Who’s Behind Teen Transitions in NYC?
EXPOSED: A V24 Investigation reveals how New York’s publicly funded nonprofits are fast-tracking teens into gender transitions without parental consent. Undercover footage shows a hidden network using legal loopholes to override families and push irreversible treatments, all with taxpayer dollars.
Heike Claudia du Toit
Jul 5, 2025 - 4:31 PM
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NYC Minors Transitioning in Secret
A months-long investigation by Visegrád24 and Sagedrops reveals how publicly funded organizations in New York are fast-tracking minors into gender transitions, often without parental knowledge or consent. What began as a civil rights movement has evolved into a state-supported system that bypasses oversight, labels cautious parents as abusive, and uses taxpayer dollars to fund life-altering medical treatments.
This isn’t theory. It’s real institutions, real children, and real consequences. Our undercover reporter, posing as the uncle of a 15-year-old girl identifying as trans, uncovered a hidden pipeline where ideology overrides caution and secrecy supplants parental rights.
Going Undercover
The investigation began at the Ali Forney Center in Manhattan, the largest LGBTQ youth shelter in the U.S., funded by government grants. Staff revealed that 16-year-olds could access housing, puberty blockers, and even referrals for surgery, all without parental consent.
Parents who don't “affirm” their child’s gender identity may be deemed emotionally abusive. In such cases, children can be placed in confidential housing or state care without parental notification. The center may even advocate for transition treatments on the minor’s behalf.
This policy isn’t isolated. At the New York State Office of Children and Family Services, a licensed social worker confirmed that “non-affirming” parents could trigger state intervention. Children are encouraged to report parents not for abuse or neglect, but for hesitating over medical transitions. Once a report is filed, custody may shift to the state and treatment can begin.
This system is enabled by a 2023 amendment to New York’s Public Health Law, allowing 16- and 17-year-old runaway or homeless youth to consent to medical care, including gender transitions. These services are often facilitated through the Institute for Family Health, a federal partner closely linked to shelters like Ali Forney.
Funding Flows, Parental Rights Fade
The network is tightly coordinated. The Ali Forney Center refers youth to Care for the Homeless, which connects them to the Institute for Family Health. All are federally funded.
At Care for the Homeless, staff confirmed minors can receive hormone therapy and are assigned case managers to guide them through transition, without involving parents. At the Institute for Family Health, one staffer described patients being escorted in without even checking in. The process is discreet, fast-tracked, and ideologically driven.
Major hospitals like New York Presbyterian still require parental consent due to legal liability, but smaller nonprofits operate in legal gray zones under the banners of homelessness and child protection. Since 2020, these organizations have received over $180 million from the Department of Health and Human Services.
That funding is now under threat. In January 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14187, banning federal dollars for gender transition treatments for minors under 19. The order prohibits funding for puberty blockers, hormones, and surgeries, labeling them “experimental and irreversible.” RFK Jr.’s Department of Health and Human Services has been directed to prioritize therapy over medical intervention.
The move has sparked concern within New York’s activist nonprofits. One insider admitted that contingency plans are already in motion to survive the cuts. The ripple effects could drastically alter youth transition access in the state.
Irreversible Harm
The stakes are high. Puberty blockers, hormones, and surgeries carry serious risks - infertility, bone loss, and heart problems - yet they’re offered to teens who may not fully understand the consequences.
Detransitioners are increasingly speaking out. Young adults in their twenties say they weren’t properly informed. Many started blockers at 13, hormones by 14, and had surgeries by 15, only to realize too late the damage was permanent.
One woman testified: “I believed I was born in the wrong body. Adults affirmed that belief, and it caused me irreversible harm. I am a victim of one of the biggest medical scandals in U.S. history.”
This growing movement raises urgent questions about consent, ethics, and parental roles. In New York’s system, hesitant parents are vilified, while activist groups act as gatekeepers and enablers of irreversible treatments. It's time to restore parents’ vital role in their children's healthcare.
A System in Crisis
This investigation exposes more than loopholes, it reveals a coordinated system hidden behind progressive language, driven by ideology, and funded with public money.
This isn’t just a New York issue. Across the U.S., professionals, politicians, and parents are grappling with how gender ideology has overridden child protection standards. Activist-run nonprofits are shaping healthcare policy that sidelines science, ignores parents, and puts vulnerable youth at risk.
Every child deserves protection. Every parent deserves a voice. And every taxpayer deserves transparency.
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Heike Claudia du Toit
South African | Content Writer