Abstract
In the United States (U.S.), there is a disproportionate number of Transgender and gender expansive (TGE) youth of color who face the justice and child welfare systems. They face numerous disparities, including racial/ethnic and gender discrimination in school and foster care systems, that put them at greater risk for entering the school-to-prison pipeline. They also face worsened mental health outcomes and experience higher rates of homelessness, structural and social exclusion, and traumatic childhood experiences that perpetuate the cycle of legal-system involvement. Little is known about how TGE youth and young adults of color experience resiliency in the face of these experiences. This study used a consensual qualitative research (CQR) approach to interview 20 Transgender Black young women with experiences in the child welfare system about how they maintained their resiliency. Results were encapsulated among 13 themes, addressing the following two research questions: What does resilience look like for Black Transgender young women with experiences in the foster care system? and How is resilience impacted by the presence or lack of a supportive of environment? A discussion on the comparison to existing literature, strengths, limitations, implications, and future directions follows. In particular, the research highlights the importance of supporting TGE youth of color in the child welfare system through gender-affirming and culturally informed interventions and educational programs.