Luna Floyd

The Project

Luna (they/them/theirs) will work with Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund to protect the rights of youth in foster care by litigating challenges to state bans on gender-affirming care for minors, providing technical assistance for attorneys serving transgender foster youth in states with transphobic laws, and proactively advocating for state child welfare policies establishing access to gender-affirming care for foster youth.

Transgender youth have become a convenient target for conservative state legislatures: nearly 150,000 transgender youth live in 30 states that have passed laws restricting or banning gender-affirming care such as puberty blockers or hormone therapy. At the same time, transgender youth are profoundly overrepresented in child welfare systems; 5% of foster youth are transgender, compared to 1% of youth not in foster care. Bans on gender-affirming care have a disproportionate impact on youth in foster care, but their stories are not represented in lawsuits challenging these bans. The unique needs of transgender foster youth are going unmet, and their stories are going unheard in court.

Luna’s project was inspired by their experiences of poverty and queerness growing up in the Deep South, leading them to focus on advocacy for vulnerable LGBTQ+ youth.

Fellowship Plans

Luna’s project includes strategies for change rooted in impact litigation, technical assistance, and policy advocacy. Luna will file declarations from foster youth in existing impact litigation challenging bans on gender-affirming care, ensuring the needs of foster youth are considered in impact litigation strategy decisions. Luna will provide technical and co-counsel assistance to attorneys across the country whose minor clients need access to gender-affirming care, as well as create resources and trainings for attorneys and know-your-rights materials for youth. Finally, Luna will advocate for specific state child welfare policies to ensure youth in foster care have a pathway to access gender-affirming care.

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