{"id":180,"date":"2026-06-11T09:08:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T09:08:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=180"},"modified":"2026-06-11T09:08:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T09:08:12","slug":"bidens-transgender-shock-troops-had-a-history-of-radicalizing-child-welfare-systems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=180","title":{"rendered":"Biden\u2019s Transgender Shock Troops Had A History Of Radicalizing Child Welfare Systems"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

This is part four of a Daily Wire series exposing the Biden administration\u2019s previously unreported efforts to enact radical anti-family policies in the name of protecting transgender-identifying children. In<\/i> part three<\/i>, we saw how Biden officials prepared for a second term by laying the groundwork to enshrine transgenderism in federal law. Today, we meet the radical activists who would have led this effort.<\/i><\/p>\n

Read more U.S. Launches New Strikes Against Iran<\/a><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

When the Biden administration needed people to implement its radical transgender policies, there was an obvious place to look.<\/p>\n

The University of Connecticut\u2019s National Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Expression (SOGIE) Center was named a subcontractor of the $20 million grant from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to create Biden\u2019s own Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Expression Institute.<\/p>\n

Names were not the only thing the two SOGIE Institutes would have in common. The UConn group was at the forefront of pushing radical gender ideology on child welfare systems across the country, and the activists and researchers behind the group would have assisted the HHS\u2019s Children\u2019s Bureau in \u201ctransforming\u201d child welfare systems with gender ideology and implementing Biden\u2019s April 2024 rule requiring foster care parents to \u201caffirm\u201d a child\u2019s \u201cgender identity.\u201d<\/p>\n

The primary contractor of the SOGIE Institute grant, BLH Technologies Inc., was described as UConn\u2019s \u201csmall business partner\u201d in an email written by Angela Weeks, a University of Connecticut employee tasked with administering the SOGIE grant.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have exciting news! BLH Technologies Inc, our small business partner in the application for the Child Welfare SOGIE Institute, received notification that we won the award!\u201d wrote Weeks. \u201cThis [Technical Assistance] center will provide guidance for child welfare agencies across the country on SOGI data collection, program implementation, and the implementation of the \u2018Designated Placements Rule.’\u201d<\/p>\n

Weeks and Marlene Matarese, who held leadership roles at Biden\u2019s SOGIE Institute, had spent years working together to develop gender-affirming child welfare programs through an initiative called the National Quality Improvement Center on Tailored Services, Placement Stability, and Permanency for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Two-Spirit Children and Youth (QIC-LGBTQ2S) in Foster Care. This group was funded by a $10 million federal grant awarded to the University of Maryland School of Social Work in late 2016. The initiative developed \u201caffirming\u201d programs that re-educated parents to support a child\u2019s gender transition, helped LGBTQ+ identifying kids find \u201c\u201d and trained social workers to collect information about the sexuality of children.<\/p>\n

Weeks, Matarese, and the research group moved from the University of Maryland in late 2022 to become part of UConn\u2019s School of Social Work Innovations Institute. Matarese is currently an associate research professor at UConn, while Weeks is an administrative program manager, and both used UConn email addresses to perform SOGIE Institute tasks. Many of the documents cited in this series were obtained through public record requests submitted to the university.<\/p>\n

UConn was awarded a $33,700 grant in April 2023 to create a series of training modules for the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) staff to build its capacity to \u201cserve and provide support to LGBTQ2SI+ children, families, parents, and others,\u201d as described in the grant.<\/p>\n

Matarese and Weeks worked with ACF officials to complete the training series in the summer of 2024, records show. One email shows Weeks explaining the concept of \u201csex assigned at birth\u201d to an ACF staff member.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy questions is are people also assigning gender at birth? As do birth certificates have \u2018gender\u2019 instead of sex? I defer to UCONN on this point,\u201d asked the staff member.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe use both, depending on the context,\u201d Weeks responded. \u201cSex assigned at birth is when folks add female\/male to birth certificates. When people say, \u2018it\u2019s a girl\u2019 or \u2018it\u2019s a boy,\u2019 they are assigning gender.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more HelloFresh Rival Saw Grotesque Pride Ad And Said, \u2018Hold My Beer\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

was also home to the National SOGIE Center, a collaborative of transgender activist groups led by Weeks and Matarese that showcased many of the interventions developed by QIC-LGBTQ2S. UConn described the National SOGIE Center as \u201cA collaborative, led by Innovations Institute with Angela Weeks as Project Director and Marlene Matarese as Principal Investigator, of national leading social justice organizations that work to promote the well-being of LGBTQ+ youth and their families,\u201d on its website, which has since been deactivated but is available to read on the Internet Archive.<\/p>\n

The Innovations Institute removed links to many LGBTQ+ affirming resources and the National SOGIE Center from its website after President Trump took office, and it\u2019s unclear if UCONN is still leading the group. The Daily Wire contacted UConn several times and asked for clarification about its current involvement but did not receive a response.<\/p>\n

The National SOGIE Center continues to produce LGBTQ+ affirming resources. It published a \u201cComing Out With Care\u201d guidebook in the fall of 2025 that helps young people navigate sharing their LGBTQ+ identity. The guide warns you \u201cmay lose family members\u201d who have been exposed to \u201cmisinformation\u201d when sharing your LGBTQ+ identity.<\/p>\n

\u201cTry to remind yourself that your parents and other family members may have been exposed to a lot of misinformation about sexual orientation and gender identity,\u201d states the guide. \u201cYou may lose family members \u2014 this could be for a few days, weeks, months, or even years.\u201d<\/p>\n

The guide also recommends that youth research local consent laws to discover if they can make \u201cmedical decisions\u2019 without parental consent.<\/p>\n

\u201cResearch if there is an age of consent law that lets youth (in some states, this may be between ages 12 to 18) make certain medical decisions without parental consent,\u201d the guide says.<\/p>\n

A recently uploaded video on the National SOGIE Center YouTube channel stressed the importance of parents supporting their child\u2019s transgender identity. The video pushes the debunked narrative that affirming a child\u2019s transgender identity protects them from harm.<\/p>\n

In 2025, the Human Rights Campaign, a longtime partner of the National SOGIE Center, announced it was transitioning its child welfare program to the National SOGIE Center in its May 2025 Newsletter.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are excited to share an important update: after May 30, 2025, the management of the All Children \u2013 All Families (ACAF) program is transitioning from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation to The National SOGIE Center!\u201d stated the newsletter. \u201cThis transition marks a new chapter in the program\u2019s evolution, one grounded in continuity, deep expertise, and our shared commitment to advancing equity and inclusion for LGBTQ+ children, youth, and families.\u201d<\/p>\n

PART ONE: SHE WOULDN\u2019T CALL HER DAUGHTER \u2018TRANS.\u2019 THE STATE TOOK CUSTODY.<\/b><\/p>\n

PART TWO: THE EVIDENCE PROBLEM AT THE HEART OF BIDEN\u2019S TRANS RULE<\/b><\/p>\n

PART THREE: THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION\u2019S CLANDESTINE 5-YEAR PLAN TO TRANS CHILD WELFARE<\/b><\/p>\n

Read more Belfast Beheading Attempt And Riots Revive American Debate Over Illegal Immigration<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is part four of a Daily Wire series exposing the Biden administration\u2019s previously unreported efforts to enact radical anti-family policies in the name of protecting transgender-identifying children. In part three, we saw how Biden officials prepared for a second term by laying the groundwork to enshrine transgenderism in federal law. Today, we meet the radical activists who would have led this effort.***When the Biden administration needed people to implement its radical transgender policies, there was an obvious place to look.The University of Connecticut\u2019s National Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Expression (SOGIE) Center was named a subcontractor of the $20 million grant from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to create Biden\u2019s own Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Expression Institute.Names were not the only thing the two SOGIE Institutes would have in common. The UConn group was at the forefront of pushing radical gender ideology on child welfare systems across the country, and the activists and researchers behind the group would have assisted the HHS\u2019s Children\u2019s Bureau in \u201ctransforming\u201d child welfare systems with gender ideology and implementing Biden\u2019s April 2024 rule requiring foster care parents to \u201caffirm\u201d a child\u2019s \u201cgender identity.\u201dThe primary contractor of the SOGIE Institute grant, BLH Technologies Inc., was described as UConn\u2019s \u201csmall business partner\u201d in an email written by Angela Weeks, a University of Connecticut employee tasked with administering the SOGIE grant.\u201cI have exciting news! BLH Technologies Inc, our small business partner in the application for the Child Welfare SOGIE Institute, received notification that we won the award!\u201d wrote Weeks. \u201cThis [Technical Assistance] center will provide guidance for child welfare agencies across the country on SOGI data collection, program implementation, and the implementation of the \u2018Designated Placements Rule.'\u201dWeeks and Marlene Matarese, who held leadership roles at Biden\u2019s SOGIE Institute, had spent years working together to develop gender-affirming child welfare programs through an initiative called the National Quality Improvement Center on Tailored Services, Placement Stability, and Permanency for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Two-Spirit Children and Youth (QIC-LGBTQ2S) in Foster Care. This group was funded by a $10 million federal grant awarded to the University of Maryland School of Social Work in late 2016. The initiative developed \u201caffirming\u201d programs that re-educated parents to support a child\u2019s gender transition, helped LGBTQ+ identifying kids find \u201cchosen affirming families,\u201d and trained social workers to collect information about the sexuality of children.Weeks, Matarese, and the research group moved from the University of Maryland in late 2022 to become part of UConn\u2019s School of Social Work Innovations Institute. Matarese is currently an associate research professor at UConn, while Weeks is an administrative program manager, and both used UConn email addresses to perform SOGIE Institute tasks. Many of the documents cited in this series were obtained through public record requests submitted to the university.UConn was awarded a $33,700 grant in April 2023 to create a series of training modules for the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) staff to build its capacity to \u201cserve and provide support to LGBTQ2SI+ children, families, parents, and others,\u201d as described in the grant.Matarese and Weeks worked with ACF officials to complete the training series in the summer of 2024, records show. One email shows Weeks explaining the concept of \u201csex assigned at birth\u201d to an ACF staff member.\u201cMy questions is are people also assigning gender at birth? As do birth certificates have \u2018gender\u2019 instead of sex? I defer to UCONN on this point,\u201d asked the staff member.\u201cWe use both, depending on the context,\u201d Weeks responded. \u201cSex assigned at birth is when folks add female\/male to birth certificates. When people say, \u2018it\u2019s a girl\u2019 or \u2018it\u2019s a boy,\u2019 they are assigning gender.\u201dUConn was also home to the National SOGIE Center, a collaborative of transgender activist groups led by Weeks and Matarese that showcased many of the interventions developed by QIC-LGBTQ2S. UConn described the National SOGIE Center as \u201cA collaborative, led by Innovations Institute with Angela Weeks as Project Director and Marlene Matarese as Principal Investigator, of national leading social justice organizations that work to promote the well-being of LGBTQ+ youth and their families,\u201d on its website, which has since been deactivated but is available to read on the Internet Archive.The Innovations Institute removed links to many LGBTQ+ affirming resources and the National SOGIE Center from its website after President Trump took office, and it\u2019s unclear if UCONN is still leading the group. The Daily Wire contacted UConn several times and asked for clarification about its current involvement but did not receive a response.The National SOGIE Center continues to produce LGBTQ+ affirming resources. It published a \u201cComing Out With Care\u201d guidebook in the fall of 2025 that helps young people navigate sharing their LGBTQ+ identity. The guide warns you \u201cmay lose family members\u201d who have been exposed to \u201cmisinformation\u201d when sharing your LGBTQ+ identity.\u201cTry to remind yourself that your parents and other family members may have been exposed to a lot of misinformation about sexual orientation and gender identity,\u201d states the guide. \u201cYou may lose family members \u2014 this could be for a few days, weeks, months, or even years.\u201dThe guide also recommends that youth research local consent laws to discover if they can make \u201cmedical decisions\u2019 without parental consent.\u201cResearch if there is an age of consent law that lets youth (in some states, this may be between ages 12 to 18) make certain medical decisions without parental consent,\u201d the guide says.A recently uploaded video on the National SOGIE Center YouTube channel stressed the importance of parents supporting their child\u2019s transgender identity. The video pushes the debunked narrative that affirming a child\u2019s transgender identity protects them from harm.In 2025, the Human Rights Campaign, a longtime partner of the National SOGIE Center, announced it was transitioning its child welfare program to the National SOGIE Center in its May 2025 Newsletter.\u201cWe are excited to share an important update: after May 30, 2025, the management of the All Children \u2013 All Families (ACAF) program is transitioning from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation to The National SOGIE Center!\u201d stated the newsletter. \u201cThis transition marks a new chapter in the program\u2019s evolution, one grounded in continuity, deep expertise, and our shared commitment to advancing equity and inclusion for LGBTQ+ children, youth, and families.\u201dPART ONE: SHE WOULDN\u2019T CALL HER DAUGHTER \u2018TRANS.\u2019 THE STATE TOOK CUSTODY.PART TWO: THE EVIDENCE PROBLEM AT THE HEART OF BIDEN\u2019S TRANS RULEPART THREE: THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION\u2019S CLANDESTINE 5-YEAR PLAN TO TRANS CHILD WELFARE<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":179,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-investigation"],"yoast_head":"\nBiden\u2019s Transgender Shock Troops Had A History Of Radicalizing Child Welfare Systems - Blue Route Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=180\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Biden\u2019s Transgender Shock Troops Had A History Of Radicalizing Child Welfare Systems - Blue Route Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This is part four of a Daily Wire series exposing the Biden administration\u2019s previously unreported efforts to enact radical anti-family policies in the name of protecting transgender-identifying children. In part three, we saw how Biden officials prepared for a second term by laying the groundwork to enshrine transgenderism in federal law. Today, we meet the radical activists who would have led this effort.***When the Biden administration needed people to implement its radical transgender policies, there was an obvious place to look.The University of Connecticut\u2019s National Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Expression (SOGIE) Center was named a subcontractor of the $20 million grant from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to create Biden\u2019s own Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Expression Institute.Names were not the only thing the two SOGIE Institutes would have in common. The UConn group was at the forefront of pushing radical gender ideology on child welfare systems across the country, and the activists and researchers behind the group would have assisted the HHS\u2019s Children\u2019s Bureau in \u201ctransforming\u201d child welfare systems with gender ideology and implementing Biden\u2019s April 2024 rule requiring foster care parents to \u201caffirm\u201d a child\u2019s \u201cgender identity.\u201dThe primary contractor of the SOGIE Institute grant, BLH Technologies Inc., was described as UConn\u2019s \u201csmall business partner\u201d in an email written by Angela Weeks, a University of Connecticut employee tasked with administering the SOGIE grant.\u201cI have exciting news! BLH Technologies Inc, our small business partner in the application for the Child Welfare SOGIE Institute, received notification that we won the award!\u201d wrote Weeks. \u201cThis [Technical Assistance] center will provide guidance for child welfare agencies across the country on SOGI data collection, program implementation, and the implementation of the \u2018Designated Placements Rule.&apos;\u201dWeeks and Marlene Matarese, who held leadership roles at Biden\u2019s SOGIE Institute, had spent years working together to develop gender-affirming child welfare programs through an initiative called the National Quality Improvement Center on Tailored Services, Placement Stability, and Permanency for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Two-Spirit Children and Youth (QIC-LGBTQ2S) in Foster Care. This group was funded by a $10 million federal grant awarded to the University of Maryland School of Social Work in late 2016. The initiative developed \u201caffirming\u201d programs that re-educated parents to support a child\u2019s gender transition, helped LGBTQ+ identifying kids find \u201cchosen affirming families,\u201d and trained social workers to collect information about the sexuality of children.Weeks, Matarese, and the research group moved from the University of Maryland in late 2022 to become part of UConn\u2019s School of Social Work Innovations Institute. Matarese is currently an associate research professor at UConn, while Weeks is an administrative program manager, and both used UConn email addresses to perform SOGIE Institute tasks. Many of the documents cited in this series were obtained through public record requests submitted to the university.UConn was awarded a $33,700 grant in April 2023 to create a series of training modules for the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) staff to build its capacity to \u201cserve and provide support to LGBTQ2SI+ children, families, parents, and others,\u201d as described in the grant.Matarese and Weeks worked with ACF officials to complete the training series in the summer of 2024, records show. One email shows Weeks explaining the concept of \u201csex assigned at birth\u201d to an ACF staff member.\u201cMy questions is are people also assigning gender at birth? As do birth certificates have \u2018gender\u2019 instead of sex? I defer to UCONN on this point,\u201d asked the staff member.\u201cWe use both, depending on the context,\u201d Weeks responded. \u201cSex assigned at birth is when folks add female\/male to birth certificates. When people say, \u2018it\u2019s a girl\u2019 or \u2018it\u2019s a boy,\u2019 they are assigning gender.\u201dUConn was also home to the National SOGIE Center, a collaborative of transgender activist groups led by Weeks and Matarese that showcased many of the interventions developed by QIC-LGBTQ2S. UConn described the National SOGIE Center as \u201cA collaborative, led by Innovations Institute with Angela Weeks as Project Director and Marlene Matarese as Principal Investigator, of national leading social justice organizations that work to promote the well-being of LGBTQ+ youth and their families,\u201d on its website, which has since been deactivated but is available to read on the Internet Archive.The Innovations Institute removed links to many LGBTQ+ affirming resources and the National SOGIE Center from its website after President Trump took office, and it\u2019s unclear if UCONN is still leading the group. The Daily Wire contacted UConn several times and asked for clarification about its current involvement but did not receive a response.The National SOGIE Center continues to produce LGBTQ+ affirming resources. It published a \u201cComing Out With Care\u201d guidebook in the fall of 2025 that helps young people navigate sharing their LGBTQ+ identity. The guide warns you \u201cmay lose family members\u201d who have been exposed to \u201cmisinformation\u201d when sharing your LGBTQ+ identity.\u201cTry to remind yourself that your parents and other family members may have been exposed to a lot of misinformation about sexual orientation and gender identity,\u201d states the guide. \u201cYou may lose family members \u2014 this could be for a few days, weeks, months, or even years.\u201dThe guide also recommends that youth research local consent laws to discover if they can make \u201cmedical decisions\u2019 without parental consent.\u201cResearch if there is an age of consent law that lets youth (in some states, this may be between ages 12 to 18) make certain medical decisions without parental consent,\u201d the guide says.A recently uploaded video on the National SOGIE Center YouTube channel stressed the importance of parents supporting their child\u2019s transgender identity. The video pushes the debunked narrative that affirming a child\u2019s transgender identity protects them from harm.In 2025, the Human Rights Campaign, a longtime partner of the National SOGIE Center, announced it was transitioning its child welfare program to the National SOGIE Center in its May 2025 Newsletter.\u201cWe are excited to share an important update: after May 30, 2025, the management of the All Children \u2013 All Families (ACAF) program is transitioning from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation to The National SOGIE Center!\u201d stated the newsletter. \u201cThis transition marks a new chapter in the program\u2019s evolution, one grounded in continuity, deep expertise, and our shared commitment to advancing equity and inclusion for LGBTQ+ children, youth, and families.\u201dPART ONE: SHE WOULDN\u2019T CALL HER DAUGHTER \u2018TRANS.\u2019 THE STATE TOOK CUSTODY.PART TWO: THE EVIDENCE PROBLEM AT THE HEART OF BIDEN\u2019S TRANS RULEPART THREE: THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION\u2019S CLANDESTINE 5-YEAR PLAN TO TRANS CHILD WELFARE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=180\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Blue Route Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-11T09:08:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=180#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=180\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/19da116f8d79cf8987781569801c6b7c\"},\"headline\":\"Biden\u2019s Transgender Shock Troops Had A History Of Radicalizing Child Welfare Systems\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-11T09:08:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=180\"},\"wordCount\":1139,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=180#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/6717bdfa5dc082bacfd313fcec90f8a1.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Investigation\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=180#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=180\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=180\",\"name\":\"Biden\u2019s Transgender Shock Troops Had A History Of Radicalizing Child Welfare Systems - 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Blue Route Journal","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=180","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Biden\u2019s Transgender Shock Troops Had A History Of Radicalizing Child Welfare Systems - Blue Route Journal","og_description":"This is part four of a Daily Wire series exposing the Biden administration\u2019s previously unreported efforts to enact radical anti-family policies in the name of protecting transgender-identifying children. In part three, we saw how Biden officials prepared for a second term by laying the groundwork to enshrine transgenderism in federal law. Today, we meet the radical activists who would have led this effort.***When the Biden administration needed people to implement its radical transgender policies, there was an obvious place to look.The University of Connecticut\u2019s National Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Expression (SOGIE) Center was named a subcontractor of the $20 million grant from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to create Biden\u2019s own Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Expression Institute.Names were not the only thing the two SOGIE Institutes would have in common. The UConn group was at the forefront of pushing radical gender ideology on child welfare systems across the country, and the activists and researchers behind the group would have assisted the HHS\u2019s Children\u2019s Bureau in \u201ctransforming\u201d child welfare systems with gender ideology and implementing Biden\u2019s April 2024 rule requiring foster care parents to \u201caffirm\u201d a child\u2019s \u201cgender identity.\u201dThe primary contractor of the SOGIE Institute grant, BLH Technologies Inc., was described as UConn\u2019s \u201csmall business partner\u201d in an email written by Angela Weeks, a University of Connecticut employee tasked with administering the SOGIE grant.\u201cI have exciting news! BLH Technologies Inc, our small business partner in the application for the Child Welfare SOGIE Institute, received notification that we won the award!\u201d wrote Weeks. \u201cThis [Technical Assistance] center will provide guidance for child welfare agencies across the country on SOGI data collection, program implementation, and the implementation of the \u2018Designated Placements Rule.'\u201dWeeks and Marlene Matarese, who held leadership roles at Biden\u2019s SOGIE Institute, had spent years working together to develop gender-affirming child welfare programs through an initiative called the National Quality Improvement Center on Tailored Services, Placement Stability, and Permanency for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Two-Spirit Children and Youth (QIC-LGBTQ2S) in Foster Care. This group was funded by a $10 million federal grant awarded to the University of Maryland School of Social Work in late 2016. The initiative developed \u201caffirming\u201d programs that re-educated parents to support a child\u2019s gender transition, helped LGBTQ+ identifying kids find \u201cchosen affirming families,\u201d and trained social workers to collect information about the sexuality of children.Weeks, Matarese, and the research group moved from the University of Maryland in late 2022 to become part of UConn\u2019s School of Social Work Innovations Institute. Matarese is currently an associate research professor at UConn, while Weeks is an administrative program manager, and both used UConn email addresses to perform SOGIE Institute tasks. Many of the documents cited in this series were obtained through public record requests submitted to the university.UConn was awarded a $33,700 grant in April 2023 to create a series of training modules for the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) staff to build its capacity to \u201cserve and provide support to LGBTQ2SI+ children, families, parents, and others,\u201d as described in the grant.Matarese and Weeks worked with ACF officials to complete the training series in the summer of 2024, records show. One email shows Weeks explaining the concept of \u201csex assigned at birth\u201d to an ACF staff member.\u201cMy questions is are people also assigning gender at birth? As do birth certificates have \u2018gender\u2019 instead of sex? I defer to UCONN on this point,\u201d asked the staff member.\u201cWe use both, depending on the context,\u201d Weeks responded. \u201cSex assigned at birth is when folks add female\/male to birth certificates. When people say, \u2018it\u2019s a girl\u2019 or \u2018it\u2019s a boy,\u2019 they are assigning gender.\u201dUConn was also home to the National SOGIE Center, a collaborative of transgender activist groups led by Weeks and Matarese that showcased many of the interventions developed by QIC-LGBTQ2S. UConn described the National SOGIE Center as \u201cA collaborative, led by Innovations Institute with Angela Weeks as Project Director and Marlene Matarese as Principal Investigator, of national leading social justice organizations that work to promote the well-being of LGBTQ+ youth and their families,\u201d on its website, which has since been deactivated but is available to read on the Internet Archive.The Innovations Institute removed links to many LGBTQ+ affirming resources and the National SOGIE Center from its website after President Trump took office, and it\u2019s unclear if UCONN is still leading the group. The Daily Wire contacted UConn several times and asked for clarification about its current involvement but did not receive a response.The National SOGIE Center continues to produce LGBTQ+ affirming resources. It published a \u201cComing Out With Care\u201d guidebook in the fall of 2025 that helps young people navigate sharing their LGBTQ+ identity. The guide warns you \u201cmay lose family members\u201d who have been exposed to \u201cmisinformation\u201d when sharing your LGBTQ+ identity.\u201cTry to remind yourself that your parents and other family members may have been exposed to a lot of misinformation about sexual orientation and gender identity,\u201d states the guide. \u201cYou may lose family members \u2014 this could be for a few days, weeks, months, or even years.\u201dThe guide also recommends that youth research local consent laws to discover if they can make \u201cmedical decisions\u2019 without parental consent.\u201cResearch if there is an age of consent law that lets youth (in some states, this may be between ages 12 to 18) make certain medical decisions without parental consent,\u201d the guide says.A recently uploaded video on the National SOGIE Center YouTube channel stressed the importance of parents supporting their child\u2019s transgender identity. The video pushes the debunked narrative that affirming a child\u2019s transgender identity protects them from harm.In 2025, the Human Rights Campaign, a longtime partner of the National SOGIE Center, announced it was transitioning its child welfare program to the National SOGIE Center in its May 2025 Newsletter.\u201cWe are excited to share an important update: after May 30, 2025, the management of the All Children \u2013 All Families (ACAF) program is transitioning from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation to The National SOGIE Center!\u201d stated the newsletter. \u201cThis transition marks a new chapter in the program\u2019s evolution, one grounded in continuity, deep expertise, and our shared commitment to advancing equity and inclusion for LGBTQ+ children, youth, and families.\u201dPART ONE: SHE WOULDN\u2019T CALL HER DAUGHTER \u2018TRANS.\u2019 THE STATE TOOK CUSTODY.PART TWO: THE EVIDENCE PROBLEM AT THE HEART OF BIDEN\u2019S TRANS RULEPART THREE: THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION\u2019S CLANDESTINE 5-YEAR PLAN TO TRANS CHILD WELFARE","og_url":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=180","og_site_name":"Blue Route Journal","article_published_time":"2026-06-11T09:08:12+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=180#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=180"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/19da116f8d79cf8987781569801c6b7c"},"headline":"Biden\u2019s Transgender Shock Troops Had A History Of Radicalizing Child Welfare Systems","datePublished":"2026-06-11T09:08:12+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=180"},"wordCount":1139,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=180#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/6717bdfa5dc082bacfd313fcec90f8a1.avif","articleSection":["Investigation"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=180#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=180","url":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=180","name":"Biden\u2019s Transgender Shock Troops Had A History Of Radicalizing Child Welfare Systems - 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