“In June, three Texas families with transgender teenagers sued to stop child abuse investigations over the provision of gender-affirming medical care. Last week, the case was back in court. To try to get the judge to toss the lawsuit, lawyers for the attorney general argued that the families “have not suffered a concrete injury,” as their children were not removed and their DFPS cases were closed.

This line of thinking is common — it’s why child protection agencies around the country field and investigate millions of calls each year, even as over 80% will conclude without any findings of abuse or neglect. But the AG’s argument flies in the face of everything we know about the impact of DFPS investigations. Investigations themselves, even if closed, carry profound and lasting costs. As plaintiff Amber Briggle, a mother raising a transgender child, put it, “There is no taking back the trauma that was inflicted upon my family.”

Read on, courtesy of The Dallas Morning News: https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2022/12/09/trans-families-in-texas-are-right-dfps-investigations-inflict-trauma/.