Improving Behavioral Health Services for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Gender Nonconforming (LGB/GNC) Youth in the Juvenile Justice System
Angela Irvine, PhD
Aisha Canfield, MPP from Impact Justice
This workshop provided an overview of the many different intersecting identities held by young people in the youth justice system, including race, gender identity, sexual orientation, and immigration status. The presenters then focused on how LGN/GNC young people, particularly those of color, are driven into the youth justice system. The workshop ended with recommendations on how behavioral health professionals can improve their services to best meet the needs of LGB/GNC adolescents in the youth justice system.
Angela Irvine, PhD, has more than 20 years of experience in education and social policy. She spent the last four years as research director at the National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD), serving as the principal investigator of a national study of youth deincarceration; a national study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) young people in the youth justice system; a project to improve permanency for LGBT youth and youth of color within the criminal justice and youth justice systems; a survey of every detention hall, ranch, and camp in California to understand statewide pathways into the youth justice system for LGBT young people. She currently is Vice President at Impact Justice, a research and policy group committed to criminal justice reform.
Aisha Canfield, MPP, has worked in systems reform since college. She believes that change cannot be effective without an intersectional lens that employs race and Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIE) and enjoys the challenge of facilitating systems and organizations to have honest dialogue about disproportionality and move towards cultural affirmation. She works as a Policy Analyst at Impact Justice.