Texas Parents of Trans Children Still the Target of Investigations

A statewide injunction halting the investigations of the parents of transgender children receiving gender-confirming care has not stopped Texas’ child welfare agency from continuing investigations of child abuse. Recently, the state Supreme Court overturned an injunction blocking state investigations, and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) notified some families that the investigations will continue.

The ruling overturning the injunction does raise the question of whether the investigations should have been opened at all. The ruling states that DFPS is not compelled by law to investigate, and the interpretation was left open to DFPS regarding how to proceed. The department states that the agency “treats all reports of abuse, neglect, and exploitation seriously and will continue to investigate each to the full extent of the law.”

These cases were initiated in February 2022, when Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a non-binding legal opinion that equated certain medical treatments for transgender teens with child abuse. Citing that opinion, Governor Greg Abbott directed the agency to investigate parents who provided gender-affirming care to their transgender children. In response, the agency opened at least nine such investigations. The investigations have included home visits, family visits, and unscheduled school visits.

DFPS has violated policies requiring caseworkers to make in-person contact with children whose parents are under investigation every 45 days. In addition, parents under investigation for child abuse may request status updates on their case. State regulations require that the department respond within 14 days. Attorneys for the families under investigation say these regulations have not been followed. Brian Klosterboer, an American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) lawyer representing one family under investigation says, “We are going to be closely monitoring what the agency does.”

Families in the crosshairs of these institutional attacks are faced with making a choice to uproot their families, enabling them to live without the fear of potential state violence and provide their transgender children with gender-affirming care prescribed by a medical professional.

Investigations into families of transgender children have created additional controversy for the embattled DFPS. Several DFPS employees have resigned because of the reopening of the cases. In the meantime, parents anxiously await whatever comes next.