Biden-Harris administration pushes law to take away custody from parents who "do not affirm" gender identity

The Biden administration is pushing for a new rule that would allow parents to lose custody for not recognizing or “affirming” their adopted/foster children’s gender dysphoria, according to a new investigation conducted by the Daily Caller.

According to the media outlet, the federal government is pushing a new rule that would require states to ensure that foster children who allegedly "identify as LGBTQ" are placed in homes where gender affirmation is practiced. Refusal to recognize the child's presumed gender identity would be categorized as "abuse."

Alex Roque, who runs the Ali Forney Center for LGBTQ homeless youth in New York, spoke at a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) webinar last fall. He discussed how to modify child protection systems across the country, emphasizing foster homes that don't practice gender affirmation with their children.

"If they were denying them food or denying them access to school or denying other things, there would be headlines," Roque said. "There would be prosecution."

Roque stated during his presentation that family rejection of a child's gender identity could not be dismissed as an opinion and that non-affirmation of it should be treated as abuse.

Roque's views on gender affirmation largely coincide with the Biden-Harris administration, according to the Daily Caller.

"Among gender activists the Biden-Harris administration has enlisted to shape its policies, Roque’s definition of abuse is not fringe, and his vision for reshaping the system is not hypothetical," the report reads. "While crafting its foster care rule finalized in April, HHS officials took inspiration from social workers in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, who spent years pioneering a program that strong-arms parents into affirming whatever confused beliefs children express about their gender. Parents who decline risk losing a voice in their child’s life."

A state program designed to push gender ideology

In Cuyahoga, Ohio, a program was developed with federal grant funds that provided the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) of HHS an ideal model for infusing gender ideology into social and foster care services, the Daily Caller reported, citing unpublished documents and emails obtained through public records requests.

According to the investigation, the Biden-Harris administration's rule states that placements for children with gender dysphoria should be intended to create an environment that supports the child's self-perception, even if it involves direct harm to the child's health.

"To gender activists consulted by the Biden administration, being “affirming” means assuming the child knows best about his or her identity — even if what he or she claims to want is life-altering medical procedures like hormone blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgeries to appear more like the opposite sex," the investigation claims.

Citing a fact sheet for caregivers on the Cuyahoga County Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS) website, the media outlet explained that, for local Ohio child protective services, being an affirming parent requires significant sacrifices in terms of cultural perception, as it could often involve providing children with access to items such as pectoral fixators or prosthetics that mimic a penis to respect their "gender identity."

Emails obtained by the Daily Caller reveal that Julie Kruse, DCFS senior adviser on LGBTQI Initiatives, called Cuyahoga County officials "pioneers" for implementing gender-affirming policies, consulting numerous activists to support the agency's efforts.

However, in September 2023, when the new rule was announced, the federal government was met with strong opposition. A total of 19 Republican states criticized the proposal, arguing that it would violate religious and speech freedoms.

In addition, the states warned that it would limit the participation of organizations that offer services based on a religious faith or belief in the foster care system.

The concerns of these states have become a reality. According to the Caller, in states such as Washington and Vermont, several Christian couples have lost their foster care licenses under similar regulations.

In fact, several parents in other states have reported that local authorities have deemed them "unfit" for refusing to support or allow their children to transition. According to the investigation, these types of cases, increasingly recurrent after the approval of federally funded programs such as the one in Cuyahoga County, suggest that they are not isolated incidents, but part of an effort to intervene in family decisions on gender identity issues.

Some experts are already speaking out

Vernadette Broyles, the president of the Campaign for Children's and Parents' Rights, warned that she has seen an increase in families being removed from custody of their children for upholding "biological reality."

In particular, Broyles told DCNF that there has absolutely been "an uptick in families that are having their custody of their child taken away, investigated or disrupted" for not supporting their children's gender transitions.

Likewise, Rachel N. Morrison, director of the HHS Accountability Project at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, said that the Biden-Harris administration's new rule is based on the premise that "non-affirmation" is considered child abuse. The expert warned that this interpretation could extend beyond the foster care system, affecting future custody disputes, adoptions and even school policies.