About US

The National SOGIE Center is a collaborative comprised of multiple organizations that work to improve the lives of children and youth with diverse Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Expression (SOGIE) involved in systems of care.

The National SOGIE Center includes organizations across the country leading work focused on advocacy, policy, financing, system design, intervention design, implementation, evaluation, and providing direct care services for youth and their families within the public child, youth and family-serving systems. These systems include child welfare, juvenile justice, mental health (including school mental health), substance use systems, and housing and homelessness.

Historically, accessing resources on improving care for youth identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, population identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, two-spirit, and other diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions (LGBTQ+) has been siloed. This Center serves as a centralized site for accessing resources on providing culturally responsive care to children, youth, young adults with diverse SOGIE, and their families across these systems.

Our Principles

The work of the SOGIE Center is grounded by the following principles:

  1. LGBTQ+ young people must be supported to thrive with their family in their communities.
  2. Young people and their families are the experts in their lives, strengths, and needs and must be centered in all of our work.
  3. *Families are the best supports for raising strong, healthy, and happy children, youth, and youth adults.
  4. Systems are not replacements for families or communities.
  5. An intersectional analysis that examines power and identity must be applied to all our work. SOGIE must be understood as interconnected with race, ethnicity, class, ability or immigration status, which together impacts the experiences, opportunities, and health status of LGBTQ+ young people and their families.
  6. People deserve access to services that are proven to work.
  7. Communities, families, advocates, and allies should hold systems accountable for better policies and practices to ensure that LGBTQ+ youth and their families are supported.
  8. In order to create equitable care for LGBTQ+ youth, we work to acknowledge the history of anti-Black racism and the genocide and forced assimilation of Native peoples that has impacted our laws, policies, and practices even to this day and we must recognize and work to dismantle the harm this causes to all youth, specifically LGBTQ+ youth.

 *Families include families of origin and families of choice.

Partner Directory

Click on a partner below to learn more!

Best Point of Contact: mail@affirmativeresearch.net

Mission Statement: Using an integrated affirmative research and practice framework, ARC engages in innovative research and provides training and consultation aimed at improving the mental health and wellbeing of LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans*, queer, etc.) youth and young adults.

Website: https://www.affirmativeresearch.net/

Initiatives, Training, Resources:

Best Point of Contact: Christopher Bellonci – cbellonci@bakercenter.org

Areas of Expertise:

  • Evaluation design, evaluation implementation, and interpretation of findings.
  • Clinical issues and on culturally responsive best practices in supporting LGBTQ+ youth
  • Clinical issues impacting youth and families including the known increased risk of suicidality; depression and anxiety disorders; responses to trauma, bullying and rejection by peers and family; substance use and other known mental health risk factors.

Mission Statement: The Baker Center for Children and Families (also known as Judge Baker Children’s Center), promotes the best possible mental health of children and families through the integration of research, intervention, training, and policy.

  • Through research we identify best practices
  • Through intervention we bring those practices to children and families of diverse communities
  • Through training we disseminate skills in research and quality care
  • Through advocacy we use scientific knowledge to expand public awareness and inform public policy

Website: https://www.bakercenter.org

Best Point of Contact: Alex Citrin- alexandra.citrin@cssp.org 

Areas of Expertise:

  • Collection of SOGIE data
  • Addressing racial inequities
  • Applying intersectional analysis

Mission Statement: CSSP works to achieve a racially, economically, and socially just society in which all children and families thrive.

Website: https://cssp.org/

Initiatives, Training, Resources:

Best Point of Contact: fap@sfsu.edu 

Areas of Expertise:

  • Family acceptance
  • Training professionals across settings on helping diverse families to support their LGBTQ+ children
  • Clinical case consultation

Description: The Family Acceptance Project® is a research, intervention, education and policy initiative to prevent health and mental health risks for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer-identified (LGBTQ) children and youth, including suicide, homelessness, drug use and HIV — in the context of their families, cultures and faith communities. We use a research-based, culturally grounded approach to help ethnically, racially and religiously diverse families learn to support their LGBTQ children.

Website: https://familyproject.sfsu.edu/; https://lgbtqfamilyacceptance.org/

Initiatives, Training, Resources:

Best Point of Contact: Vida Khavar – vkhavar@familybuilders.org

Areas of Expertise:

  • LGBT family adoption
  • LGBTQ+ youth in foster care
  • Family engagement, youth acceptance, permanency

Mission Statement: Family Builders believes that every child has the right to grow up in permanent nurturing loving family. Family Builders educates the community about the needs of children in foster care, advocates on their behalf and creates permanent secure families through adoption and other forms of permanency.

Website: https://familybuilders.org/

Initiatives, Training, Resources:

Best Point of Contact:

Areas of Expertise:

  • Prevent discrimination against and improve outcomes for LGBTQ+ youth and families involved in the child welfare system.
  • Prevent discrimination, bullying, and harassment of students with LGBTQ+ parents and their families in K-12 schools.
  • Remove legal and economic barriers to LGBTQ+ family formation, recognition, and protection. 
  • Work for legal and lived equality for LGBTQ+ families and those who wish to form them. 

Mission Statement: Our mission is to ensure that everyone has the freedom to find, form, and sustain their families by advancing equality for the LGBTQ+ community.

Website: https://www.familyequality.org

Initiatives, Training, Resources:

Best Point of Contact: info@fredla.org

Areas of Expertise:

  • Advancing Fatherhood Engagement
  • Helping Managed Care and Family Organizations Achieve Positive Outcomes Together
  • Developing and Delivering High-Quality Respite Care and Parent Peer Support
  • Strategies for Realigning Resources to Keep Families Together and Children & Youth in their Communities
  • Collaborating on Research in Children’s Mental Health
  • Leadership Development for Families and their Organizations

Mission Statement:

FREDLA is the only national association of family-run organizations dedicated solely to all children, youth, and young adults with social, emotional, substance use, and multi-systems challenges, their families, and the agencies serving them. FREDLA represents over 120 family-run organizations across the country, and is a partner in national technical assistance centers, goal specific initiatives, and research collaborations. FREDLA’s team members all have lived experience of raising children with mental health and/or substance use treatment needs and cross-system challenges and come from diversified professional backgrounds.

FREDLA provides support, consultation, and training to advance positive outcomes for children, youth, and families. FREDLA focuses on capacity building, developing and delivering specialized tools and curricula, facilitating solutions, informing policy and practice, and performing implementation readiness. 

Website: www.fredla.org 

Initiatives, Training, Resources:

Best Point of Contact: Sarah Rosso – sarah@hughlane.org

Areas of Expertise:

  • Community Health Services
  • Legal Aid
  • Case Management
  • Events and Groups
  • Senior Groups
  • Advocacy and Outreach
  • Youth Mentorship and Support
  • School-Based Supports
  • Youth Leadership Skills
  • Youth Social Connections
  • Parents and Caregiver Supports
  • Training: Gender Diversity; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Expression (SOGIE), Mental Health, and Tailored Trainings.

Mission Statement: Hugh Lane Wellness Foundation was founded in 2017 to improve the health of the LGBTQ+ and HIV communities. We offer a variety of services and resources to our communities, as well as expert training for organizations to improve their capacity to serve LGBTQ+ clients and staff.

Website: https://hughlane.org/

Initiatives, Training, Resources:

Best Point of Contact: Phii Regis- phii.regis@hrc.org

Areas of Expertise:

  • Staff Training (Virtual & In-Person)
  • Online Learning (Synchronous & Asynchronous)
  • Policy & Practice Technical Assistance
  • Capacity Building

Mission Statement: The Human Rights Campaign Foundation improves the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) people by working to increase understanding and encourage the adoption of LGBTQ+ inclusive policies and practices.

Website: https://www.thehrcfoundation.org/

Initiatives, Training, Resources:

Best Point of Contact: Currey Cook – ccook@lambdalegal.org; Maia Zelkind – mzelkind@lambdalegal.org

Areas of Expertise:

  • State and federal policy advancing rights of LGBTQ+ youth in child welfare and juvenile justice systems and systems serving youth experiencing homelessness
  • Impact litigation on behalf of LGBTQ+ youth and families involved with out-of-home care systems
  • Education and trainings for attorneys, child advocates, and court systems on providing LGBTQ+ affirming and supportive services to youth in systems of care

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

Website: https://www.lambdalegal.org/

Best Point of Contact: Kristen Weber- kweber@youth.org

Areas of Expertise:

  • Increasing the rights of youth through policy and litigation, including addressing bias and discrimination against LGBTQI+ youth in schools, placements, foster systems
  • increasing mental health care access for youth, including LGBTQI+ youth
  • addressing the needs of LGBTQIA2S+ youth who are commercially sexually exploited or engaged in survival sex
  • expanding youth access to comprehensive and inclusive health education
  • ensuring youth in foster systems receive gender affirming and inclusive sexual and reproductive health care
  • applying a qualitative review process (Institutional Analysis) to identify systemic issues undermining the wellbeing of LGBTQI+ youth
  • partnering with youth to ensure their voices and perspectives are centered in policy and advocacy work, in particular on issues of commercial sexual exploitation and reproductive health and education

Mission Statement: Our mission is to center youth voices and experiences through impact litigation, policy advocacy, collaboration and research that fundamentally transforms our nation’s approach to education, health, immigration, foster care, and youth justice.

Website: youthlaw.org

Initiatives, Training, Resources:

Best Point of Contact: Danny King – DKing@nclrights.org

Areas of Expertise:

  • Legal rights of LGBTQ children and youth in government custody, schools, and health care settings
  • SOGIE data collection
  • Child welfare and youth justice agency policy
  • Eradicating conversion therapy

Mission Statement: NCLR is a national legal organization committed to advancing the civil and human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their families through litigation, legislation, policy, and public education. NCLR’s work on behalf of LGBTQ youth includes promoting the well-being of youth in foster care and youth justice systems, protecting youth from the harms of conversion therapy, promoting safety and equality in schools, and ensuring that transgender youth have the supports they need to thrive.

Website: https://www.nclrights.org

Initiatives, Training, and Resources:

Best Point of Contact: training@ruthelliscenter.org

Areas of Expertise:

  • Direct service and program provider with BIPOC LGBTQ+ youth and their families in child welfare, RHY, and integrated health (CMH)
  • LGBTQ+ young adult specific Non-time Limited Housing in public continuum of care.

Mission Statement: It is our mission, to create opportunities with LGBTQ+ young people to build their vision for a positive future.

Website: https://www.ruthelliscenter.org/

Initiatives, Training, Resources:

Best Point of Contact: Elliott Hinkle – elliottunicornsolutions@gmail.com 

Areas of Expertise:

  • LGBTQ+ Youth In Foster care
  • Engaging people with Lived Expertise in Systems Change
  • Rural LGBTQ Youth, Families, and Communities 
  • Suicide Prevention
  • Education and Training for youth impacted by systems as well as for the adults who support them
  • Preventing and Ending Conversion “Therapy”

Mission Statement: Creating positive futures for youth and young adults impacted by systems. Unicorn Solutions provides training, consultation, facilitation and advising on creative solutions that aids development of environments for youth and young adults to thrive.

Website: www.unicornsolutions.org

Initiatives, Training, Resources: 

Best Point of Contact: Arc Telos Saint Amour- telos@youthmovenational.org 

Areas of Expertise:

  • Youth engagement in systems change

  • Youth peer support implementation support

  • Youth peer and youth peer supervision training

  • LGBTQ+ youth lived experience in mental health, child welfare, juvenile justice

Mission Statement: We the members of Youth MOVE National will work as a diverse collective to unite the voices and causes of youth while raising awareness around youth issues.  We will advocate for youth rights and voice in mental health and the other systems that serve them, for the purpose of empowering youth to be equal partners in the process of change. 

Website: https://youthmovenational.org/

Initiatives, Training, Resources:

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