Lambda Legal Announces Two Partnerships to Improve Out-of-Home Care for LGBTQ Youth

(New York, June 9, 2008) — Lambda Legal, in collaboration with the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), today announced two projects to build the capacity, awareness and skills of social workers and other child welfare professionals serving LGBTQ youth living out of home in foster care, juvenile justice centers, and homeless shelters.

LGBTQ youth are over-represented in out-of-home care facilities," said Flor Bermundez Staff Attorney with Lambda Legal's Youth in Out-of-Home Care Project.  "It is essential that social workers and practitioners are trained in how best to serve them."

Through two grants totaling $275,000 secured by Lambda Legal from the Out-of-Home Youth Fund of the Tides Foundation, NASW will launch a national train-the-trainer initiative, and CSWE, the national accrediting organization for schools of social work, will review best practices and diversity curricula at schools of social work nationwide.

The NASW project will train 40 master trainers throughout the country who have met the application requirement and who agree to train 40 more out-of-home care practitioners, resulting in a total of at least 1,600 service providers who will be better able to meet the needs of LGBT youth in out-of-home care. More information on the master trainer program will be posted at socialworkers.org and lambdalegal.org.

"Social workers play a significant role in the care that LGBTQ youth receive and it is imperative that we are sensitive to their needs," said Dr. Elizabeth Clark, president of the NASW Foundation. "This program reflects the profession's commitment to children and families and LGBTQ issues."

The CSWE project will engage schools of social work by helping them focus constructively on LGBT issues as they complete the best practices survey. After the data has been collected, CSWE and Lambda Legal will help encourage schools to adopt the best practices identified through the research. CSWE's Commission for Diversity and Social and Economic Justice and Council on Sexual Orientation and Gender Expression will analyze the data collected.

"This survey will provide a more comprehensive picture of how social work students are currently being prepared to serve the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender community," said CSWE Executive Director Julia M. Watkins. "CSWE looks forward to collaborating with Lambda Legal to identify more valuable curricula and resources for our profession's future."

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Erin Baer, 212-809-8585 ext 267; Email: ebaer@lambdalegal.org

Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and those with HIV through impact litigation, education and public policy work.

The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) is a nonprofit national association representing more than 3,000 individual members, as well as graduate and undergraduate programs of professional social work education. Founded in 1952, this partnership of educational and professional institutions, social welfare agencies, and private citizens is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation as the sole accrediting agency for social work education.

The National Association of Social Workers Foundation (NASWF) is a charitable organization created in 2001 to enhance the well-being of individuals, families and communities through the advancement of social work practice. The Foundation administers a wide variety of educational and research programs in an effort to fulfill its core mission. The Foundation is funded by voluntary contributions from NASW members and other supporters.