Gov. Greg Abbott’s demand that Texas’ child welfare department investigate parents of certain transgender kids has prompted secretive activity that veers from normal protocols, a former supervisor at the agency told the Associated Press.
Recent probes of families who helped their kids obtain gender-affirming care were accompanied by unusual secrecy in which texts and emails were discouraged, Randa Mulanax, a former Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (TDFPS) supervisor told the wire service. In the wake of Abbott’s order, allegations about trans kids also received elevated status, she noted.
In Texas, fewer than three in 10 child welfare investigations end with “reason to believe” outcomes, meaning harm likely occurred, according to the AP. Mulanax, who worked for TDFPS until resigning last month, told the wire service it now looks as if outcomes of investigations into families with trans children are predetermined.
“It was my understanding that they wanted to be found ‘reason to believe,’” Mulanax said in what the AP said was her first interview since leaving the department. “That’s why we were having to figure out a way to staff it up and see how we go about it, since it doesn’t match our policy right now.”
Abbott, a Republican running for reelection this year, issued an order in February that parents who help their children obtain gender-affirming care be investigated for possible child abuse. The move was the latest in a series of anti-transgender orders and legislative proposals orchestrated by GOP elected officials nationwide.
The allegations in the AP’s story emerge as a legal battle continues to unfold around Abbott’s order. The Texas Supreme Court is expected to weigh in soon on whether the state can legally resume investigations of as many as nine families under the governor’s mandate.
A spokesman for TDFPS declined comment to the AP, citing the pending litigation.
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This article appears in Mar 23 – Apr 5, 2022.
