State agency removed online resources for LGBTQ youth after complaints from a Republican challenging Gov. Greg Abbott, emails show

For LGBTQ intelligence wellness support, telephone the Trevor Project’s 24/7 toll-free enactment line astatine 866-488-7386. You tin besides telephone the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline astatine 800-273-8255 oregon substance 741741 from anyplace successful the state to scope a trained situation counselor. Read our mental wellness assets guide for much information.

Texas’ kid payment bureau removed a webpage that offered resources to LGBTQ younker pursuing complaints by 1 of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s GOP superior challengers, according to interior bureau communications.

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services webpage, which provides accusation to children successful the foster attraction system, included accusation astir a termination prevention hotline, LGBTQ ineligible services, and questions astir defining sex and intersexual identity.

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On Aug. 31, Republican erstwhile authorities Sen. Don Huffines released a video connected Twitter claiming that DFPS is “promoting transgender intersexual policies to Texas youth” done a webpage titled “Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation.”

“These are not Texas values, these are not Republican enactment values, but these are evidently Greg Abbott’s values, that’s wherefore we request a change, that’s what my campaign’s about,” Huffines said.

The Houston Chronicle first reported connected the interior bureau correspondence. According to communications obtained by The Texas Tribune, successful the hours aft Huffines’ video went up, DFPS employees discussed the anticipation of removing the webpage oregon changing its content.

Huffines, a staunch conservative, is challenging Abbott from the close successful adjacent year’s GOP primary. Abbott’s bureau has not responded to a petition for remark connected the matter. The politician has powerfulness to name the DFPS commissioner and the agency’s nine-member council.

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In an email to DFPS spokesperson Patrick Crimmins connected Aug. 31, DFPS media specializer Marissa Gonzales wrote that Huffines’ video was “starting to stroke up connected Twitter,” linking to his video and the webpage successful question. The leafage was populated with accusation from the Texas Youth Connection, a DFPS part that provides “local and nationalist resources to assistance younker modulation into adulthood.”

Crimmins past emailed Darrell Azar, the agency’s web and originative services director.

“Darrell – delight enactment we whitethorn request to instrumentality that leafage down, oregon someway revise content,” Crimmins wrote.

In response, Azar said the Texas Youth Connection had contented for LGBTQ younker “for arsenic agelong arsenic I tin remember” and that contented was provided by unit from the agency’s Preparation of Adult Living Program. Azar alerted different workfellow that thing whitethorn request to beryllium done connected “short notice.”

The adjacent day, Sept. 1, bureau staffers discussed connection for the webpage saying its contented was being reviewed. The leafage is presently disabled and includes a connection that says it is undergoing “a broad reappraisal of its content.” Last week, Crimmins said the reappraisal of the website was “still ongoing.” He did not reply questions arsenic to what prompted the website to beryllium taken down and however agelong the reappraisal volition last.

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In a statement, Huffines said helium had followed done connected his committedness to get the webpage taken down.

“We aren’t amazed that authorities employees who are loyal to Greg Abbott had to scramble aft we called their perverse actions out,” Huffines said successful a statement. “I promised Texans I would get escaped of that website, and I kept that promise.”

Ricardo Martinez, CEO of Equality Texas, an enactment that promotes equality for LGBTQ Texans, condemned the determination to instrumentality down the information.

“State agencies cognize that LGBTQ+ kids are overrepresented successful foster attraction and they cognize they look genuinely staggering favoritism and abuse,” Martinez said successful a statement. “The authorities is liable for these kids’ lives, yet it actively took distant a assets for them erstwhile they are successful crisis. What’s worse, this was done astatine the commencement of Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month.”

According to a 2021 survey from the Trevor Project, a nationalist enactment that focuses connected LGBTQ younker termination prevention and situation intervention, astir 42% of LGBTQ younker “seriously considered attempting termination successful the past year.”

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On Tuesday, each 13 of Texas’ Democratic authorities senators sent a letter to Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, House Speaker Dade Phelan and DFPS Commissioner Jamie Masters, urging them to reinstate the Texas Youth Connection web page “to marque definite each youth, particularly those successful the LGBTQ+ community” person entree to important resources.

“As leaders of our state, we indispensable bash much to support our astir susceptible populations, including ensuring life-saving resources specified arsenic situation lines and ineligible assistance are casual to access,” the senators wrote.

In aboriginal August, Abbott directed DFPS to look into whether providing gender-confirmation surgeries for transgender children would represent kid abuse. Such attraction for kids mostly does not dwell of surgeries specified arsenic orchiectomies, hysterectomies and mastectomies, according to aesculapian experts. DFPS replied to Abbott’s requests by stating that specified surgeries could beryllium classified arsenic abuse, though it’s not wide what value and interaction the determination carries.

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In each of the 4 legislative sessions this year, authorities targeting transgender younker has been a apical precedence for Republican lawmakers. During the 3rd peculiar session, authorities prohibiting transgender younker from playing connected sports teams that correspond with their sex individuality has passed successful the Senate and has passed out of committee successful the House. Lawmakers person besides introduced authorities this peculiar league that would restrict physicians from administering gender-affirming attraction to children.

Disclosure: Equality Texas has been a fiscal protagonist of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan quality enactment that is funded successful portion by donations from members, foundations and firm sponsors. Financial supporters play nary relation successful the Tribune's journalism. Find a implicit list of them here.

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