The Trump Administration has a cruel sense of timing. This month, National Foster Care Month, they have stopped collecting data on the sexual orientation of youth in foster care and of foster and adoptive parents. The data is needed to make the right decisions and track outcomes for youth in care, advocates say. This comes after the administration issued a new rule on the first day of National Adoption Month last November, which allows taxpayer-funded foster care and adoption agencies to discriminate against LGBTQ people and others.
Here’s the background: A 2016 HHS rule required that HHS collect data related to the sexual orientation of youth in care and of foster and adoptive parents and guardians. In March 2018, the HHS under President Trump tried to delay implementing the collection of this data as part of its Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS). HHS last April said it wanted to amend the rule and not collect this data at all, although it would note if a child’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression were related to the reason a child was removed from a home. After a mandatory comment period on the proposed rule, it was finalized last week.
As I explained further in my original post about the HHS proposal, HHS said that some comments on its proposed rule indicated concern that such questions would be “intrusive,” especially for youth who had experienced abuse or neglect. They were also concerned that youth may use terms to describe their sexual orientation than the adults asking about them, and might be reluctant to answer because of concerns about confidentiality and possible bullying by peers. Yet many respected child welfare organizations signed on to support the collection of this confidential data, including the Child Welfare League of America, the Children’s Defense Fund, the National Association of Social Workers, the North American Council on Adoptable Children, the National Center on Adoption and Permanency, and many more. I have to trust their experts and think the greater harm is in not asking these questions. (And yes, some youth may still refuse to answer—but that’s not a reason to avoid at least getting the responses we can.)
Schylar Baber, a foster alumni and executive director of Voice for Adoption, said in a statement, “The rule announced by HHS today is an unnecessary step backwards that will harm vulnerable children. How can we make the right decisions about youth in foster care and those waiting to be adopted if we don’t have a robust and complete AFCARS data system? Our foster care system is in crisis mode. We’ve waited 25 years for the AFCARS system to be upgraded. I am not sure we have much more time to wait, because our children are paying the price.”
And Julie Kruse, director of federal policy at Family Equality, added, “It is outrageous that during National Foster Care Month, HHS is abdicating its statutory responsibilities to promote the safety and well-being of LGBTQ foster youth. States, tribes, and agencies cannot improve care and outcomes for these youth if they do not have data to measure their efforts. This is especially painful at a time when many young people who aged out of foster care without a family, including many LGBTQ youth, are losing student housing and employment due to the COVID-19 crisis.”
Additionally, HHS is close to finalizing a rule revising Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, removing explicit health care discrimination protections based on sex and gender identity. That would be appalling at any time; during a worldwide pandemic it is absolutely cruel.
This is all hugely disheartening. Keep in mind, though, that the removal of explicit anti-discrimination protections doesn’t mean you have no recourse if you experience discrimination (though it may indeed make things more challenging). Here are the hotlines for three LGBTQ legal advocacy organizations, should you need their help:
And make sure you’re registered to vote in November!
