Supporting and Advocating for LGBTQI+ Youth: In and Out of the Courtroom

NACC Member Webinar

LGBTQI+ youth are overrepresented in the foster care system all over this country. They experience higher rates of suicidality and higher numbers of placements, they report more negative experiences within the child welfare system compared to their peers, and they experience higher rates of homelessness. In particular, LGBTQI+ youth of color see the most negative outcomes. Many attorneys and judges currently consider LGBTQI+ advocacy and education to be a specialty or niche; in reality, considering the disparate outcomes these youth experience, it is of utmost importance that we educate ourselves to better support these youth and, in particular, the ways we can work to positively impact and alter their experiences while in the child welfare system. This webinar will discuss the disparities LGBTQI+ youth face in the child welfare system, various legal advocacy panelists have engaged in on behalf of LGBTQI+ youth and youth of color in these systems, and share LGBTQI+ community resources aimed at better supporting children and families. 

Presenters:

Tamar Alexanian (she/her) is a Skadden Fellow at the Children’s Law Center of California (CLC), where she helps enforce the rights of LGBTQ+ foster youth in dependency proceedings. At CLC, Tamar leads the LGBTQ+ Committee and a racial justice reading group for CLC staff members. While at the University of Michigan Law School, Tamar participated in the Child Welfare Appellate Clinic as well as the Child Advocacy Law Clinic, where she represented parents, guardians, and youth in dependency proceedings at the trial, appellate, and state supreme court levels. As a graduate student, she taught in the Women’s & Gender Studies and American Studies departments.   

Danielle (Danny) King (he/she/they) is the Senior Youth Policy Counsel at the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), where they will be taking an intersectional approach to implementing legal strategies to advance the wellbeing of LGBTQ youth through community education, collaboration with coalitions, and public policy advocacy, particularly for LGBTQ youth impacted by the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Danielle (Danny) first joined NCLR in 2021, as a Gender Equality Attorney, where they engaged in legal research and training, assisted in amicus brief support, and tracked nationwide litigation related to sex discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation since the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County. Danielle (Danny) also served for multiple years as an Attorney for the Child in the Juvenile Rights Practice at Legal Aid Society, where they represented youth between the ages of 0-21 in abuse and neglect proceedings as well as juvenile delinquency arraignments. Danielle (Danny) also was Legal/Policy/Advocacy Track Lead for the 2020 Gender Conference NYC. Since 2020, Danielle (Danny) has served as co-chair of New York City Bar’s LGBTQ Rights Committee. Danielle (Danny) attained a J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law (2016), an M.A. in Urban Affairs from CUNY-Queens College (2012), and a B.A. in English from Michigan State University (2009). 

This webinar is FREE for NACC Members. Members, please log in when you register for this event. This webinar is $45 for non-members. 

This course is accredited by the Colorado Board of Continuing Legal and Judicial Education for a maximum of 2 units of credit (50-minute hour), including a maximum of 2 units of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity credit and 0 units of Legal Ethics credit.