Caring for lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender young people: the views and experiences of foster carers

This paper will report on findings from a research project titled ‘An investigation of the experiences and identity development of lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) young people in care - and the services to... [ view full abstract ]

This paper will report on findings from a research project titled ‘An investigation of the experiences and identity development of lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) young people in care - and the services to support them’ which was funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council from 2014-2016. Prior to this project there had been no research in the UK on LGBT young people in care and neither sexual orientation nor gender identity were mentioned in the care planning guidance in England and Wales as factors that may affect care planning, placement choice, well-being or support needs.

The study focused on how LGBT young people negotiate their identities in a particular context, that of growing up in the care system in England. Interviews with forty LGBT young people provided life stories of their pathways from birth families through the care system. These young people came from a wide geographic range of local authorities in England. Their stories included commentaries on the quality of care they had received in foster and residential care and the quality of support from professionals, including social workers, health, education. The interviews were analysed using narrative analysis, with a focus on intersectionality between LGBT and care identities, but also taking account of other identities such as ethnicity. A survey was conducted of local authorities in England to map the services that were available for LGBT young people and caregivers - and three regional multi-professional focus groups were held in England to explore current understandings and practice.

This paper will focus on one part of this project - the findings from interviews with 26 foster carers from across England who were caring for or had cared for LGBT young people. The sample included both short- term and long-term foster carers , caring for a range of LGBT young people of different ages. Telephone interviews were conducted and analysed thematically, with all coding being subject to checks by members of the research team.

A number of key themes have emerged. These include the following:
• In their approach to supporting LGBT young people, foster carers differed on a dimension from minimising and denying that there were any issues or challenges for the young person that are different to other young people in care through to preoccupation and concerns about the difficulties and risks LGBT young people might face.
• ‘Coming out’ may have happened prior to placement or in placement, with foster carers having to adjust their thinking; some feeling confident and others feeling rather confused and, for example, wondering if this was ‘a phase.’
• Foster carers often found they had to help the young person manage their relationship with the birth family and acted as ‘buffers’.
• Lack of training and lack of readily available expert advice on LGBT issues from social workers and other professionals left foster carers often having to seek other sources of information.
• Concerns about how to help and protect young people were especially challenging for foster carers when young people were bullied at school, became involved in criminal activity or were at risk of sexual exploitation.
• Foster carers for transgender young people had particular challenges in working with health and education, as well as the birth family, to ensure that the child’s needs were met and wishes were respected.


Implications for policy and practice
These findings will have implications for recruitment, matching and support for foster carers, but also significant implications for support services to children and carers that are provided by other agencies.