2014 LGBTQ Summit

“We are delighted that nearly 200 people from across 22 Maryland jurisdictions participated in the LGBTQ Foster Youth Summit, including representatives from the courts, the local departments of social services, juvenile services, health departments, children’s counsel, Office of the Public Defender and other key stakeholders,” said Tracy Watkins-Tribbitt, Director, Foster Care Court Improvement Project (FCCIP).

“The summit was about promoting greater awareness, fostering education and taking action to address the varied needs of LGBT youth in foster care. The participating local teams now have an action plan that serves as a blueprint which identifies current resources as well as resources that may be needed in the future to better serve LGBT youth. Over the next few months, the local action plans will be refined and teams will assess who else needs to be at the table.

The teams will most likely grow to include other service providers and advocates. Teams will begin to identify what specific needs they have for their respective jurisdictions and begin to have discussions about what those needs are (I.e., technical assistance, training, funding, etc.) in order to implement their plans.  FCCIP will assist where we can by identifying technical assistance providers, resources and start-up funding.”