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Reintegration With Resilience: Helping LGBTQ+ Youth Thrive After Confinement

NCJ Number
308950
Date Published
April 2024
Length
4 pages
Abstract

LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer/questioning, asexual) youth leaving detention centers and other secure care facilities face a unique set of challenges that reentry programs can help address to increase the likelihood of successful reentry and reintegration. Young people who are LGBTQ+ are disproportionately represented within the juvenile justice system, accounting for 20 percent of all youth in juvenile justice facilities compared with 7 percent to 9 percent of all youth nationwide. Reasons may include higher rates of arrest due to discrimination, higher rates of substance use disorder, family rejection that can lead to homelessness, employment discrimination, and the criminalization of behaviors related to their sexual orientation or gender identity (e.g., survival sex work).

Date Published: April 1, 2024