Federal Resources

Based on the lessons learned from the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative, the toolkit cultivates an approach that has left a legacy of success in schools and communities. This toolkit will show you how partnerships with representatives from sectors including education, law enforcement, mental health, juvenile justice, children’s services, families, and faith-based associations can take Three Bold Steps to create positive lasting change among our nation’s students.

This manual, prepared for the CSAT seeks to inform administrators and clinicians about appropriate diagnosis and treatment approaches that will help ensure the development or enhancement of effective LGBT-sensitive programs. SAMHSA has also funded the development of a 22-module training curriculum to accompany this publication.

This guide aims to educate practitioners working in a wide range of settings about the role of family acceptance and rejection in contributing to the well-being of young people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) and to help them implement best practices in engaging families to support their LGBT children.

This HUD website maintains a list of states that enumerate sexual orientation and gender identity in their state fair housing laws. It also provides information and resources to report housing discrimination.

This blog post addresses the unique challenges of serving lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth in rural places. Written by the executive director of Tumbleweed Runaway Program in Billings, MT, it also suggests how youth-serving professionals in rural areas can make their services and communities welcoming to all young people.

Healthy People provides science-based, ten year national objectives for promoting health and preventing disease.

This article, featured by the National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth, discusses a recent study released in the School Social Work Journal that compared 284 lesbian, gay, bisexual, questioning (LGBTQ) youth in schools with gay-straight alliances with LGBTQ students in schools without those alliances to discern whether the presence of such organizations improved outcomes for young people. The study suggests that membership in a gay-straight alliance has some positive effects on LGBTQ youth, but more research is necessary. 

This report from the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation and the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) highlights the findings from case studies of four agencies receiving grants from the ACF Family and Youth Services Bureau’s Runaway and Homeless Youth Program. It includes information on the collection and use of sexual orientation and gender identity data, needs and capacities among LGBTQ runaway and homeless youth, approaches to serving this population, and gaps in research and services for practitioners and policymakers to consider. 

These chapter briefs summarize the knowledge base and research needs related to low-income, at-risk lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people and their interactions with human services. The briefs are separated into three topic areas:

1. Low-income and at-risk LGBT populations
2. The child welfare system and LGBT youth and LGBT adults
3. LGBT youth, particularly related to runaway and homeless youth and sexual health 

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan issued a letter to public school districts about LGBT bullying. He specifically states that GSAs are protected under the 1984 Equal Access Act, which protects student-initiated groups.

SAMHSA, through its Homelessness Resource Center (HRC), convened an Expert Panel on February 4, 2010 to better understand the needs of youth who are experiencing homelessness and identify as LGBTQI2-S.

This CDC website provides resources for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) youth and their friends, educators and school administrators, and parents and family members on how to support LGBT youth around issues such as bullying, sexuality and sexual health, education, homelessness, and more. 

The National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth released a Q&A with Shannon Minter, legal director at the National Center for Lesbian Rights, featuring tips for working specifically with transgender and gender non-conforming youth.

In a podcast featured in the latest update from the Department of Health and Human Services’ National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth, Bryan Samuels, commissioner of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families, and Andrew Barnett, executive director of the Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League, discuss the need to include lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth in teen pregnancy prevention efforts.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth released this list of recommended resources on sexually transmitted diseases, including information geared specifically to teens and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth.

CDC’s DASH developed the factsheet, “Parents’ Influence on the Health of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Teens: What Parents and Families Should Know," which provides information for parents on how they can support and promote healthy outcomes for their LGTBQ teens. 

This article provides information about a research review that aimed to determine directions for research, public policy, and practice related to serving homeless youth who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning. The article also includes potential implications of the research for policies and practices of youth-serving organizations. Researchers at Harvard Medical School conducted the research review. 

This blog post outlines recent progress made in promoting the health and welfare of individuals who identify as LGBT, including multiple resources published by SAMHSA related to LGBT youth. Future SAMHSA funding opportunities and changes in data collection procedures related to LGBT populations are also discussed. 

The National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth published this Q&A with Shannon Minter, legal director at the National Center for Lesbian Rights, featuring tips for working specifically with transgender and gender non-conforming youth.

The Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) provides a list of resources for those serving LGBT youth including helpful publications and LGBT-youth focused organizations.

This statement by the Secretary of the HHS addresses the work HHS has engaged in and future recommended actions to address and improve the health and well-being of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities.

The NCTSN Child Sexual Abuse committee has created a new video that highlights the effect of trauma on LGBTQ youth, describes how bias impedes optimal care, and provides practical steps for creating safe and welcoming environments for traumatized LGBTQ youth. The video features five LGBTQ youth describing how trauma and bias have affected their ability to feel safe when seeking services and NCTSN presenters sharing specific steps that professionals and organizations can take to create safer and more welcoming environments for LGBTQ youth who have experienced trauma. 

This resource provides technical assistance to runaway and homeless youth programs.

This report describes the characteristics and economic well-being of young people aging out of foster care who identify themselves as lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB).

This Q&A from the Department of Health and Human Services explains how the  federal rule, “Equal Access to Housing in HUD Programs Regardless of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity,” will benefit youth.