Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock () or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

July/August 2022Vol. 23, No. 6System Involvement Among LBQ Girls and Women

The Williams Institute at the University of California School of Law released a factsheet that examines disproportionality in the foster care and criminal justice systems for lesbian, bisexual, and queer (LBQ) girls and women. The factsheet reviews data from multiple studies. The research shows that more than four times as many LBQ girls (cisgender and transgender) in foster care are American Indian or Black than in the general population of sexual minority girls. Research also shows that the percentage of incarcerated girls and women who are LBQ is between 3 and 10 times higher, respectively, than the proportion of LBQ girls and women in the general population and that the majority of LBQ girls and women who are incarcerated are people of color. The factsheet noted that there are not sufficient population-level data to create accurate estimates of the transgender girl and women population in the criminal justice system.

The authors note how dual-involved youth require tailored services that address the intersectionality of race, gender, and sexual orientation and that more research and policy attention should be focused on this population. 

To see the full discussion as well as graphs, methodologies, and more, read the factsheet, System Involvement Among LBQ Girls and Women.