Massachusetts Commission on LGBTQ Youth: Report and

J. Trigilio, S. Goodfriend, M. Morrissey

Executive Summary: The Massachusetts Commission on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Questioning (LGBTQ) Youth is an independent state agency first founded in 1992 as a governor's commission. The Commission was remade as an independent commission by the Legislature in 2006, with its role being provide expert advice to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on how to improve services and decrease inequities facing LGBTQ youth. In keeping with its legislative requirements, the Commission is herein providing its annual report on the status of LGBTQ youth in the Commonwealth, as well as its policy recommendations, for the 2021 fiscal year. This document begins with special reports on the COVID-19 pandemic and on new data regarding transgender youth in Massachusetts, both of which present novel research. Following those reports are the Commission's core recommendations to the Governor and Legislature, which it is statutorily obligated to present annually. These recommendations follow the five policy areas into which the Commission has divided its work for the past several years: inclusion in schools