Resolution Statement
A Family for Every Child (AFFEC) believes all youth, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, deserve a permanent and loving family who acknowledges and affirms their identity. Affirming a youth’s identity means caregivers help the youth develop positive feelings about their identity, support the youth’s sense of belonging to their identified social groups, and ensure the youth has clear caregiver acceptance.
AFFEC recognizes LGBTQ+ youth are disproportionately represented in foster care and the houseless youth community. The Human Rights Campaign’s most recent youth survey indicates LBGTQ+ youth make up over a third of the almost 400,000 youth in foster care (HRC, 2023). Additionally, LGBTQ+ youth are twice as likely to be unhoused when compared to their peers and make up more than 40% of the unhoused youth population (McKinnon et al., 2023). We are committed to prioritizing youth needs and characteristics in adoptive and host home recruitment efforts and service development.
The CDC reports suicide is the second leading cause of death for youth ages 10-24. Suicide for this age group increased 52% between 2000-2021 (CDC, 2023, HRC 2023) and youth who identify as LGBTQ+ are five times more likely than their heterosexual peers to commit suicide (Gaylor et al., 2023). However, the presence of an affirming caregiver in a youth’s life reduces the likelihood of suicide by 57% (Price et al., 2023). Family acceptance saves youth’s lives. AFFEC is dedicated to changing these statistics by supporting affirming families as they care for our diverse community of children.
A Family for Every Child believes that a family’s willingness to affirm a youth’s identity is a key component of their eligibility to participate in our adoptive and host home services. AFFEC is committed to recruiting, training, and supporting prospective families who are prepared to honor and affirm the identities of the youth we serve.
Price, M., Green, A. (2023). Association of Gender Identity Acceptance with Fewer Suicide Attempts Among Transgender and Nonbinary Youth. Transgender Health, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.1089/trgh.2021.0079
HRC. (2023, June 2). View and Share Statistics. The Human Rights Campaign. https://www.hrc.org/view-and-share-statistics
CDC. (2023, June 2). Disparities in Suicide. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/facts/disparities-in-suicide.html
Gaylor, E., Krause, K., Welder, L., Cooper, A., Ashley, C., Mack, K., Crosby, A., Trinh, E., Ivey-Stephenson, I., Whittle, L. (2023). Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors Among High School Students: Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2021. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 72(1);45–54. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/su/su7201a6.htm?s_cid=su7201a6_w
McKinnon, I., Krause, K., Robin, L., King, A., Leon-Nguyen, M., Zavala, E., Suarez, N., Lim, C., Smith-Grant, J., Underwood, M. (2023). Experiences of Unstable Housing Among High School Students: Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2021. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 72(1);29–36
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/su/su7201a4.htm?s_cid=su7201a4_w
