Family Should be a Safe Haven for LGBTQ+ Youth with Shawn Mitchell and Currey Cook

In this episode, Tecoria and Elliott open the door to a real and vulnerable conversation about the importance of LGBTQ+ youth inclusion. They talk to Shawn Mitchell, a Youth Contributor to the Safe Haven project, and Currey Cook, a Senior Counsel and Youth in Out-of-Home Care Project Director at Lambda Legal. This conversation touches on the Thriving Families, Safer Children guiding principles of addressing issues of disproportionality, specifically for LGBTQ+ youth, and emphasizing upstream strategies for prevention, health promotion, and well-being. They focus on what it’s like to be an LGBTQ+ youth in the foster care system, what is needed, and how professionals and family members can affirm and honor LGBTQ+ youth. Listeners will learn about the data that highlights the overrepresentation of LGBTQ+ foster youth and how the lack of inclusion and repeated rejection harms young people. They end with practical solutions to support and protect LGBTQ+ youth within their families, community, and in foster care.

Podcast Resources

2017 Safe Havens Report: Safe Havens | Lambda Legal Legacy

2024 Safe Havens II Report: Safe Havens Report 2.0 – Lambda Legal

2024 ACLU Anti-LGBTQ+ Legislation Map: Mapping Attacks on LGBTQ Rights in U.S. State Legislatures in 2024

2024 Designated Placement Requirements (Title IV-E and IV-B) for LGBTQI+ Children: Designated Placement Requirements for LGBTQI+ Children

In addition to our site partners across the country, the following people and organizations have come together to show that it is possible to fundamentally rethink how America protects children and supports families.