Exploration of Human and Social Service Needs of the Transgender Community: Guidelines for Social Workers

The purpose of this research is to assist the author in developing guidelines for social workers who work with the transgender community, or may come in contact with a transgender client at some point. Although upon completion, this thesis will not be in guideline form, the thesis, as well as the guidelines to follow, will contain definitions and explanations of different areas of the transgendered community, and a list of resource and referral sources that may be useful when working with a transgendered client. The following research questions will be explored in this study : l) What are all of the different types of transgender individuals, and how are they differentiated from each other by the transgender community and others ?, 2) What kind of experiences have transgendered individuals had with social workers?, and 3) What types of attitudes and values, as well as concrete services are social workers providing/doing well - and not providing/doing well