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10 - The Massachusetts Commission on LGBTQ Youth

from II - What Legal Design Can Do

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 December 2024

By
Alexander Nally
Edited by
Miso Kim ,
Dan Jackson  and
Jules Rochielle Sievert
Miso Kim
Affiliation:
Northeastern University, Boston
Dan Jackson
Affiliation:
Northeastern University, Boston
Jules Rochielle Sievert
Affiliation:
Northeastern University, Boston
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Summary

In this chapter, we discuss how the design and evolution of the Massachusetts Commission on LGBTQ Youth elevated respect for the lived experience of queer youth in setting policies that impact their lives. Originally founded in 1992, the Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth was formed to respond to high suicide risk among gay and lesbian youth in the Commonwealth. That original Commission transformed in 2006 into an independent state agency established by law. Today, the Commission on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Questioning (LGBTQ) Youth advises others in state government on effective policies, programs, and resources for LGBTQ youth and produces the Safe Schools Program with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. This chapter details the experience of artist and legal designer Alexander (Alex) Nally, who led agency and government relations on the Commission for five years, and focuses on how human-centered design approaches can improve policy interventions.

Keywords

queer youthsuicide preventionLGBTQpolicy design
Type
Chapter
Information
Legal Design
Dignifying People in Legal Systems
 , pp. 149 - 158
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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References

Act Making Appropriations for the Fiscal Year 2023 for the Maintenance of the Departments, Boards, Commissions, Institutions and Certain Activities of the Commonwealth, for Interest, Sinking Fund and Serial Bond Requirements and for Certain Permanent Improvements, ch. 126 §2, 2022 Mass. Acts 188, 466. https://malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Acts/2022/Chapter126Google Scholar
Act Making Appropriations for the Fiscal Year 2015 for the Maintenance of the Departments, Boards, Commissions, Institutions and Certain Activities of the Commonwealth, for Interest, Sinking Fund and Serial Bond Requirements and for Certain Permanent Improvements, ch. 165 §5, 2014 Mass. Acts 712. https://malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Acts/2014/Chapter165Google Scholar
Act Making Appropriations for the Fiscal Year 2007 for the Maintenance of the Departments, Boards, Commissions, Institutions and Certain Activities of the Commonwealth, for Interest, Sinking Fund and Serial Bond Requirements and for Certain Permanent Improvements, ch.139 §4, 2006 Mass. Acts 815–817. https://malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Acts/2006/Chapter139Google Scholar
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Celluci, Argeo Paul. 1998. “Executive Order 407: Governor’s Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth.” Accessed May 16, 2024. www.mass.gov/executive-orders/no-407-governors-commission-on-gay-and-lesbian-youth.Google Scholar
Gibson, Paul. 1989. “Gay Male and Lesbian Youth Suicide.” In Report of the Secretary’s Task Force on Youth Suicide. Volume 3: Prevention and Interventions in Youth Suicide, edited by Feinleib, Marcia R., 115–42. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.Google Scholar
Gray, Arielle. 2019. “How LGBTQ+ Youth Gained Protection in Massachusetts.” WBUR, June 24. www.wbur.org/news/2019/06/24/lgbtq-youth-commission-massachusetts.Google Scholar
Massachusetts Commission on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Questioning Youth. 2014. “Massachusetts Commission on LGBTQ Youth: Annual Policy Recommendations for FY15.” https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/208066.Google Scholar
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Weld, William. 1992. “Executive Order 325: Governor’s Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth.” Accessed October 4, 2022. www.mass.gov/executive-orders/no-325-governors-commission-on-gay-and-lesbian-youth.Google Scholar

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