About five years ago, New York City’s child welfare agency began working with a prominent Columbia University professor to study foster children who identify as L.G.B.T.Q. — a significant undertaking because nationwide data on gay and transgender teenagers in foster care is scarce.
The groundbreaking study by the professor, Theo Sandfort, was released in November and praised by advocacy groups and academics.
They said the findings for the first time demonstrated what had been seen anecdotally: over a third of young people in the city’s foster care system identify as L.G.B.T.Q.
and struggle to find the support they need. Then came the backlash. ImageTheo Sandfort was in charge of a study on L.G.B.T.Q.