This commentary is by Amanda Rohdenburg, who is the senior director of advocacy and land stewardship at Outright Vermont.
In Vermont, we pride ourselves on being a place where young people are valued, supported and allowed to succeed in life. Yet too many young people, especially LGBTQ+ youth, are forced to navigate systems that were not built for them. This unintentionally creates instability for young people rather than reducing it. H.657, an act relating to various programming and requirements within the Department for Children and Families, represents a thoughtful, practical step toward correcting that experience.
At Outright Vermont, our advocacy begins with LGBTQ+ and allied youth. We listen. We follow their lead, and we act. Our support for H.657 is shaped directly by young people themselves: youth who understand, often firsthand, how policy decisions affect their daily lives. Their message is clear: H.657 is needed to remove harmful barriers. We urge Gov. Phil Scott to support youth and sign the bill.
Stability cannot wait for perfect family circumstances. This crucial bill expands access to essential services for independent and unaccompanied youth, allowing young people to consent to medical care, participate in school activities, secure housing and obtain important identification documents without undue barriers.
For LGBTQ+ youth, this change is especially urgent. Young people who experience family rejection are far more likely to be pushed out of their homes, move between unstable living situations or navigate the challenges of life without consistent adult support. When a young person cannot attend a field trip, see a doctor or apply for housing because no guardian is available or willing to sign a form, the system compounds the harm they are already facing. H.657 gives youth agency over their own lives and restores a sense of normalcy that many of their peers take for granted. For LGBTQ+ young people navigating instability, these supports are more than simple conveniences: They are essential lifelines.
H.657 also ensures Social Security benefits belonging to youth in foster care are preserved for their futures rather than used to offset state costs. These benefits often represent the only financial foundation a young person has as they transition to adulthood. Ensuring these funds are available for young people means they can leave care with funds for housing, education, transportation or emergencies. H.657 affirms the simple and powerful principle that resources intended for youth should serve youth.
It also eliminates the asset limit for Reach Up, the DCF program helping low-income parents gain job skills and find work to support their minor children, and providing cash assistance for basic needs like food, clothing, housing and utilities. Seventy percent of Reach Up beneficiaries are young people. For LGBTQ+ youth, who are disproportionately impacted by family conflict, rejection and economic instability, the consequences of asset limits are profound.
The bill also strengthens protections for youth in DCF custody by limiting restraint and seclusion practices and increasing transparency and accountability. Young people cannot experience physical or psychological safety when there are practices that retraumatize them. These reforms move Vermont closer to a child welfare system rooted in care rather than control.
And they arrive at a critical moment. LGBTQ+ youth nationwide are navigating unprecedented political attacks threatening access to care, belonging and public life. Vermont has the opportunity and the responsibility to respond differently. We can choose policies grounded in evidence, compassion and youth expertise. We can tell LGBTQ+ youth who are already experiencing incredible hurdles that we have their backs.
Vermont can meet this moment: Gov. Scott can do the right thing by signing H.657 when it arrives on his desk, and bolster the critical support that youth need.
