Overview
The Center for Children & Youth Justice (CCYJ) began the eQuality project in 2013. Former Founding President/ Former CEO Justice Bobbe Bridge, ret. traveled across the state conducting focus groups with 18-26 year old LGBTQ+ young people with experience in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems. The Listening to Their Voices report is the culmination of these conversations.
Based on these findings, CCYJ developed a questionnaire for communities to ask young people about their sexual orientation, gender identity and expression (SOGIE), and in the spring of 2017 CCYJ launched a pilot with the Spokane County Juvenile Court, the Spokane Office of Children’s Administration (now the Department of Children, Youth and Families, DCYF) and the King County Juvenile Court. Now, the project has expanded to include DCYF offices in Walla Walla and Pierce County and NW Youth Services, the first provider to sign up for the program.
The Importance of Collecting SOGIE Data
When asking a young person about their SOGIE, the primary goal is for the person to feel supported and seen, and data collection is a secondary goal. Tracking outcomes for LGBTQ+ young people is important, but providing young people the services they need to thrive is the driver behind collecting SOGIE data.
All aspects of a young person’s identity impact their experiences and their outcomes. When we do not ask young people about their SOGIE, it can be an invisible identity and young people will not receive the right support. Creating a safe, affirming space environment where young people are comfortable disclosing these aspects of their identities is the first step to ensuring that they receive the right services.
How eQuality Participants Collect SOGIE Data
Each eQuality participant can choose who is responsible for collecting SOGIE data. Ideally, the questions are asked by people who will have ongoing relationships with young people, like case managers, since the questions are asked in the initial conversation with the young person and then again further down the line after a relationship has been established.
CCYJ developed a questionnaire that builds on best practices from the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the Center for Study of Social Policy. The organization also took provider feedback into account and kept the questionnaire to one page to avoid a lengthy intake process, and agreed to store the data in a separate system to alleviate privacy concerns. The questionnaire can be found in the last page of CCJY’s eQuality Project Final Evaluation Report. Each question is intentional and the questionnaire’s goals are to:
Help young people feel affirmed in their identity by separating questions about their sex assigned at birth and their gender identity
Understand how the young person sees their own gender expression and how they feel others see them in terms of appearance, style and dress
Uncover intersections between SOGIE, race/ethnicity and homelessness
Understand what services the young person would like to access
Building Capacity to Collect SOGIE Data
Before an organization starts collecting SOGIE data through the eQuality project, they undergo training to understand the purpose of collecting this data, an in-person LGTBQ+ 101 training and an in-depth training about administering the questionnaire. CCYJ also offers training on more specific topics by request, such as bi and pansexuality, trafficking and the intersection of LGBTQ+ identity and race/ethnicity.
CCYJ’s Top Tips for Collecting SOGIE Data
Invest in the Process. For organizations to successfully implement a process to collect SOGIE data, they need to invest the time getting buy-in across all levels of the organization and training people to administer the questionnaire in a culturally sensitive way. Take the time to find the right trainers, for leadership to speak to the organization about why this is important and for front-line staff to prepare to administer the questionnaire.
Provide Guidance. CCYJ evaluated the results across different pilot participants, and the organization realized that participants who created written guidance for their staff saw greater success in collecting SOGIE data. When rolling out a new process, people appreciate guidance to ensure they are implementing it correctly.
Explain the Need. LGBTQ+ people live in every community. That means collecting SOGIE data is important in every community. However, organizations still experience internal pushback from people who do not think LGBTQ+ people are part of their communities. Having the opportunity to meet LGBTQ+ people through training and hearing the positive impact of affirming LGBTQ+’s young people’s identities can help break these barriers. For example, calling transgender teens by their chosen name lowers suicide rates.
We Need to Collect SOGIE Data Because...
Nicholas Oakley: You don’t count unless you’re counted. At a time when identity politics are under attack, we need to stand up for LGBTQ+ young people and understand that this is not a political issue. It is a health issue. A safety issue. A well-being issue. Through the eQuality project, CCYJ created the Protocol for Safe and Affirming Care, and we firmly believe that talking about sexual orientation and gender identity with all youth is necessary to meet their needs and protect their health, safety and well-being. When collecting SOGIE data becomes part of an organization’s practice, they find that they learn of a variety of resources that are a huge value not only to LGBTQ+ young people, but to all young people.