Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte defended the state's decision to remove a teenage girl from her parents' care after they refused to change her gender.
Father Todd Kolstad and stepmother Krista Kolstad were devastated when their 14-year-old daughter Jennifer was taken away from them by Child Protective Services last week.
Jennifer told friends that she wanted to kill herself, so CPS went to the house and investigated. She was hospitalized after expressing that she wanted to become male and be called Leo. Such operations on minors are illegal in Montana.
Hospital staff then requested that Jennifer be transferred to a specialized center in Wyoming – where gender reassignment surgery is legal for minors – but her parents refused.
Ten minutes later, CPS showed up at the Kolstad family's home with police officers and papers to remove their daughter from custody, accusing them of refusing treatment.
Now, staunch Republican Gov. Gianforte has reiterated Montana's decision, saying he followed “state policy and the law” in this “tragic case.”
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte has defended the state's decision to remove a 14-year-old teenager from her parents' care after they refused to change her gender
Jennifer pictured with parents Todd and Krista Kolstad. Their daughter was legally taken away from them after they were accused of not allowing her to change into a man – at the age of 14
He also named his deputy, Lieutenant Governor Kristen Juras, as the person who reviewed the case and made the final decision, rather than himself.
Gianforte said he asked Juras to “continue to monitor” Jennifer's case because she now lives in a Youth Dynamics group home in Montana and is in the custody of CPS.
He then pledged to continue signing and passing legislation that “strengthens our families and protects Montana’s children.”
Gianforte also noted that he has banned medical treatments for gender dysphoria in children – including outlawing puberty blockers, hormone treatments and gender reassignment surgery.
Montana's governor said in a statement: “To give them the best possible chance to reach their full potential, children deserve to grow up in happy, healthy homes and loving families.” Unfortunately, this ideal is not always realized.
“Unfortunately, there are children in our society whose lives, health and well-being are at serious risk from abuse and neglect and only as a last resort should they be removed from their homes.”
“When I heard about the recent allegations surrounding a child welfare case, I asked Lieutenant Governor Kristen Juras – an experienced lawyer, constitutional conservative, mother and grandmother – to review the case.
“Lieutenant Governor Juras consulted with the Director of DPHHS and personally reviewed the case documents and concluded that DPHHS and the court followed state policy and law in handling this tragic case.”
The governor appointed his deputy, Lieutenant Governor Kristen Juras, as the person to review the case and make the final decision, rather than himself
“I have asked the lieutenant governor to continue to monitor the case as it progresses.”
“In addition, Senate Bill 99, which I signed into law in April 2023, prohibits medical and surgical treatments to treat minors with gender dysphoria and also prohibits the use of tax funds for such treatments.”
“Our administration will continue to advance policies that strengthen our families and protect children in Montana, as we have done to encourage adoption and ban permanent, invasive, life-altering medical procedures in children, such as puberty blockers, hormone treatments and sex-related reassignment surgeries .'
The ordeal began in August 2023 when Child Protective Services (CPS) visited the Kolstads' home in Glasgow to inspect the home and question Jennifer, later determining that she needed a transition to heal.
Krista, Jennifer's stepmother, and the girl's biological father, Todd Kolstad, said Jennifer had a difficult upbringing and several undiagnosed mental health issues, including attention-seeking behavior and lying, which they said caused the urge to transition and from them Social services were overlooked.
Krista told : “It was terrible… Our family unit will never be the same. “Even if they brought our daughter back to us now, you won't have the same family unit… That causes a lot of animosity in Jennifer towards us, she doesn't think she needs to listen to us as her parents anymore.'
Mr. Kolstad said: “I love my daughter unconditionally and just want her not to make any decisions until she has the maturity and life experience to understand the consequences this has on her actions.”
The Kolstads said Jennifer had a traumatic upbringing. Her birth mother left home when she was young and was only there sporadically.
Testimony from Jennifer and her sister's counselor showed the girls described their birth mother as callous, abusive and “crazy.”
Jennifer was also repeatedly bullied at school. Mr. and Mrs. Kolstad even moved to give their daughter a fresh start at a new school.
“She always wanted to be the super pretty, super popular girl, and who doesn't do that?” Krista said. “But she was always the crazy, smart kid who was in math club.”
When Children and Family Services arrived at the family's home, the family let the caseworker tour their home and speak with their daughter alone, but warned her that she had made up stories in the past.
During the interview, Jennifer claimed that she drank toilet cleaner and overdosed on painkillers in a suicide attempt.
Her parents said this was highly unlikely because Ms. Kolstad had been working at home all day and Jennifer had had no access to the two substances and had shown no symptoms of illness.
Despite their doubts, Mr. and Mrs. Kolstad agreed to take Jennifer to the local hospital for an examination.
Blood tests confirmed that Jennifer had not consumed any toxic substances.
However, medical records mentioned that Jennifer identified as a man and wanted to be called Leo.
“Our daughter began to demand that she be called Leo, he and him.” We explained that this was in her story, but that we as her parents would not agree. “The hospital staff ignored our request,” Mr. Kolstad said.
Jennifer first expressed her desire to change gender to her parents at the age of 13.
Jennifer (left) pictured with parents Todd and Krista Kolstad and her sister
Her parents told her she was too young to make such a decision and sent her to counseling to find out why she felt this way.
Ms. Kolstad said, “It wasn't new, but she hadn't brought it up for a year.” She never came to us and said, “You have to call me that, you have to call me that.” That was never a Problem.'
Mr. and Mrs. Kolstad, who are Christians, told hospital staff of their objections and asked that Jennifer be called by her birth name.
“The hospital continued to call our daughter Leo even though she is a minor and after I explained that this goes against our wishes, our religion and our core family values.”
“The hospital told me to call their lawyer if I had a problem because they would do whatever the patient told them,” Ms. Kolstad said.
Although medical transition of minors is banned in Montana, Ms. Kolstad said the hospital told her that “social transition” is a “gray area of the law.”
Jennifer was placed under 24-hour supervision because of her suicide threats, but Ms. Kolstad said an assistant was placed at her door who would regularly talk to Jennifer about top surgery and being non-binary.
Together with CPS, Mr. and Mrs. Kolstad agreed that Jennifer would benefit from specialized inpatient treatment and counseling at a psychiatric hospital.
There were six facilities in Montana and one in Wyoming. Mr. and Mrs. Kolstad raised concerns about Wyoming because the state allows minors to receive gender-affirming treatments such as hormone blockers and surgery.
They feared that this might happen without their consent.
But just a few hours later, Mr. and Mrs. Kolstad were informed that there was a bed available at the Wyoming Behavioral Institute and that Jennifer needed to leave immediately.
They stated that they affirmed their concerns and that they had questions that needed to be answered before they agreed.
CPS immediately arrived at the Kolstads' home with papers removing their daughter from their custody.
While Jennifer was in Wyoming, she was given men's hygiene products such as body wash and deodorant.
After a month at the facility in Wyoming, Jennifer was transferred to a Youth Dynamics group home in Montana, where she has remained since.
Jennifer with her stepmother Krista (left) before a social transition occurred. Jennifer (right) after medical staff allowed her to socially transition against her parents' wishes
Jennifer with stepmother Krista, who has raised her since she was seven
Here, Jennifer was only allowed to wear men's clothing, wear a chest binder, shave her head and attend all-boys groups.
The Kolstads were assigned a public defender who advised them to “play nice” and follow CPS recommendations.
“We have followed their advice over the last few months and now our rights are being completely stripped away,” Ms Kolstad said.
On Jan. 19, the couple lost custody of their daughter to CPS, which said it was “in their therapeutic interest” to allow Jennifer to be transgender and that her parents were “not following recommended therapy.”
CPS was granted custody of Jennifer for six months. After that, the plan is to place Jennifer in the care of her birth mother, who now lives in Canada but was never really a part of her life.
Mr. and Mrs. Kolstad have decided to defy a judge's order to remain silent about the case.
They were scheduled to appear in court yesterday to respond to the contempt of court charges and to hear the proposed treatment plan for Jennifer. However, the hearing was postponed because Ms. Kolstad's very ill father is in need of care in Ohio.
CPS in Glasgow, Montana, told it had no comment.
Meanwhile, Mr. and Mrs. Cox, another couple who lost custody of their son, saw their child kidnapped from their home after the Indiana Department of Child Services warned a district court that the teenager was in physical and emotional danger be.
According to court documents, her son had developed an eating disorder and was at risk of harming himself.
A district judge ordered her to be placed in a nursing home that supported the teen's chosen gender identity and banned the Coxes from discussing their faith during visits with their teens.
The Indiana Court of Appeals acknowledged that a disagreement between parent and child typically does not justify the removal of a child, but said this was an “extreme case.”
Their son is now an adult and cannot be forced to return home, but the Coxes said they are worried their other children will suffer the same fate.