GLAD Law staff and supporters marching at Boston Pride for the People

In This Issue

From Executive Director Ricardo Martinez

Our movement has never relied on permission to exist or to fight for our rights – from the pre-Stonewall era to the AIDS crisis, to the battles for marriage equality and today’s struggle for transgender justice. We come from a lineage of people who resisted, organized, and reshaped the world around them. And we carry that legacy forward for the young people watching us now, hoping – trusting – that we will keep moving. 

Our strategy is designed to secure lasting safety, dignity, and legal equality for LGBTQ+ people, while defending democracy itself. In this issue, learn more about six ways we are leading the fight for justice: 

• launching a surge of litigation against anti-democratic and anti-LGBTQ+ power grabs

• ensuring protections for transgender youth, who have faced brutal scrutiny and scapegoating from federal and some state governments

• providing support with GLAD Law Answers so families under attack know their rights and never feel abandoned

• strengthening legal protections for LGBTQ+ people at their place of employment

• building power through deep collaboration with local, regional, and national partners to protect our rights

• preparing to defend marriage equality in the long-term

This strategy is producing real results. With partners, we defeated eight anti-transgender bills in Maine; advanced HIV prevention through PrEP access legislation in Maine and Massachusetts; implemented the Massachusetts Parentage Act and improved parentage protections in six additional states; and secured injunctions blocking harmful Trump-era executive orders – protecting, among others, 19 transgender women who would have been transferred to men’s prisons. We helped halt New Hampshire’s ban on DEI programs and strengthened Massachusetts’ shield law to protect access to essential health care. Each achievement reflects coordinated, precise, and unyielding advocacy. 

These gains happen because our team – attorneys, advocates, staff, and partners work diligently and tirelessly. They answer calls from families in crisis, review hundreds of pages of harmful legislation, and pursue cases where the stakes are human lives and futures. Their resolve keeps this work moving, even as demand grows and the opposition accelerates. 

This moment requires clarity and commitment. Transgender youth, LGBTQ+ elders, families fighting to stay safe, and communities relying on continued investment in HIV prevention and research all need us fully engaged. While our opponents are well-funded and relentless, we meet them with strategy, coalition power, and the courage to act. 

We will continue to fight. We will continue to litigate. We will continue to organize.

And together, we will win.

Thank you for fueling this work and for helping build a future defined not by fear, but by justice, dignity, and the freedom for all of us to live fully and safely. 

Forward, toward justice with pride,

Ricardo Martinez, Executive Director

GLAD Law Answers Update 2025

Immediately after the 2024 election, it was clear that our community was worried about our families, LGBTQ+ children, and transgender youth and adults in all areas of life. We’ve been at the front lines to keep LGBTQ+ people protected – learn more about our fight against the federal government’s attacks and how we’re advancing progress in the states in the Legal Update. 

Every day, we work to protect our rights and keep us moving forward. To learn more about your rights, visit our website. If you have questions or need help, contact GLAD Law Answers. You can also help us bring legal resources to more people who need them – join the Lawyer Referral Service or volunteer. 

Legacy Society Spotlight: Tristan Rushton and Matt Fecteau Look to the Future 

Tristan Rushton and Matt Fecteau both discovered GLAD Law in the aftermath of the landmark Goodridge decision that cemented marriage equality in Massachusetts in 2004. They were in their mid-twenties and both navigating young adulthood in Boston.  

“I just remember that the Boston Globe Magazine did a profile on Mary Bonauto. I think that was my first real intro to the work that GLAD Law did (and does). And I remember thinking just how awesome it was. She just seemed like such a powerful lawyer – it made me want to go into the law myself,” recalls Matt.  

Though they went to college together and met briefly back then, Matt and Tristan didn’t start dating until they reconnected in Provincetown in 2007. Ten years later, on the anniversary of their first date, they were married in downtown Boston.  

They’ve shared a commitment to GLAD Law almost as long as they’ve been together. “Pretty early on in our time together, we decided (GLAD Law) was a very important thing to support and that good work was being done, and actually productive work,” says Tristan. 

Inspired by Mary Bonauto, among others, Matt eventually attended law school and began a second career as an estate planning attorney in his 30s. This has given him key insight into the importance of estate planning for LGBTQ+ couples and families.  

“You just can’t predict what’s going to happen,” Matt says. “When you don’t have an estate plan, you’re leaving the disposition of your property up to state law … It’s important to really be specific about how you want things handled when you’re not here. We don’t have children to leave things to, so, you know, it’s even more important for us to make those conscious decisions.” 

One of Tristan and Matt’s conscious decisions was to include GLAD Law in their estate plan, an action born out of their mutual commitment to the work and their faith in GLAD Law to continue to show up and get results for the LGBTQ+ community.  

“I think we feel a level of connection to GLAD Law that we don’t feel to a lot of other organizations. We live in Boston. It’s a local organization … We’re glad to support it,” Matt says. “When (GLAD Law) advocates strongly in the court system for their clients, it has an effect on all of us. And so I think it’s important that GLAD Law has the resources that it needs to continue to do what it does so well: expanding rights where it can.” 

Matt and Tristan acknowledge that they feel the weight of this moment and are looking for ways to make an impact with the resources they have.  

According to Matt, a gift in their wills “allows us to support an organization that we care about in a more meaningful way.” He continues, “We can’t write a big check right now, but we can do it after the fact, after we’re gone. It gives us the opportunity to make a big commitment without having to use assets that we currently need.”  

Planned gifts like Tristan and Matt’s ensure that GLAD Law can sustain our work and build our impact for generations to come. There will be many battles ahead and, as he explains, Tristan trusts GLAD Law to be on the frontlines defending the LGBTQ+ community: 

“The work is always going to evolve. And we don’t know what the next front will be, but there’s clearly going to be another one. It’s an ever-present evolution that just needs to continue to be fought … And the courts are the place where you can protect those that aren’t the majority, which is all of our communities.” 

To learn more about making a gift to GLAD Law in your estate plan, please visit GLADLaw.org/leave-a-legacy.

A Message from the Chief Financial Officer

GLAD Law’s financial health is strong.  

We have 11.12 months of unrestricted reserves (i.e., net assets) as of March 31, 2025, including board designated net assets. While there are sufficient cash and investments to meet our current obligations, we face an uncertain climate and need to be equipped for the legal and legislative challenges ahead.  

Our financial health is both intentional and important as we continue to make strategic investments in staff, litigation support, communication, public education, and infrastructure. Our five-year financial tool allows us to consider scenarios and discuss options and their impact on our reserves.  

FY25 ended with an increase in net assets of $2.8m. For a non-profit, it is important to look at the components (see table below) and some highlights:  

• The unrestricted fund totals $7.2m and is up, $1.28m. This increase in net assets (or surplus) is primarily due to a $2m bequest expected in FY26 but received early in FY25.

• During FY25 and as part of the FY25 budget process, the board agreed to invest $500k to increase salaries and wages to 100% of market median so that GLAD Law could remain competitive and retain staff. This investment, along with a strategic plan to add more lawyers (4 have been hired so far), have long-term financial implications.

• Over the next few years, GLAD Law will be using reserves to complement an increase in overall fundraising and to fund strategic initiatives. With this backdrop, at the end of FY25, $1.03m was transferred to board-designated net assets for a total of $4.5m. As a result, a larger portion (62%) of GLAD Law’s unrestricted reserves is designated. We feel this is prudent.

• The donor-restricted fund consists of cash gifts and pledges restricted by the donor for a specific purpose or time. This fund increased by $1.5m, which means new gifts exceeded ‘releases’ in FY25.

• During FY25, GLAD Law received $8.1 million in donated legal services, an essential resource that supports our litigation work. This amount reflects a 4.5% increase in donated subject-matter time from pro bono attorneys compared to the prior year, expanding our capacity to pursue cutting-edge legal strategies. These donated services are reported as both an income source and an expenditure. 

There are many challenges and opportunities, and we need your support and partnership. Thank you for investing in GLAD Law.

Eva N. Boyce
Chief Financial Officer
November 2025

Statement of Financial Position*

March 31, 2025

*Summarized from GLAD Law’s audit report; available on our website. Visit message from the CFO for more information.
**Visit “Change in Net Assets” chart

2025 Impact By the Numbers

CULTIVATING AN ENGAGED, EMPOWERED ONLINE COMMUNITY

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Legal Update

Leading With Values: Eastern Bank’s Commitment to Equality

Rivers also strengthened Eastern’s legacy of community building, accessibility, and philanthropy with major investments in the LGBTQ+ community, crediting the 2010 acquisition of Wainwright Bank, a staunch LGBTQ+ ally, with spurring this focus. That year, Eastern became the first of 70 business signatories on an amicus brief opposing the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in our Gill v. OPM lawsuit. The bank also began sponsoring GLAD Law’s Spirit of Justice Award Dinner and providing other generous support. 

Rivers’s personal commitment to equality is just as powerful. In 2018, he rallied business leaders to support the “Yes on 3” campaign defending Massachusetts’ trans-inclusive nondiscrimination law. He supports GLAD Law individually as a member of our Equal Justice Council.

Unsurprisingly, Eastern Bank has earned a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index for 11 consecutive years.

We spoke with Rivers about remaining steadfast in supporting LGBTQ+ inclusivity amid the Trump administration’s anti-DEI push, and why other businesses should do the same. “We’ve got to fight like hell,” Rivers said. “As a society, we’ve come too far to go backwards.”

Given the decline in DEI, it’s refreshing to hear you discuss its benefits. What values underlie Eastern Bank’s support for LGBTQ+ inclusion?

Our mission has always focused on those who are less represented in our society, going back to our founding in 1818. We were the third mutual bank established in the U.S., as a bank for all people at a time when there was no national currency or banking system, and only the wealthy had access to merchant banks. Our founders unlocked that capital not just for their own businesses but to provide a safe place to save and borrow for everyone – including women, for whom we were among the first in the country to allow to open bank accounts.

Our emphasis upon supporting the LGBTQ+ community began with our merger with Wainwright Bank because that was an organization that was beloved in the gay community, deservedly so. We wanted to show we were worthy of the mantle, that we could carry it forward, and also elevate it. 

What is Eastern Bank doing to ensure federal anti-LBGTQ+ policies and rhetoric don’t undermine your employees’ sense of safety and belonging, especially now?

Internally, we use many tools, including anonymous surveys that gather some demographic information, to gauge how people are feeling. 

We now have 13 employee resource groups (ERGs), including Equality Under the Blue for LGBTQ+ employees. These employee-organized groups make sure we’re connected in community, aware of the issues, and identifying advocacy and sponsorship opportunities. They help us understand employees’ experiences and where we should lean in.

We use the Corporate Equality Index metrics to measure how we’re doing as a business in the eyes of the Human Rights Campaign and the broader LGBTQ+ community.

Our DEI dashboard tracks demographic representation across leadership, the board, and other roles. We set targets for diversity because as a community bank we want to reflect the people and places we serve. It begins with talent and fit—but with strong intentionality around proportionate representation.

Our purpose statement is, “We do good things to help all people prosper,” and that’s our guiding principle. I always talk about Eastern as a social enterprise wrapped in a financial services company, because our mission and values are really at the core of who we are. The financial services business provides us the resources to advance that mission. In these times we’ve decided to stay the course. I wrote to all employees in March explaining that DEI is in our DNA, rooted in our history and our values, and changing that would undermine the essence of who we are.

How does Eastern foster intersectional collaboration?

Intersectionality is essential. We’re a diversified business and we worry about silo-ism in our organization because our business thrives on collaboration, cross-referrals, and mutual relationships. It’s the same with our ERGs. They sponsor events open to all, and often collaborate. Employees may be part of Equality Under the Blue and also the Black Professional Alliance, Latinos in Action, or Parents and Families. That overlap makes conversations richer and helps people see that everyone carries multiple identities that aren’t always visible. That opens your perspective, making you more welcoming, and it bonds people because they realize that fundamentally we care about the same things. As a result, we track intersectionality in our DEI dashboard and surveys.

How would you like other businesses or leaders to show up for the LGBTQ+ community right now?

I’d like them to be consistent and continue the work they had been doing. We’ve marched in Boston Pride, for example, for many years, and a lot of companies dropped out this year due to fear of backlash by the Trump administration or whomever. Some of those fears are real, some imagined, some of them are overplayed. 

Even as a public company, shareholders have never pushed back on any of our advocacy. Analysts don’t tell me, “Gee, we’re worried you’re putting your business at risk.” When closing our latest merger with HarborOne, no one questioned whether our stances would affect approval. So, my advice to businesses: it’s not as risky as you think.

I know that’s easier for me to say because eastern New England is our market focus. Businesses headquartered here that have significant operations in red states are being scrutinized for their practices. And even though they may have backed off DEI in those locales, those states are using it as a wedge against what those businesses might do here.

Our approach is to think about what our values are and stand behind them and fight for them, as opposed to fighting against something or someone else.

Eastern Bank has supported GLAD Law in many ways. Why is it important for you to support our work?

GLAD Law is on the front line of advocacy for the nation with respect to LGBTQ+ rights. You’re an essential partner because we aren’t lawyers; we care and want to support and amplify the work, but we need GLAD Law to help educate us on where to lean in.

Can you share examples of any lessons learned? 

I first met Mary Bonauto in 2010 during the Wainwright merger. She asked us to sign the amicus brief in the DOMA lawsuit. I said, “Count us in.” Our involvement gave us a level of knowledge and led to things we did on our own. Under DOMA, same-sex spouses weren’t recognized in the federal tax code, so we paid affected employees a stipend to offset the disadvantage in their tax benefits until the law was struck down. 

We also switched our health insurance provider, with whom we had a long relationship, because we wanted an insurer that would cover transgender health care.

You really walk the talk.

We want employees to know this isn’t lip service. We care about them, we care about the communities they’re part of, and we’re going to take action through philanthropy, policy, and advocacy. 

Our mantra is “right and smart.” What do we believe is the right thing to do, and how is it synergized with our business, which is the smart thing to do? Often, the synergy is just the platform our business gives us to talk to other businesses. In talking to other business leaders about LGBTQ+ or other issues, I don’t spend a lot of time on the “right.” Sadly, the moral imperative may not always resonate [in business conversations], but “smart” always does. If you can address how supporting a particular cause is good for business – be it talent attraction, retention, development, your customer base, reputation, etc. – they’re with you. 

In times like these – when civil rights, the LGBTQ+ community, and democracy itself are under threat – many companies have abandoned practices they once knew were both right and smart, and in doing so they’ve undermined their own credibility. For Eastern Bank, we chose this road a long time ago. This is who we are, and that’s the hand we’re going to play.

Honoring Service and State Leaders

2025 Spirit of Justice Gala

On November 6, we gathered to draw on our community’s strength, and our history of courage, strategic advocacy, creative resistance, collaboration, and compassion with our biggest event of the year, the Spirit of Justice Award Dinner.

We were inspired by Honoree Tony Hoang, who is leading urgent, successful efforts to protect and expand LGBTQ+ rights in California. Together, we celebrated the rights we’ve protected, the harm we have stopped, and the wins we have made to realize our vision of a future of justice and freedom for all of us. 

At a time when too many businesses and institutions are giving in and pulling back from supporting equality, we appreciate those who have the courage and conviction to keep showing up, which you can find on our website. We’re grateful and heartened by their resolve for the fight for justice. 

Safeguarding Civil Rights: State Strategies for Defense & Progress.  

Ensuring Bedrock Nondiscrimination Laws Continue to Protect LGBTQ+ People At Work and Beyond

We are in federal court representing Lillian Bernier, a transgender woman who works nights in a manufacturing plant.

Lillian’s employer, Turbocam, refuses to provide equal workplace benefits, namely coverage for gender transition medical care, in its employee health plan.

Turbocam says it should be exempt from laws that require equal treatment for transgender people because of the owner’s religious beliefs. But Turbocam is represented by conservative legal groups who are also arguing, as part of a concerted national effort, that being transgender is not real.

Today our cases are not just about sustaining legal protections. They are about rebutting attempts to delegitimize transgender people’s very existence.

GLAD Law is fighting for Lillian, who, like most Americans, relies on her job to support her family and get coverage for their medical care. We are fighting to ensure that our nondiscrimination laws, such as Title VII and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), continue to protect our community.

“GLAD Law is developing legal theories that will be building blocks for addressing new attempts to weaken our bedrock nondiscrimination laws,” said Chris Erchull, GLAD Law Senior Staff Attorney. “We have a strong case to make on Lillian’s behalf and a victory will help us chart a path forward to advance LGBTQ+ rights even in this hostile political climate.”

Lillian is a skilled worker at New Hampshire-based manufacturer Turbocam, Inc. She is a dedicated employee who pays into the company’s self-funded employee health plan, but Turbocam maintains a blanket exclusion on coverage for transgender health care that it claims is rooted in its owner/president’s religious beliefs.

Like most working people, Lillian, who is raising two children, relies on her paycheck and employer-sponsored health care to support herself and her family. Because Turbocam refuses to cover care related to her gender dysphoria, Lillian was forced to pay out-of-pocket for some care and has delayed other critical care due to the expense. There is no medical basis for excluding this care from coverage. Lillian sought transgender health care at her doctor’s recommendation.

“I’m proud of my work at Turbocam,” Lillian said. “I’m just asking for fair coverage and to be treated the same as my coworkers.”

In June 2024, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire denied Turbocam’s motion to dismiss the case, clearing the way for Lillian’s day in court. Both GLAD Law and Turbocam have just concluded months of extensive legal briefing and presentation of evidence. The case is likely to be decided in the coming year.

The litigation initially drew little public attention, but right-wing activists and the Trump administration have seized on it to further their mutual project of delegitimizing transgender people’s existence and stripping away their rights and protections.

Turbocam is represented by attorneys with close ties to the Trump administration and the Federalist Society, and by First Liberty Institute, which is an advisory board member of Project 2025 and has represented defendants in high-profile anti-gay discrimination cases. Their legal filings aggressively deny the existence of transgender people and their need to receive treatment for gender dysphoria.

In August, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a statement of interest supporting Turbocam, which they publicized with a press release that refused to recognize Lillian’s identity and her lived existence, continuing the administration’s pattern of using dehumanizing anti-transgender rhetoric. The filing came amidst the onslaught of policy directives and executive orders by the Trump administration to roll back federal rights and protections for transgender people, and a pressure campaign leveraging federal funding to force state governments, universities, athletic organizations, and health care facilities to do the same.

GLAD Law is ready for this fight because Turbocam is wrongfully using religion to sidestep employment discrimination laws in its mistreatment of Lillian. The Supreme Court has repeatedly rebuffed such claims, including in cases where religious entities or individuals sought to discriminate based on race, and has affirmed that “religious and philosophical objections” aren’t grounds for businesses to break the law. Our opponents are arguing to change this fundamental legal standard, which could further open the doors to workplace discrimination against LGBTQ+ people and others.

“The reality is that their policy is rooted in their dislike of transgender people,” said Michael Haley, GLAD Law Staff Attorney. “This became clear when Turbocam’s owner and president acknowledged in his deposition that the company owner also has religious objections to same sex spousal benefits and IVF treatment, for example, and yet they cover that–casting light on the real motive.”

Turbocam also wrongly claims the ADA doesn’t include protections for people with gender dysphoria. The ADA exists to prevent discrimination based on stigmatized health conditions, and courts, most notably in the case Williams v Kincaid, have ruled the ADA protects against discrimination based on gender dysphoria. In our case, Doe v. MA Dept. of Correction, a judge ruled our client, a transgender woman seeking to be housed in a women’s carceral facility, was likely to prevail on her ADA claims.

As extremists escalate their efforts to undermine LGBTQ+ equality, Bernier v. Turbocam represents a pivotal opportunity to affirm that transgender people like Lillian deserve the same dignity, respect, and protections as everyone else. Lillian’s case is also about much more than one employee’s denied health care. It’s a critical test of whether LGBTQ+ people will continue to enjoy the full protections of significant federal laws.

GLAD Law Attorneys Chris Erchull, Ben Klein, Michael Haley, and Donovan Bendana are working on this case.

GLAD Law Honors Tim Stein with Named Senior Advisor Position

GLAD Law is proud to announce the establishment of the Tim Stein & Wayne Fette Senior Advisor, a position named in October 2025 in memory of Tim Stein.  

This position honors Tim’s enduring legacy and his lifelong commitment to justice and lived equality for LGBTQ+ people and those living with HIV. It ensures that GLAD Law will continue to have senior leadership dedicated to advancing our mission through strategic legal advocacy, policy development, and community engagement. 

The Impact of Tim’s Gift 
Tim’s bequest is already making a difference. The inaugural holder of the Tim Stein & Wayne Fette Senior Advisor position, Gary Buseck, has been involved with GLAD Law in various capacities for more than 40 years, including serving as Executive Director and Legal Director. Since the end of 2020, he has served in the critical Senior Advisor position. As part of this role, his work includes: 

• Providing key strategic advice to the legal team and the organization on potential and ongoing matters; 

• Mentoring newer attorneys; 

• Monitoring developments in the Supreme Court; and 

• Engaging in legal research and writing on significant GLAD Law endeavors. 

Celebrating the Legacy 
To ensure Tim’s impact is recognized across GLAD Law’s work and community, the organization is: 

• Updating job descriptions, email signatures, press releases, and the organizational chart to reflect the new title. 

• Using the title publicly when the Tim Stein & Wayne Fette Senior Advisor speaks at events, webinars, and meetings. 

• Displaying a commemorative plaque in the office, including quotes from the inaugural and future holders of the position. 

All Kids Deserve a Place to Belong at School

The targeting of transgender people across American institutions is chilling, but targeting young people in schools, denying them support and connection during their most vulnerable years, is especially cruel.

GLAD Law has always worked to ensure LGBTQ+ youth have access to equal educational opportunities, including a safe learning environment and a sense of belonging at school. An important place where that sense of belonging has been ripped away from many transgender young people today is school sports.

“When I was going to high school, it was really scary, because I didn’t know who I was gonna know, what it was going to be like,” says Parker Tirrell, plaintiff in our case Tirrell and Turmelle v. Edelblut. “But I had a soccer team…Having the option to [play on a team] and feeling like it’s something you’re allowed to do is helpful to make kids feel less singled out.”

Last summer, we secured a ruling on behalf of Parker and her co-plaintiff, Iris Turmelle, blocking a New Hampshire law banning all transgender girls from playing on girls’ teams in middle and high school. The court found the law discriminates based on sex, and that a blanket ban, barring every transgender girl from participation regardless of circumstances, goes far beyond the state’s claimed justification of ensuring safety and competitive fairness. The undisputed facts in the case showed that Parker and Iris pose no threat to fairness and that their participation does not increase anyone’s risk of injury.

As Parker puts it: “All my teammates, my friends, everyone was always right with me saying, ‘We want to play soccer with you. We want you to be safe, and we think you deserve this too.’”

That ruling ensured that Parker and Iris have the right to try out for their high school teams while the court case continues. Then, in February, the Trump administration accelerated its targeting of transgender young people with an executive order aiming to ban all transgender girls from sports nationwide. We quickly expanded Parker and Iris’s case to challenge that order, too.

Our challenge remains pending in federal court in New Hampshire. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is set to hear two combined cases brought by students in West Virginia and Idaho who, like Parker and Iris, simply wanted to continue playing on their teams with their friends but were denied the chance because of state laws banning all transgender girls from school sports.

GLAD Law filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the cases before the Supreme Court, West Virginia v. BPJ and Little v. Hecox, arguing that these categorical bans discriminate based on sex in violation of Title IX. Our brief also lays out for the Court that, if a state’s actual purpose is to ensure school sports are fair and safe for all students – rather than discrimination against transgender girls – there are alternative approaches involving case-by-case consideration that have worked well in school districts around the country for years.

The Supreme Court will hold oral arguments in West Virginia v. BPJ and Little v. Hecox on January 13. GLAD Law filed our friend-of-the-court brief on November 17 with the National Center for LGBTQ Rights (NCLR). We were also involved in coordinating the submission of four additional briefs:

• Brief of Experts in Exercise Science

• Brief of Pediatric Endocrinologists and Pediatricians

• Brief of Title IX Scholars

• Brief of Girls’ and Women’s Advocates

We hope the Supreme Court will strike down these harmful and cruel bans because every young person needs the chance to experience the sense of belonging that comes from being part of a team.

As Parker says: “[W]hen you’re younger, finding a place of belonging is just so hard – and taking away places where you can just forget all that, where you don’t have to think about that, just seems like a dystopian idea to me.”

The Focus of the Foster System Should be Children and Families

Hannah Hussey, Staff Attorney, with Polly Crozier, Director of Family Advocacy

The function of foster care agencies must be to provide children in care with stability, acceptance, and the opportunity to reunite with their families. Centering the interests of adults in having a foster child detracts from that core

Several years ago, I interviewed a transgender young person for a project about the challenges facing LGBTQ+ youth in the foster care system. I expected this young adult, who had spent much of their life in foster care, might be able to speak from lived experience to one or two of the many issues that showed up consistently in my research. Instead, over the course of our conversation, this young person touched on most of the key themes I had read about and then some: Frequent moves between foster homes. Bullying and harassment. Placement in group homes. Suicidality. Denials of medical care. Criminal legal system involvement. Domestic violence.

When I later began working as an attorney serving young people in the foster care system, I realized this young person’s story is not uncommon. After separating children from their loved ones, the foster care system too often does a poor job of providing safety, security, and a lifelong connection to caring adults. Foster parents play a key role in this system. At their best, I saw foster parents willing to meet young people where they were at – foster parents who prioritized the child’s needs, who advocated hard for the child, and who showed up with flexibility, support, and openness. In other situations, I saw children mistreated in foster care and saw them displaced when tension emerged between the vision of who foster parents wanted their foster child to be and who the actual young person in front of them was.

The devastating reality of poor outcomes for youth in foster care requires deep systemic change to fix. However, in Massachusetts and in several other states – including Vermont, Washington, and Oregon – resources have instead been pulled into legal battles over adults who want to be licensed to provide foster care. In each of these states, foster parents or prospective foster parents have declined to agree to foster licensing requirements, saying that provisions stating they would support an LGBTQ+ youth in their care conflict with their religious beliefs. When the state accordingly declined to grant them a license, they sued.

The federal government has jumped on this bandwagon, with the Administration for Children and Families sending a series of letters to states that have taken some steps to ensure safe placements for LGBTQ+ youth in care, instructing them to review their policies related to foster parent licensing.

How the Foster Care System Works and Why Family Reunification Matters

These lawsuits, letters, and much of the media coverage surrounding this issue gloss over a critical piece of context: foster care is supposed to be a temporary intervention. Each child has a family into which they were born and belong. Each removal is supposed to be temporary, with the hope of reuniting a child safely with their parent or parents. As a result, foster parents do not have the same legal rights as parents. In fact, many children in foster care have parents whose parental rights are intact and who are fighting to reunify with them. It is impossible to really understand the issues raised in these lawsuits without understanding the troubled patterns of family separation in which they arise.

In the popular imagination, children often enter foster care due to abuse or abandonment. In reality, child protection agencies remove most children from their homes due to allegations of neglect. And importantly, what often surfaces as a neglect accusation is actually about poverty, including lack of safe housing, reliable childcare, and high-quality services to meet physical, mental, and behavioral health needs.

The removal of children by the state falls most heavily on low-income families and families of color. For example, in Massachusetts, Black, Latino, Native American, and multiracial children are disproportionately represented among those removed for neglect. These data exist in the context of historical patterns in which the foster care system and its predecessors separated low-income children and children of color from their families, including the removal of thousands of Native children from their homes and communities as a tool for assimilation.

In response, foster care experts and advocates have prioritized helping families stay together, pushing for state resources to go not to removing children but instead providing the supports necessary to keep children safe at home.

It is in this context that foster parents step forward. While there are many roles in which foster parents serve – ranging from providing brief respite care to fostering a child for multiple years to seeking to adopt – ideally, foster parents are performing a time-limited, stop-gap function until children can reunite with their families. Regardless of the length of time that a foster parent acts as a caretaker, the state bears particular responsibility for children in its care or custody. Thus, when foster parents agree to become caretakers for those young people, they are subject to an intensive application process and a variety of licensing requirements set by the state. In some states – like Massachusetts – licensing policies include baseline expectations for foster parents to respect and support a child’s racial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, and religious background as well as their sexual orientation and gender identity.  

Why LGBTQ+ Youth Face Disproportionate Harm in the Foster Care System

The foster parents’ lawsuits and federal letters (not to mention a similar provision in President Trump’s recent executive order on foster care) also ignore the backdrop against which states have enacted policies designed to protect LGBTQ+ young people. For years, researchers, advocates, providers, and youth themselves have made clear that LGBTQ+ youth are overrepresented but underserved in foster care.

Research across multiple jurisdictions has found that LGBTQ+ youth are disproportionately represented in foster care, with multiple studies finding that approximately one-third of youth in care are LGBTQ+. These young people enter the foster care system in a variety of ways, for a variety of reasons. In some cases, family conflict related to a child’s sexual orientation or gender identity may lead to child welfare system involvement. In other instances, LGBTQ+ children are removed from their homes for the same reasons as their non-LGBTQ peers. Some children identify as LGBTQ+ at the time they enter foster care, but others develop awareness of their identities months or years later. Importantly, not all of these children are out as LGBTQ+ to their caregivers or caseworkers.

Observers have long sounded the alarm about a placement crisis for LGBTQ+ youth in Massachusetts and elsewhere. For example, a 2021 report noted that Massachusetts Department of Children and Families area offices routinely struggled to find placements for transgender youth. Research from other jurisdictions has similarly found that LGBTQ+ youth have a higher number of placements and are more likely to live in congregate care settings. LGBTQ+ foster youth also report higher rates of mistreatment than their non-LGBTQ+ peers. And foster care can be a precursor for juvenile justice involvement, particularly for LGBTQ+ youth of color.

Nearly all young people in foster care have experienced some form of trauma, including the removal from their families of origin. Negative experiences with adult caretakers while in foster care can further compound that trauma, leaving LGBTQ+ youth in an especially precarious position. A failure to meet a young person’s need for support, understanding, acceptance, and safety in their foster home can deepen feelings of isolation or shame or even lead to placement disruption. Each move in which a young person has to leave their foster home for yet another new placement can trigger grief, confusion, and insecurity. Placement disruptions teach hard lessons to young people – lessons like not to stand up for themselves, not to trust adults in their lives, not to get too attached. They also further endanger family bonds, particularly if a change in placement means a separation from siblings who are also in care. And when the state is unable to find a suitable placement for LGBTQ+ young people, they may “vote with their feet” by leaving the home and seeking out other forms of housing and support – putting them in danger of physical and sexual violence and involvement with the sex trade.

Why Supportive Foster Placements are Critical for LGBTQ+ Youth Safety

 These challenges highlight the importance of securing caregivers who can meet a young person’s needs in the first instance. It is well established that family acceptance is a protective factor for LGBTQ+ children. When caregivers engage in accepting behaviors, LGBTQ+ youth are less likely to attempt suicide, engage in substance use, or report high levels of depression, and their risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases is lower. Accepting behaviors include supporting a child’s LGBTQ+ identity even when the caregiver feels uncomfortable, supporting a child’s gender expression, and advocating for a child if they are mistreated based on their identity.

This last piece is especially important for young people in foster care, who often lack comprehensive advocacy in important areas like education and medical care. Foster parents, who see and speak with their foster child every day, are well-positioned to engage with caseworkers, attorneys, educators, and medical professionals when an LGBTQ+ child is experiencing discrimination or harassment at school or not getting appropriate medical care.

None of this requires perfection from foster parents, nor does it require foster parents to abandon their faith traditions. Indeed, making efforts to understand and meet the individualized needs of a young person, even when aspects of their identity, beliefs, or lived experience differ, is core to the foster parent experience. Research shows that with support, caregivers (including foster parents) can improve their ability to care for LGBTQ+ youth. Nor do they have to act alone. Facilitating connections between LGBTQ+ young people and resources like LGBTQ+ peer support groups or mentorship programs offers real benefits.

Focusing on the Big Picture

It is critically important for foster care agencies to provide children in care with stability, acceptance, and the opportunity to reunite with their families. Centering the interests of adults in having a foster child detracts from that core function.

As we enter the last weeks of 2026, millions of families across the country will gather to celebrate the season’s holidays with loved ones. For too many children in foster care, that will not be possible. All of us can contribute to the urgent mission of ensuring children and families have the robust support needed to be safe and healthy together. With an uptick in food insecurity following the federal government’s recent refusal to fund SNAP benefits, drastic increases anticipated to health insurance premiums, and threats to critical programs like Medicaid and Headstart, the risk of foster care involvement for families struggling to get by is dire. We invite anyone who professes to want to help youth in care to focus on building a world in which children never enter foster care in the first place.

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