Out of the Margins

Between September 2003 and December 2004, the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) and Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund (Lambda) organized Regional Listening Forums in 13 different cities around the country. The objective of these events was to highlight the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth in care. The CWLA/Lambda Regional Listening Forums provided an opportunity for LGBTQ youth in care, and the adults who work with and care for them, to share their experiences and to work together to identify strategies for bringing about lasting change within the child welfare system. Out of the Margins consolidates the responses of the more than 500 youth and adult participants from 22 states who attended the Forums and offered personal stories of actual experiences and concrete solutions for building the capacity of the child welfare system to better meet the needs of LGBTQ young people in care.