➤ FOSTER CARE YOUTH, from p.28
the adoption of a new policy that
year requiring queer youth to have
appropriate bathroom access and
hygiene products.
ACS also started directing agencies
to recruit and support LGBTQ
affi rming foster homes and
subsequently opened an Offi ce of
Equity Strategies in 2017 that included
an LGBTQ equity strategies
director responsible for serving
LGBTQ children and investigating
anti-LGBTQ discrimination.
In response to the survey, ACS is
pledging to follow through on three
broad goals: reducing unnecessary
admissions of LGBTQ youth in foster
care, increasing placements
with relatives and reducing group
home placements, and working to
improve the well-being of queer foster
kids.
ACS is also vowing to move
ahead with eight key objectives:
update the “LGBTQAI+ Youth in
Care Policy,” revisit and bolster
staff training on LGBTQ issues,
increase services and support for
queer youth, form a dedicated “LGBTQAI+
Committee” on the ACS
Youth Leadership Council, and do
more to recruit LGBTQ-friendly
foster parents.
➤ ALEJANDRA CARABALLO, from p.12
who is running for mayor.
Criminal justice reform is also
embedded in Caraballo’s approach
to LGBTQ issues. She would like to
repeal section 8-131 of the Human
Rights Law because she said the
law exempts the NYPD from being
subjected to it in most cases.
“If the NYPD is using racial or
homophobic slurs, they cannot be
held accountable by the Commission
on Human Rights,” she said.
Caraballo, a strong backer of the
effort to decriminalize sex work,
hopes to see the Council push forward
with a resolution encouraging
the state to repeal the “walking
while trans” loitering law. Caraballo
underscored the wide-ranging
impact current laws have on sex
workers, noting they often cannot
qualify for government assistance
due to the nature of their work and
fi nd themselves having to turn to
mutual aid options to survive.
Locally, Caraballo is sounding
the alarm on land use issues in
her district. Caraballo criticized
Cumbo for approving the Bedford-
Union Armory project and she
took issue with a proposal that
calls for new buildings that would
cast shadows over the Brooklyn
Botanic Garden. That project has
sparked widespread community
opposition, Caraballo noted, but
locals have felt ignored.
“Unfortunately, the community
feels they have no leverage with the
current political representation,”
Caraballo said.
And while Caraballo praised one
of her opponents, Hudson, for her
dedication to the local community,
she struck a more critical tone as
she recalled that Hudson previously
worked for Cumbo.
“I disagree with Hudson’s work
for Cumbo for so many years,”
Caraballo said. “Cumbo is the one
who is detested and disliked. For
me, I have questions about her decision
to work with her.”
For now, Caraballo said she does
not have anything to say about her
other out LGBTQ opponent, Knox,
but no matter the competition, she
emphasized that she is proud that
three LGBTQ people of color are
running for the seat.
“I think it’s a testament to how
far we’ve come,” she said. “That’s
amazing. I don’t think anybody
would have even thought this
would happen even a decade ago.”
Being the only trans candidate
in the race, of course, holds its
own signifi cance, and Caraballo
said she is driven to reverse the
erasure of trans representation in
the political world. She thought of
the late Lorena Borjas, a beloved
Queens-based trans activist and
community leader who offered robust
support to trans folks, sex
workers, and others.
“It’s about showing you can be a
trans person and be whoever you
want,” she said. “You can run for
City Council and be taken seriously.
I see cracks in the glass ceiling.”
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