For many LGBTQ+ youth in foster care, 'coming out' is not an option
Good evening. Today is Indigenous Peoples' Day and National Coming Out Day. Both important celebrations for Americans. We have a column on "coming out" and also columns on qualified immunity and the Democratic party.
For many LGBTQ+ youth in foster care, 'coming out' is not an option
By Marlene Matarese and Angela Weeks
National Coming Out Day is a celebration of the power of living openly as an LGBTQ+ person. LGBTQ+ people have celebrated this day for 33 years under the premise that queerphobia thrives in silence and invisibility. However, for many young people living in foster care, celebrating their identity openly could have dire consequences.
It is fear of these consequences that silences LGBTQ+ young people and creates an invisible population that is overrepresented in foster care. It is the ethical responsibility of child welfare agencies across the country to break this silence by routinely asking about sexual orientation, gender identity and expression.
There are no federal requirements to collect information on young people’s sexual orientation, gender identity and expression. Without this accurate information on how many LGBTQ+ youth are being served by these systems, human service leaders cannot allocate the right resources and programs to meet the needs of this population.
Today's Editorial Cartoon
Qualified immunity let Arizona punish me for telling the truth
By Greg Ohlson
When a witness testifies in court, they take an oath to tell "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” Laws also prevent a witness from being persuaded to give inaccurate testimony or commit perjury. Arizona, for example, makes it a felony to attempt to “influence” the testimony of a witness.
As I found out, however, if you work for the government, your superiors can't be held financially responsible for ordering you to change your testimony and retaliating against you when you refuse.
Democratic Party future is at risk if they don't deliver on promises
By John Podesta
made to the American people. And right now, Democrats in Congress are struggling with just how hard it can be to deliver.
Today there are Democrats who would settle for a bipartisan infrastructure bill, and there are those who say anything short of the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill and the $3.5 trillion Build Back Better reconciliation is unacceptable. I see failure as a refusal to find common ground and a path forward for both bills and, in doing so, pass nothing. Failure would be not delivering on an agenda that Americans – Republicans, independents and Democrats alike – overwhelmingly support.
Other columns to check out
- Nursing shortage: Unsafe working conditions push RNs out of hospitals
- My students see shocking content on social media. They doubt tech giants care.
- Boys are falling behind: How schools must change to help young males
- Congress can't rein in executive branch abuses without Republicans. Will they step up?
This newsletter was compiled by Jaden Amos.