NCYL and Texas Civil Rights Project file amicus brief opposing government overreach that subjects loving families to child abuse investigations

Texas directive on gender-affirming care jeopardizes family autonomy and youth rights and well-being

The National Center for Youth Law (NCYL) and the Texas Civil Rights Project (TCRP) have filed an amicus brief in support of families who are challenging Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s directive instructing the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to investigate families who support their transgender children in receiving gender-affirming healthcare.

“This order represents one of the most extreme examples of government intrusion into private family life. It targets loving parents who are doing what every parent should do: listen to their child, consult trusted medical experts, and ensure their child receives the care they need,” said Jean Strout, NCYL Senior Attorney. “Youth and their families are harmed by these baseless investigations.”

By labeling evidence-based, expert-provided health care as “child abuse,” the Governor’s directive flies in the face of professional medical standards, threatens to rip families apart, and traumatizes children instead of supporting them.

The amicus brief, filed in the Texas Supreme Court and joined by other organizations, urges the court to uphold a temporary block of the directive for the families who challenged it.  

Key concerns raised in the brief include:

• The state’s unwarranted interference in decisions best made by families.
• The harm of using child protection systems to investigate and potentially separate children from their safe and supportive homes.
• The chilling effect on families, who fear legal consequences for accessing necessary healthcare, including mental health care.
• The trauma that transgender youth endure when they are unjustly separated from their families and placed in the foster system.

“Families should not live in fear that supporting their child will bring the government to their door,” said Dustin Rynders, TCRP Legal Director. “No parent should face investigation for loving and protecting their child, and no child should be denied medically necessary health care recommended by their doctor.”

NCYL and TCRP stand in solidarity with transgender youth and their families in Texas and around the country. We will continue to fight against government overreach that endangers children and undermines family unity and autonomy.

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The National Center for Youth Law is a national nonprofit that puts children — and especially those pushed to society’s margins — at the center of every fight for justice. For more than 50 years, we have partnered with young people, families, and communities to build a future where every child can thrive. 

The Texas Civil Rights Project is boldly serving the movement for equality and justice in and out of the courts. We use our tools of litigation and legal advocacy to protect and advance the civil rights of everyone in Texas, and we partner with communities across the state to serve the rising movement for social justice. We undertake our work with a vision of a Texas in which all communities can thrive with dignity, justice and without fear.