agenda to explain why their program was a promising model for replication. One staff member shared real life experiences from implementing the interventions, according to anagendaobtained by the DCNF.
The team was thrilled to speak to the administration.
Youre obviously a group of rock stars! Karen Anderson, deputy director of resources and placement at the DCFS, wrote in a July 7emailto Kruse. This is life saving work and we are grateful that this administration is so thoughtfully considering how to imbed it inpolicy [sic]
Kinnectincludedthe meeting in its August 2023 newsletter, sharing that the organization was invited to participate in a meeting about affirming LGBTQ youth with federal officials at the HHS.
The feeling was mutual. Catherine Heath at the ACFs Childrens Bureauemailedthe county group who participated in the July call to thank them for a great virtual site visit. She also noted a previous visit she made to Cuyahoga County had been important.
We put many aspects of your work into the latest Program Instructionsissuedto states, Heath said.
The July meeting wasnt the last time the Cuyahoga County team interfaced with federal officials.
Members of the team also agreed to participate in an interview with Mathematica, a research and data analytics consultancy firm contracted by the ACF to visit child welfare agencies to learn about data practices that could potentially help develop nationwide requirements for SOGIE data collection, per anemailobtained by the DCNF.
In September 2023, Kruseemailedmultiple individuals from DCFS and Kinnect to invite their comments on the proposed rule and help them identify LGBTQI+ foster and adoptive parents who could talk to top officials.
Family Builders, which developed YAP, submitted public comments on the proposed foster care regulation in November 2023,tellingthe agency that offering religious exemptions would provide a license to discriminate and to do harm.
Any provider that is unwilling to provide safe and proper care for youth who are LGBTQI+ are unable to provide safe and proper care to any youth, they advised. We recommend all placement providers and child welfare agencies be held to a standard of care where they are prohibited from discrimination based on all protected classes, including sexual orientation, sex, and gender.
Kinnect alsosubmitteda public comment in support of the proposed rule.
The HHSmodifiedthe final rules wording in response to some concerns raised by faith-based groups, calling providers for children who identify as LGBTQ designated placements rather than safe and appropriate. It also noted the rule does not require religious foster parents to become designated placements.
The final rule must be implemented by October 2026,accordingto the federal register.
ACF spokesperson Pat Fisher told the DCNF the administration considered each of the nearly 14,000 comments it received while developing its final rule. He said the ACF believes that all children deserve to grow up in a safe home.
For most children, that is with their parents, which is why ACF has invested substantially in funding supports and services to parents in order to maintain family unity and prevent entry into foster care, he said. For all youth that do enter the foster care system, including those who are LGBTQI+, federal law requires they receive safe and proper care.
A Cuyahoga County spokesperson told the DCNF that the DCFS has not confirmed what influence its program had on the federal rule.
Intertwined Work
To become a designated placement for LGBTQ children, the HHS final rule alsorequiresfoster parents to be trained with the appropriate knowledge and skills to provide for the needs of the child related to the childs self-identified sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.
While the rule does not identify specific training, many of the resources developed through the QIC-LGBTQ2S center can now befounddirectly on the ACF Childrens Bureau website.
For instance, the website lists the YAP and CAFF interventions developed in Cuyahoga County. It also lists the National Center for Youth with Diverse Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity & Expression (SOGIE), which is run by many of the same individuals who previouslyleadthe QIC-LGBTQ2S center, including principal investigator Marlene Matarese and project director Angela Weeks.
The SOGIE Center is an effort led by the Innovations Institute at the University of Connecticut School of Social Work. Its website housesmaterialsdeveloped through QIC-LGBTQ2S, including the Cuyahoga County interventions.
The SOGIE Centers work is likewise heavily intertwined with the ACF. Weeks isfeaturedin a trainingsessionon sexual orientation and gender for agency staff.
The SOGIE Center also influenced the foster care rule.
In acommenton the proposed foster care regulation, the Innovations Institute recommended the agency require affirming placements for all children, not just those who identify as LGBTQ. It suggested having placements and staff undergo LGBTQ trainings, advising the ACF to look at trainings offered by its own SOGIE Center.
The Innovations Institute wrote in its comment that it is best practice to ask children as young as six about their gender identity, noting this identity component forms as early as two-years-old.
The final rule released in April cites the federally-funded research conducted by activists tied to the SOGIE center.
Astudyon Cuyahoga County authored by Weeks, along with Matarese, Elizabeth Greeno and Paige Hammond, is cited multiple times. The study was funded through the QIC-LGBTQ2Sand cites intersectionality, queer theory, and minority stress theory as its guiding frameworks. It surveyed 252 youth in the foster care system, finding 32% of those surveyed had a diverse SOGIE.
The regulation also cites a literature review co-authored by Matarese,titledYouth with Diverse Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression in Child Welfare: A Review of Best Practices, which was also produced through the federally funded QIC-LGBTQ2S, according to the document.
The ties between these activists also predate the Biden administration.
In 2019, the Biden Foundation also partnered with the University of Maryland, Baltimore School of Social Work, where the QIC-LGBTQ2S center was based, to make avideoon affirming youth.
The Affirm Me program should raise further alarm about the foster care rule, American Principles Project President Terry Schilling told the DCNF.
The purpose of such programs is clearly to ensure that gender-confused foster kids are funneled into environments where their confusion is only further reinforced, while also excluding potential foster parents who wish to help their children become comfortable in their own bodies, he said.
While the rule only applies to foster care, Schilling said families of all stripes should be very concerned about what a Harris presidency might have in store next.
Non-Affirmation As Abuse
Lifeline Childrens Services, a Chrisitan nonprofit that supports foster youth and families, opposed the rule when it was announced, in part due to aconcernthat biological families opinions about where their child is placed would be ignored. The organization told the DCNF it was alarmed to see government entities at both the federal and state level labeling people of faith as unsafe.
Foster homes are not public squares; they are private homes that deserve the basic religious freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution, as every other American home, the group told the DCNF.
In recent years, there have been multiple reported instances of parents losing their children to the foster system because they did not affirm a transgender identity.
Maryland parents lost custody of their autistic son after staff at the Childrens National Hospital in Washington, D.C. informed them he was transgender, according to alawsuitfiled in March. Officials told them to remove passages from their Bibles that affirm traditional sexual values and refused to return their son until they renounced their lifetime faith, the complaint alleges.
The childs parents reside in one of the four locations Prince Georges County, Maryland that was an implementation site for the QIC-LGBTQ2S center grant.
In Montana, another family allegedly lost their teenage daughter to child protective services when they did not allow her to live as a boy, Reduxxreportedin January.
In California, the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services took a 14-year-old girl from her mothers home because she would not affirm her daughters desire to transition to a boy,accordingto the Daily Signal. Officials accused the mother of emotional abuse and put her daugher in a foster home.
An Ohio judgegrantedcustody to a transgender-identifying teens grandparents in 2018 after the parents opposed her wishes to begin hormone therapy and denied her identity as a male. The judgewrotetheir daughter had a legitimate right to pursue life with a different gender identity than the one assigned at birth.
Broyles organization, the Child and Parental Rights Campaign, is currentlyhandlingone case involving a California family whose child was taken by child protective services (CPS). She is familiar with several similar cases in other states.
Because juvenile courts or dependency proceedings are shrouded in secrecy, we have no real idea how much this is happening, Broyles told the DCNF. But given this Ohio program and given what the Biden administration and HHS has been putting out there as guidance for states, theres no question in my mind that this is happening in a substantial way.
The Biden administrations rule creates an assumption that parents who have a scientific or religious belief that there are two genders are emotionally abusive or worse, failing to provide for their childs needs, she said.
As schools increasingly embrace gender ideology, parents may face greater threats than policies againstdisclosingwhen a child identifies as transgender. Teachers are mandated reporters who are obligated to call CPS if they believe a parent is inflicting harm, Broyles noted.
The only reason why were not seeing it on a mass scale is that somewhere inside they know thats not true, she said. Some common sense inside them is questioning the truth of that assertion, however, you can imagine that theres going to be some number of school officials that dont question it.
I totally see parents being at a much higher risk right now for school systems becoming their adversary and being the conduit through which child protective services now begins to interfere with their families, she said.
Kinnects executive director did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Kruse, Weeks and Matarese also did not respond to requests for comment.
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