Foster care is supposed to be a safety net, a system of support and compassion for our most vulnerable children. Unfortunately, this system often falls short for some kids – and
for LGBTQ+ kids, the federal government is making foster care a living nightmare.Sign the petition telling Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to reverse a decision that puts LGBTQ+ foster youth at serious risk!Roughly one in three kids in foster care identify as LGBTQ+, far more than in the general youth population. These are kids who've already been separated from their families, often through no fault of their own. When they're placed in homes that don't accept who they are, the damage compounds. Research shows
LGBTQ+ foster youth attempt suicide at far higher rates than their peers, and they're nearly
four times more likely to be kicked out, abandoned, or driven to run away because of how they're treated by the very "caregivers" meant to protect them.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) quietly rescinded a rule designed to help ensure these kids are placed with families who will support them. Since then, federal officials have sent letters
pressuring states to weaken or eliminate their own protections for vulnerable children, arguing that requiring foster parents to accept a child's identity conflicts with some families' religious beliefs.
Several states have already rolled back their policies in response, opening kids up to immediate and immense harm. What's left is a patchwork where a foster kid's safety depends on which state they happen to live in and which caseworker happens to be assigned to their file, not on any guarantee that they'll be treated with basic dignity.
A teenager shouldn't have to hide who they are just to feel safe in the home they've been placed in. A young child shouldn't be shut out from how they feel or who they are becoming because of the
cruel personal ideologies of closed-minded lawmakers.Every kid in foster care deserves a caregiver who will accept them, not one who's been given federal cover to reject them.
Sign now and demand Secretary Kennedy restore protections that keep LGBTQ+ foster youth safe!