On June 24, 2025, a district court judge signed my name change order. By noon, I bore the last name Cook.
This change signaled more than a nominal tie to my chosen family. It marked my official departure from the generational cycles of domestic violence and addiction that lingered with my previous name. There are many reasons why I found refuge from these cycles with the Cook family, but one of the most transformational reasons has been their support of my queer identity. Exploring one’s identity is difficult, but doing so in a home you didn’t grow up in is especially daunting.
I am not alone in this journey. In fact, 30% of foster youths identify as LGBTQ+ and face the same challenge. Up until last year, Kansas offered these youths protections to explore their identity safely in the foster care system. However, a law passed in the 2025 legislative session, House Bill 2311, took these protections away.
The new law prohibits state agencies from “adopting and enforcing policies for placement, custody, and appointment of a custodian that may conflict with sincerely held religious beliefs.” In other words, Kansas agencies cannot adopt a policy that ensures LGBTQ+ foster youths are placed with foster parents who affirm their identity.
Proponents of the measure claim it protects foster parents from being discriminated against for religious beliefs that may lead them to not support the LGBTQ+ community. However, before the bill’s passage, there were no Kansas laws regarding the placement of LGBTQ+ youths.
In fact, there were no official state agency policies that guaranteed an affirming placement. There is no known case of discrimination against a foster parent for possessing religious beliefs that don’t affirm the LGBTQ+ community.
Kansas’ HB 2311 is just one piece of a larger, dangerous picture. On July 14, President Donald Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services issued a new federal rule that repealed former President Joe Biden’s HHS policy on the care of LGBTQ+ foster youths. Adopted in 2023, the rule sought to ensure that foster youths with queer or transgender identities were placed in homes with affirming foster parents.
The Trump administration justified its attack on the rule by citing State of Texas v. United States Department of Health & Human Services, a 2024 court case that stopped the rule from taking effect in June 2025. The court’s decision to vacate this rule, and the presidential administration’s part in finalizing its blow, will only worsen the health and wellbeing of LGBTQ+ foster youths, who already face higher rates of mental health challenges and substance use than cisgender, straight foster youths.
The government is failing LGBTQ+ foster youths, so it’s up to foster parents and child welfare agencies to bridge the gap.
Foster youths can’t live in a safe, comfortable placement, a right guaranteed to them in Kansas’ foster care bill of rights, when they are unable to safely explore their identity without fear of rejection. Just one supportive adult can be crucial to the safety of LGBTQ+ youths, and reduce their likeliness to attempt suicide by 40%.
Child welfare agencies can be a part of the solution by implementing affirming practices, such as including chosen names and pronouns in the files of youths they serve. They can also post affirming symbols in their offices to signal support for the LGBTQ+ community.
Foster parents can lead with compassion, curiosity, and affirmation. If their foster youth shares that they identify as LGBTQ+, they could ask who knows that information to avoid “outing” them. They can also help youths build a supportive network of adults in their care team, school, work, and the community, because foster parents shouldn’t be forced to navigate supporting them alone.
To make this journey easier, I founded the Rainbow Foster Home Initiative last August, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting LGBTQ+ foster youths, their caregivers, and child welfare agencies. We develop educational materials about what it means to be an open and affirming foster home and the rights of LGBTQ+ foster youths in Kansas. We also partner with 40 child welfare agencies across the state to provide training to staff and foster parents on open and affirming care, reaching every county in Kansas and the Kansas City metro area.
Most recently, we unveiled the Comfortable Clothing Program, which provides stipends and binder donations to foster homes across the state to increase access to affirming clothing. By providing this assistance, we hope to support child welfare agencies and foster parents by demystifying what it means to be open and affirming to LGBTQ+ youths.
Accepting a queer identity doesn’t mean plastering your house or office in rainbow flags and reading every queer theory book (though you absolutely could do those things). You don’t need to move mountains or find new moral compasses each time an LGBTQ+ child enters your home or caseload.
You just need to lead with love, compassion, and empathy. Not only will this open your heart to different perspectives, but it can save the foster youth’s life.
Ariona Cook (she/her) is a Public Policy and Child Policy Research undergraduate at Duke University and the 2026 Truman Scholar from Kansas. Through its opinion section, the Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.
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