Resources to Support Children and Youth Who Are LGBTQI2-S and Their Families

This toolkit provides access to a range of resources on various topics affecting and related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersex, and two-spirit (LGBTQI2-S) children/youth and their families. The resources are intended for multiple audiences, from service providers and other professionals to policymakers, families, and youth. These resources come from various sources including organizations dedicated to improving the treatment, experiences, and outcomes of LGBTQI2-S children, youth, and families. Some federal resources are included; the majority come from nonfederal sources.

This toolkit includes a range of resources such as practice recommendations, reports, guides, existing toolkits, videos, and Web-based information. It is not intended to be a comprehensive compilation of all available resources and does not include copyrighted material (e.g., journal articles), but it provides many valuable tools and a wealth of information. Resources available in Spanish are noted in document descriptions, with links to the Spanish version. Further, to facilitate your review of the resources, "keywords" are associated with each document. Text documents and slide presentations are available in Portable Document Format (PDF) and require Adobe Acrobat Reader (or another PDF file viewer) to open and read them. If you do not have the current version of Acrobat Reader, you may download it for free by clicking here. Video files require either Windows Media Player or Apple QuickTime to view. You may download current versions of these programs at Windows Media Player or QuickTime.

This toolkit was developed with support from the Child, Adolescent and Family Branch (CAFB), Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In 2008, the CAFB initiated the National Workgroup to Address the Needs of Children and Youth Who Are LGBTQI2-S and Their Families. The workgroup helps to guide CAFB efforts to develop resources that help address the needs of children and youth who are LGBTQI2-S and their families. It includes a diverse and knowledgeable group of recognized experts and consumers including youth, family members, clinical and human service providers, program administrators, cultural and linguistic competence experts, technical assistance providers, evaluators and researchers, and CAFB and SAMHSA representatives.

Jeffrey Poirier, senior researcher and workgroup coordinator of American Institutes for Research (AIR), regularly updates the contents of this toolkit with new resources as they become available. To recommend resources for this toolkit, or if you have any questions, please see the contact information at the bottom of this page. We hope this toolkit helps further the efforts of organizations and communities to provide culturally and linguistically competent services/supports for children and youth who are LGBTQI2-S, their families, and LGBT-headed families. We also hope this toolkit is helpful to families and youth themselves so they can advocate for appropriate services and supports in their communities.

The content of this toolkit does not reflect the views of the CAFB, CMHS, SAMHSA, or HHS.

Navigating and Searching This Resource Toolkit