I am on the faculty at St. Edward’s University and I am in the process of conducting a study to examine foster parent perceptions and experiences of working with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth (LGBTQ). I would greatly appreciate your participation in this online survey entitled “Foster Caregivers and LGBTQ Youth”. The questions pertain to the experiences you’ve had working with LGBTQ youth, as well as your perceptions towards caring for LGBTQ youth. Everything that you provide in this survey is anonymous. This survey should take approximately 15-20 minutes to complete. Your participation is voluntary and your responses are anonymous. No one will be able to identify you with your responses.
The criteria to participate in this study include the following:
- participants must be at least 18 years of age; and
- participants must be licensed to care for any youth in foster care between the ages of 8-18.
Your participation is crucial to help us to better understand the barriers and challenges that exist when it comes to providing care to LGBTQ youth. Similarly, it is our hope that your responses will be instrumental in helping us to better inform policy, practice, and training of foster parents who may care for LGBTQ youth.
If you have any questions about this survey, please contact Adam McCormick, principal investigator, at 512-285-4619, adamm@stedwards.edu. If you would like a copy of the final report from findings of this study emailed to you please send a request to adamm@stedwards.edu. The St. Edward’s University Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects (IRB) has reviewed and approved the research protocol. If you have any questions regarding the research protocol and your rights as a research participant, you may contact them directly at 512-448-8708.