Legal Advocacy for TGNC Youth in Out-of-Home Care

Trans and Gender Nonconforming Youth (TGNC) youth are overrepresented in out-of-home care and under-protected by the systems meant to serve them. This session gives child-serving attorneys practical frameworks and real tools for changing that, one client at a time. Trainers will invite attorneys to go deeper in understanding barriers, how to create partnerships, and what zealous advocacy means right now.

Presenters:

Luna Isaiah Floyd, JD – Equal Justice Works Fellow, Lambda Legal
Luna Isaiah Floyd (they/he) is an Equal Justice Works Fellow at Lambda Legal. Their work with Lambda Legal’s Youth in Out-of-Home Care Project centers the needs of transgender youth in foster care and juvenile justice settings, as well as transgender youth experiencing homelessness. At Lambda, they have litigated cases against executive orders affecting youth, produced model policy to improve states’ treatment of LGBTQ+ youth in out-of-home care, trained hundreds of attorneys across the country on best practices in representing their young transgender and nonbinary clients, published a guide to help attorneys for youth secure gender-affirming care for their clients, and led a national coalition of juvenile legal system advocates.

While attending Harvard Law School, he worked on cases challenging bans on sports participation for trans youth and bans on gender-affirming care for minors through internships and externships with the ACLU LGBTQ+ Rights Project, the National Center for LGBTQ+ Rights, and GLBTQ+ Legal Advocates and Defenders. Before law school, they worked to reform state foster care systems as a paralegal at Children’s Rights. Luna Isaiah graduated from Brown University in 2019, earning a BA in Public Policy. Outside of LGBTQ+ advocacy, they enjoy leatherworking, quilting, knitting, and singing.

Elliott Orrin Hinkle, BS – Principal and Founder, Unicorn Solutions, LLC
Elliott Orrin Hinkle (they/them) is a skilled advisor, facilitator, trainer, speaker, and national expert focused on elevating lived experience and expertise in systems that serve children, youth, and families. As Principal and Founder of Unicorn Solutions LLC, they are an advocate and professional with 14+ years of experience on topics such as child welfare, youth mental health, and the LGBTQIA2S+ community. They are a graduate of Portland State University with a Bachelor of Science in Women, Gender, Sexuality, and Queer studies. Having experienced Wyoming’s foster care system firsthand, Elliott returned to their hometown in 2024 after a decade in Oregon to strengthen local supports for LGBTQ+ youth and families.

Elliott has collaborated with partners on the Safe Havens 2.0 report, resources such as the Coming Out With Care guide with the National SOGIE Center, and The Rainbow Resource Network Blueprint of how to create gender-affirming clothing qlosets for LGBTQ youth in foster care. A Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Equity Award recipient, Elliott also serves on several national and community boards, including the HOPE National Advisory Board, Educational Health Centers of Wyoming, and as Treasurer of the Center for the Study of Social Policy’s Board. Learn more or connect at www.unicornsolutions.org.

CLE

California (60-minute hour)
This participatory activity has been accredited by the State Bar of California for a maximum of 1.5 hours of Elimination of Bias credit for live and on-demand participation. Attorneys must sign in for CLE.

Colorado (50‐minute hour)
This course is pending accreditation by the Colorado Board of Continuing Legal and Judicial Education for a maximum of 1.8 units of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion credit for live and on-demand participation. Attorneys must sign in for CLE. Colorado is a self-report state.

Attorneys in all other jurisdictions must seek CLE accreditation individually if desired.