AFFIRM Caregiver
LGBTQ young people who had access to affirming homes, schools, community events, and online spaces reported lower rates of attempting suicide compared to those who did not.
What is AFFIRM Caregiver?
AFFIRM Caregiver is an evidence-informed, seven session, manualized intervention to enhance affirmative parenting practices that promote the safety and well-being of LGBTQ+ youth. AFFIRM Caregiver is designed to work with any caregiver of LGBTQ+ children and youth. This includes biological and adoptive parents, kinship/family members of origin, chosen family, foster/resource parents, and all other people who parent and support LGBTQ+ young people.
Who is AFFIRM Caregiver for?
For caregivers (broadly defined as anyone in a caregiving role). This includes foster parents, kinship parents, grandparents, or anyone who sees themselves caring for LGBTQ+ youth.
How do I sign up?
Check out our current offerings on our Events page. To bring our facilitators to your organization, fill out the contact form.
Who can benefit?
Positive outcomes have been evident for caregivers who started out with low affirmative caregiving attitudes and behaviors as well as those who started out high—illustrating that caregivers at all levels can benefit!
What are the outcomes?
Educate caregivers about youths’ sexual orientations, gender identities, and expressions. Help caregivers understand the impact of anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination on youth and help them move from rejection to affirmation. Foster the development of affirmative parenting practices, including compassionate parenting
What is the programs evidence?
Data from AFFIRM Caregiver studies shows effectiveness for improving affirmative caregiving attitudes and behaviors, as well as confidence in caregiver abilities to engage in affirmative caregiving skills with LGBTQ+ youth. Data show statistically significant improvements in affirmative attitudes and behaviors toward both LGB and transgender youth, as well as statistically significant improvements in affirmative caregiving competence for LGBTQ+ youth.
What Participants Say
Anonymous Participant
This program helped me feel more confident in my ability to support, guide, and affirm my transgender child. It started helping with our relationship immediately just by my willingness to do better. I wanted to know more about what I didn't know that I didn't know... and, now I know! Now I have so many more resources to pull from when there is a situation or some part of my child's journey I am not sure about.
Creators
AFFIRM Caregiver was created by Shelley Craig, Ph.D., R.S.W., LCSW (she/her) and Ashley Austin, Ph.D., LCSW (she/her). Learn more about AFFIRM at Affirmative Research, LLC.