The Kids Are Not Alright: The Plight of African American LGBT Youth in America’s Schools

For some children the beginning of a new school year is marked with anticipation and excitement. But if you’re a student who is (or is perceived to be) gay or gender nonconforming, that excitement turns to fear and anxiety because of the bullying you will endure day in and day out for the next nine months.

In the past year or so, media attention rose surrounding the suicides of youth who were or were perceived to be gay or transgender, many of the youth who died were bullied and harassed in their schools. The media attention peaked about a year ago, when within a three-week period, five gay or gender-nonconforming teens died by suicide, each case adding to a sense of urgency around the problem of bullying in our nation’s schools. What was just as disconcerting, however, was whom the media was primarily covering: white youth. In fact, several African American students took their lives around the highly publicized time—most notably Carl Hoover Walker, who was only 11 years old. Unfortunately, the stories of African American youth didn’t make the news cycle despite the fact that research shows it is African American gay or gender-nonconforming youth who face some of the most hostile treatment in our nation’s schools.

According to new research conducted by the American Sociology Association, being consistently bullied also significantly lowers academic performance for high-achieving black and Latino students. The study found that black students—who had 3.5 GPAs in 9th grade and were bullied in 10th grade—experienced a .3 point decrease in their GPAs by senior year. This achievement gap is even wider for LGBT youth of color who are bullied. One report found that they have GPAs a half (.5) point lower than students who do not experience harassment in school.

Addressing the Needs of Multi-System Youth: Strengthening Child Welfare-Juvenile Justice Connection

Georgetown Public Policy Institute's Center for Juvenile Justice Reform (CJJR) and Robert F. Kennedy Children's Action Corps (RFK) have released Addressing the Needs of Multi-System Youth: Strengthening the Connection between Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice, a resource that offers a better understanding of the issues faced by youth who are involved in both child welfare and juvenile justice systems. The paper was released at a symposium held at Georgetown University on March 1, 2012.

Youth known to both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems--commonly referred to as crossover or dually-involved youth--tend to go undetected, following a stealth-like pathway between these two systems. As a group of children and youth who suffer from the effects of childhood trauma, they are often underserved as they move from one system to another, experiencing the negative consequences of infrequent cross system coordination related to case planning and the delivery of needed services. Little was known about this population, especially the factors that impacted their system experience. Fortunately, researchers have been working to better understand the trajectory many crossover youth follow between systems and into adulthood. As a result, we now know much more about their characteristics as a population and the factors associated with their crossing over.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework for jurisdictions to utilize in their efforts to better serve crossover youth. In this regard, the authors' hope that the content presented will help develop a better understanding of how to prevent youth from crossing over between systems and ensure that all youth who are served by both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems experience them in a manner that provides for their safety, well being and permanence, while also ensuring public safety.

Read more on the CJJR website. Download the paper (pdf).

Enhancing Your HIV Prevention Work with a Social Determinants of Health Approach

The Center for HIV Identification, Prevention and Treatment Services (CHIPTS) at the University of California, Los Angeles and the Center for Strengthening Youth Prevention Paradigms (SYPP Center) of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles have released a resource titled — The Role of Social Determinants of Health & HIV. It is designed to help HIV service providers and community planners better understand the multiple factors that influence HIV risk.

Social determinants of health is a concept that is often misunderstood. This publication will define and describe this concept and how social determinants impact HIV risk and HIV/AIDS inequities. Future publications will highlight promising practices for addressing social determinants of health.

Social determinants of health are complex and overlapping community, social, economic, and environmental factors that influence an individual’s and a collective community’s risk for health inequities. They are the conditions and circumstances into which people are born, grow, live, work, socialize, and form relationships and the systems that are in place to deal with health and wellness.

Download the issue brief (pdf).

Text Messages from Therapist help Low-income Latinos with Depression Feel Connected

A social welfare professor at the University of California, Berkeley, has found an upside to texting, especially for people who feel stressed out, isolated and alone. Adrian Aguilera, a clinical psychologist who treats many low-income Latinos for depression and other mental disorders, said his patients report feeling more connected and cared for when they receive text messages asking them to track their moods, reflect on positive interactions, and take their prescribed medications.

"When I was in a difficult situation and I received a message, I felt much better. I felt cared for and supported. My mood even improved," reported one Spanish-speaking patient in Aguilera's cognitive behavior therapy group at San Francisco General Hospital.

The project began in 2010 when Aguilera developed a customized "Short Message Service (SMS)" intervention program, with the help of UCSF psychologist Ricardo Munoz, in which Aguilera's patients were sent automated text messages prompting them to think and reply about their moods and responses to positive and negative daily interactions. The psychologists published the results of the project last year in the journal, Professional Psychology: Research and Practice. The study is titled Text messaging as an adjunct to CBT in low-income populations: A usability and feasibility pilot study.

"We are harnessing a technology that people use in their everyday lives to improve mental health in low-income, under-served communities," said Aguilera, whose passion for addressing mental health issues among the poor was sparked while growing up in a Mexican immigrant community in Chicago.

Recent statistics bear out Aguilera's outreach strategy. The 2011 Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project survey found that African American and Latino mobile phone owners send and receive more text messages than do Caucasians. Of the 2,277 adult cell phone users surveyed by the Pew Foundation, the most active senders and receivers of text messages (at least 50 messages a day) were non-whites, earned incomes below $30,000 and did not graduate from high school.

Read more on the Science Daily website. Read the complete study. Read the abstract.

Wind River Tribal Youth Program Blends Prevention, Treatment and Tribal Tradition

The Wind River Tribal Youth Program offers support for youth and adults struggling with issues ranging from truancy and bullying to family problems, drug addiction or suicide. According to Wilma Pinnock, public health advisor for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, what makes the program stand out is the diversity in treatment it offers and the support and involvement of tribal elders. The Wind River program offers treatment for addictions and behavioral issues, as well as a place for youth to hang out and reconnect with American Indian culture through activities like sweat lodges and talking circles. "It's a healing village for all community members," said Pinnock, who hopes that other reservation programs will use the Wind River program as a model for their own prevention plans. According to George Leonard, a suicide prevention coordinator with the program, youth on the reservation face challenges the elders didn't when they were growing up, including easier access to drugs and fewer jobs or opportunities for recreation. To counteract these forces, youth "need to find a piece of their identity as Native Americans," said Leonard.  

Read more on the Suicide Prevention Resource Center website. Read more on the Wyoming Tribune website. Connect with the Wind River Tribal Youth Program on Facebook.

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