LGBTQ Youth Foster Care Training debut

Last night Executive Director Emily Prior presented the Center for Positive Sexuality’s first training on LGBTQ Youth and Foster Care to a group of foster and adoptive parents and social workers in Idaho Falls, ID. The small meeting room at the Nazarene Church was full. Clearly this is a population that is underserved across the country, and in small towns this becomes even more difficult. One parent discussed her concern for the safety of one youth she cares for who wanted to take his boyfriend to the prom. In this area, the effects of the brutal murder of Matthew Shephard in Laramie, WY are not very far away, in miles or time, and the threat is a serious one. Methods on how to protect, engage, educate, and advocate for LGBTQ foster youth were discussed. A second training is scheduled for next week at an LDS Church in Pocatello, ID.