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What We Owe LGBTQ+ Youth

LGBTQ+ young people deserve to be affirmed and surrounded by loving community—whether living at home with their families, or in foster care. But how do we, as a nation, make that happen? Learn more about Five for 2025: CSSP’s Policy Priorities to Champion Economic Justice, Health Justice, and Family Autonomy.

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I Just Want to be a Father

This brief spotlights systemic barriers faced by fathers who are themselves youth in New York City’s foster care system or who co-parent with a young parent in foster care when they try to exercise their rights to be with their children.

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What We Owe Caregivers

We know that the well-being of parents and caregivers matters. It is our collective responsibility to support families, and policy is an essential tool to do that.

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Let’s get REAL

We owe all people safe and affirming spaces that allow them to express their whole selves. In the following clips, which are highlights from a longer conversation, CSSP President and CEO Leonard Burton and Senior Fellow Bill Bettencourt underscore how and why we need to show up for LGBTQ+ youth. 

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Safe Havens II

The Safe Havens II interactive report underscores the importance of accountability to ensure the safety and well-being of TNGD youth.

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Who We Are

The Center for the Study of Social Policy works to achieve a racially, economically, and socially just society in which all children, youth, and families thrive. We translate ideas into action, promote public policies grounded in equity, and support strong and inclusive communities. We advocate with and for all children, youth, and families marginalized by public policies and institutional practices.

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Our Approach

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Systems Change

We draw on the latest research and work to make systems more responsive, accountable, and rooted in policies that ensure equity and inclusion for all children, youth, families, and communities.

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Community Outreach

We believe in the power of communities to shape their futures. We work with communities across the country and with local systems to impact policy and systems change.

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Policy

We work to influence public policy to create opportunity, advance equity, achieve impact, and scale results. We fight against inequitable policy proposals and promote policies that ensure equity and inclusion.