Foster Care Training

One-in-five Americans know someone personally who goes by a pronoun other than “he” or “she,” and this number increases to 32% among 18- to 29-year-olds. 1 in 4 LGBTQ youth use pronouns or pronoun combinations that fall outside of the male/female gender binary. System involved youth may use they/them, a combination of he/him, she/her, or they/them, or neopronouns such as ze/zir or fae/faer. What if you’ve never used these pronouns before? What if you make a mistake? Is it okay to ask someone about their pronouns? In this training, we will discuss best practices for asking someone about their correct pronoun, how to introduce yourself using gender pronouns, and what to do if you misgender someone in an effort to improve outcomes for affected system involved youth. Participants will also learn more about the history of gender pronouns in English- and non-English-speaking contexts.