The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated an immediate response and rapid transition from traditional face-to-face behavioral health services to behavioral telehealth at an organization serving sexual and gender diverse (SGD) individuals in Chicago. In this practice innovations article, we explore the unfolding public health crisis and the impact on service delivery for SGD individuals. Using a large multi-service organization as a case study, this paper describes how key members of the staff and leadership team shifted services online as a means of responding to isolation, loneliness, and disparities in access to healthcare for Chicago SGD communities. Lessons learned and practice recommendations are presented.

As health and mental health providers are increasingly called to attend to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) issues, it is critical for social work education to ensure the competency of students to deliver services to these populations. This North American online study investigated the self-assessed readiness of LGBTQ undergraduate and master's-level social work students (n ¼ 1,018) to practise with LGBT clients, as well as their assessment of their non-LGBTQ peers. Participants were enrolled in Master of Social Work (MSW) (76.0 per cent) or Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) (24.0 per cent) programmes, representing 136 schools in fifty-two states/provinces. Students reported fairly low levels of self-assessed practise readiness with specific subpopulations (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender), with participants reporting the highest (somewhat prepared) self-assessed readiness with gay populations and the lowest (not well prepared) self-assessed readiness with transgender populations. Regression analyses were conducted separately for each subpopulation and revealed that across all groups higher readiness to practise was positively associated with implicit programme support for LGBTQ students, positive handling of LGBTQ issues in classrooms and explicit inclusion of LGBTQ content in courses. Implications for social work education are discussed.

A prospective cohort study to identify factors associated with receipt of substance abuse treatment (SAT) among adults with alcohol problems and HIV/AIDS. Data from the Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Longitudinal Interrelationships of Viruses and Ethanol (HIV-LIVE) study were analyzed. Generalized estimating equation logistic regression models were fit to identify factors associated with any service utilization. An alcohol dependence diagnosis had a negative association with SAT (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.36; 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 0.19, 0.67), as did identifying as a sexual orientation other than heterosexual (AOR = 0.46; CI = 0.29, 0.72), and having social supports that use alcohol/drugs (AOR = 0.62; CI = 0.45, 0.83). Positive associations with SAT include: presence of hepatitis C antibody (AOR = 3.37; CI = 2.24, 5.06), physical or sexual abuse (AOR = 2.12; CI = 1.22, 3.69), social supports that help with sobriety (AOR = 1.92; CI = 1.28, 2.87), homelessness (AOR = 2.40; CI = 1.60, 3.62) drug dependence diagnosis (AOR = 2.64; CI = 1.88, 3.70), and clinically important depressive symptoms (AOR = 1.52, CI = 1.08, 2.15). While reassuring that factors indicating need for SAT among people with HIV and alcohol problems (e.g. drug dependence) are associated with receipt, non-need factors (e.g. sexual orientation, age) that should not decrease likelihood of receipt of treatment were identified.

The aging lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community continues to grow considerably while often being faced with unique and unmet needs separate from younger LGBT cohorts or their non-LGBT counterparts. This article explores some of the differences in attitudes among generational cohort groups regarding coming out decisions; sexual risk and safety; the impact of evolving policies within systems and society; as well as the demonstrated strengths and resiliencies of the aging LGBT community. Implications and suggestions for education, training, and best practices among this expansive and diverse population are considered as well as continued research in the field of LGBT aging.

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