What Can Be Done To Help LGBT Clients?
There are a number of ways that programs can adjust their policies and procedures to protect clients, educate them, and help them deal with the discrimination they may face.
1. Confidentiality
Programs should establish written policies that ensure that information about sexual orientation is confidential. The policy should prohibit disclosure of such information to anyone outside the program, unless the client consents. Any exceptions to this rule should be approved in advance by the program director.
2. Caution on Self-Disclosures
As part of the recovery process, substance abuse treatment programs often encourage clients to acknowledge to others that they have abused alcohol and drugs. Of course, disclosure of this information is not always advisable. While there are laws protecting alcoholics and former drug abusers from discrimination in employment, housing, and access to health care (see below), it is not always easy to enforce those legal protections. Clients should be advised to think carefully before disclosing information about their substance abuse histories.
LGBT clients should also be cautioned to think carefully before disclosing their sexual orientation to others. Such disclosures will rarely be advisable unless clients are fairly sure how the information will be received. Because LGBT clients often have no legal protection against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, they should continue to share this information only with those they are confident will respect them and their privacy.
3. Education
Programs should educate staff and clients about State and local laws and regulations regarding LGBT persons. Some jurisdictions have enacted statutes protecting LGBT individuals from some forms of discrimination. Other jurisdictions have enacted statutes designed to make life more difficult for LGBT individuals. The confidentiality afforded HIV related information also varies from place to place. Programs should use the resources listed at the end of this chapter to educate themselves and their clients about LGBT legal issues. The Web site maintained by the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund is particularly informative.
4. Legal Inventory
Programs can help their clients review their employment, marital, and parental statuses and assess what steps they might take to protect themselves and their rights.
Example 1: Barbara A., a 23-year-old lesbian, is contemplating a divorce. She has three young children and very much wants to retain custody. She worries that her spouse will use her sexual orientation (and/or treatment history) when the issue of child custody arises.
The program should encourage Barbara to share information about her sexual orientation and substance abuse treatment with her attorney. Depending on Barbara’s relationships with her spouse and the children’s grandparents, her attorney may advise her to consider seeking a negotiated custody agreement. Information about her sexual orientation (and substance abuse history) is less likely to be used against Barbara in this context than during a heated court battle.
Example 2: Harry B. is in a committed relationship with Stephen C. Harry is worried about what might happen if his high blood pressure causes him to have a stroke. What if he becomes unable to make decisions about his own medical care? He feels very strongly that he would not want to prolong his life following a massive stroke. He wonders whether Stephen will be allowed to make medical decisions for him.
The program can help Harry explore the options available to him, which may include (depending upon State law) signing “advance directives” about his health care and/or signing a legal document appointing Stephen his proxy, enabling him to make health care decisions should Harry become incapacitated. This legal document is often called a “health care proxy” or a “medical power of attorney.”
Example 3: Ellen W. and Jean C. have grown old together. Ellen has a considerable fortune she inherited from her father; Jean has few assets. Ellen wants to make sure Jean will inherit her property.
State law generally controls rules of inheritance. However, in most (although not all) instances these rules can be overridden once an individual makes a will naming a beneficiary or establishes a trust for the benefit of a named individual. In this respect, LGBT individuals are no different from heterosexuals who are unmarried and have only distant blood relatives. They, too, must make a formal will or set up a trust if they do not want a third cousin to inherit their assets.
5. Respect for LGBT Clients
Programs treating LGBT individuals should take steps to ensure that staff and other clients respect the privacy, safety, and humanity of this population.
• Programs should screen staff members to ensure that they are willing to work with LGBT individuals. Written descriptions of job responsibilities should include treatment of LGBT individuals.
• Program rules should require that clients exhibit respect for one another without regard to race, gender, religion, national origin, or sexual orientation. Programs should establish grievance procedures for clients who want to complain about violation of the rules. All complaints should be handled promptly.
• Programs should treat the partners of LGBT clients as they do members of traditional families. Many LGBT clients are alienated from their families of origin and will not want them to visit. However, visits by a partner may be welcomed. For a comprehensive list of “Standards of Practice for Provision of Quality Health Care Services for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Clients,” see the Web site maintained by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Health Access Project at www.glbthealth.org.
6. Program Safety for LGBT Individuals
All clients should be informed at admission that the program will not tolerate sexual harassment or sexual overtures between persons of the same or different gender. Programs should establish effective grievance procedures and respond to any violations of the rules promptly.
Written personnel policies should include prohibition of harassment in the workplace, including harassment of LGBT staff by other staff and sexual harassment between persons of the same (or different) gender. Programs should establish effective disciplinary procedures and respond to complaints promptly.
Programs treating minors should be particularly attentive to this issue, as an incident involving a minor can result in serious legal consequences. The minor’s parents may sue a program that is negligent in this area, and child protective services may intervene if there is an allegation of abuse.
7. Affirmative Action/Cultural Competency
Providing effective treatment for LGBT individuals requires programs to make every effort to employ LGBT individuals in visible jobs. Personnel policies should include a nondiscrimination hiring clause that encompasses LGBT persons (see chapter 14, Policies and Procedures), and programs should offer domestic partner benefits whenever possible.