5.5 Transgender and intersex Youth Pursuant to 1352.5

 

Chapter 5. Classification and Separation
Section 5.5
Subject Transgender and intersex Youth Pursuant to 1352.5
Effective Date 12/1/2023
  1. All youth booked into juvenile hall shall have a SOGIE (sexual orientation, gender identity and expression) assessment completed.  If, upon completion of a SOGIE assessment, a youth identifies as transgender or is intersex, a SOGIE agreement will be completed to ensure the youth’s request for how they would like to be treated is respected. 
  2. All youth booked into Juvenile Hall shall have a CSEC (Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children) screening tool completed.  This tool assesses the risk of youth being sexually victimized, trafficked, exploited, or victimizing, trafficking or exploiting others.
  3. Definitions:
    • Bi-sexual- sexually attracted not exclusively to people of one particular gender; attracted to both men and women.
    • Cisgender - Refers to a person whose sex assignment at birth corresponds to their gender identity and expression. 
    • Intersex - Is a general term used for a variety of conditions in which a person is born with a chromosome pattern and /or reproductive or sexual anatomy that does not seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male.
    • Gay- when a person is sexually attracted to the same sex; primarily refers to a male.
    • Lesbian – a woman who is sexually attracted to another womanGender Expression - how a person expresses gender identity through manner of dress, speech behavior, and/ or other physical attributes.
    • Gender Conforming - describes a person who expresses gender in a manner that is consistent with societal norms. (e.g. a person who was assigned “female” at birth, who identifies as a female and dresses in a way that society determines a female should dress).
    • Gender Non-Conforming - describes someone whose gender identity and /or expression breaks societal norms (e.g. someone who identifies as a female but wears clothing typically assigned to males).
    • Gender Identity - how a person views and understands their own gender (a man, a woman, other)
    • LGBT – Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning or Queer
    • Sexual Orientation- who an individual is emotionally, sexually, or romantically attracted to
    • Transgender -   describes a person whose gender identity does not match their assigned sex at birth
  4. All staff shall respect every youth’s gender identity and shall refer to the youth by the youth’s preferred name and gender pronoun, regardless of the youth’s legal name. The Facility Manager may prohibit the use of gang or slang names or names that otherwise compromise facility operations. Prohibition of gang, slang or other names that comprise facility operations shall be documented in an Incident Report.  Documentation will include the justification for the prohibition.
  5. Youth shall be provided with the institutional clothing and undergarments consistent with their gender identity. 
  6. Youth shall be housed in the unit or room that best meets their individual needs and promotes their safety and well-being.  
  7. Youth shall be booked into custody as their birth gender for documentation purposes. 
  8. Staff shall consider the youth’s preferences, as well as any recommendations from the youth’s health or behavioral health provider when housing assignment is determined. 
  9. Automatically assigning youth to a unit or room based on their external anatomy is prohibited. Any decision to house a youth in a unit that does not match their gender identity shall be approved by the Facility Manager and documented in an Incident Report. 
  10. The Facility Manager shall ensure that transgender and intersex youth have access to medical and behavioral health providers qualified to provide care and treatment to transgender and intersex youth.
  11. Facility staff shall make every effort to ensure the safety and privacy of transgender and intersex youth when the youth are using the bathroom or shower or dressing or undressing consistent with the facility’s reasonable and necessary security considerations and physical plant,
  12. Officers shall not conduct physical searches of any youth for the purpose of determining the youth’s anatomical sex.
  13.  Officers shall respect the youth’s preference regarding the gender of the staff member who conducts any search of the youth when feasible.

(More detailed information regarding PREA is found in section 3.27)