Intersectional Oppression and Minority Stress Among Transgender Youth In the California Child Welfare System

Background and Purpose:

Transgender youth are increasingly recognized as a population with unique vulnerabilities within the child welfare system; however, existing research largely focuses on individual-level experiences or single-axis forms of marginalization, with limited empirical work examining how intersecting systems of oppression shape transgender youths’ pathways into and experiences within care. Drawing on intersectional feminist theory and minority stress theory, this study examines how overlapping forms of marginalization, including gender identity, race, socioeconomic status, disability, and cultural context, produce compounded risk and shape outcomes. By centering the perspectives of frontline social workers, this study explores the structural, institutional, and interpersonal dynamics contributing to transgender youths’ overrepresentation, placement instability, and service needs.

Methods:

This study utilizes qualitative data collected from child welfare professionals in California between June and September 2025. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with social workers (N = 27) who had experience working with transgender youth, supplemented by open-ended survey responses (N = 79). Participants were recruited through purposive sampling from a larger statewide survey. Interviews explored perceptions of factors contributing to overrepresentation, barriers to placement and reunification, and strategies to support transgender youth. Data were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using content analysis informed by grounded theory principles. Coding was iterative and conducted by multiple coders, with intercoder reliability assessed using Krippendorff’s alpha (Kα = .84), indicating strong agreement.

Findings:

Findings indicate that transgender youth experience layered and compounding marginalization across structural, institutional, and interpersonal domains. Social workers consistently described how gender identity intersects with race, class, disability, and cultural norms to shape both entry into the system and experiences within care. Transgender youth of color were perceived as facing heightened vulnerability due to the combined effects of racial disproportionality and transphobia, with intersecting racial, cultural, and religious norms often shaping more rigid expectations of gender expression. Youth with disabilities also encountered significant barriers to expressing identity and accessing affirming care.

Participants’ accounts also illustrate how distal stressors, including family rejection, placement discrimination, and institutional barriers, interact with proximal stress processes such as identity suppression and concealment. These stressors are embedded within child welfare practices, including sex-segregated placements, shortages of affirming homes, and inconsistent implementation of gender-affirming policies. Despite policy advancements, participants reported substantial variability in practice, suggesting that formal mandates alone are insufficient to eliminate disparities. At the same time, some placements functioned as protective environments, facilitating access to affirming care and supportive relationships.

Conclusion and Implications:

Transgender youths’ experiences in child welfare are shaped by intersecting systems of oppression that extend beyond individual or family-level factors. The system functions as both a potential site of harm and a critical point of intervention, with outcomes contingent on placement conditions, organizational practices, and individual providers. Findings underscore the need for approaches that move beyond single-axis frameworks to address cumulative minority stress. Implications include comprehensive training in gender-affirming care, structural reforms to placement systems, and targeted interventions addressing intersecting vulnerabilities. Advancing equity requires systemic responses attuned to the multidimensional nature of transgender youths’ needs and experiences.