Thread by @TexasTribune

1/ A new Texas rule will allow social workers to turn away clients who are LGBTQ or have a disability. bit.ly/2IrXcLW

2/ The Texas State Board of Social Work Examiners voted unanimously Monday to change a section of its code of conduct so it no longer prohibits social workers from turning away clients on the basis of disability, sexual orientation or gender identity. bit.ly/2IrXcLW

3/ Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office recommended the change, board members said, because the code’s nondiscrimination protections went beyond protections laid out in the state law that governs how and when the state may discipline social workers. bit.ly/2IrXcLW

4/ The policy change drew immediate criticism from a professional association.

Will Francis, executive director of the Texas chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, called it "incredibly disheartening." bit.ly/2IrXcLW

5/ Steven Parks, a social worker in private practice in Houston who works with child trauma victims, said the policy change could impact LGBTQ clients’ access to mental health services. bit.ly/2IrXcLW

6/6 The social work board’s ban on discriminating against clients based on sexual orientation was originally approved in 2010. Gender identity and expression protections were added in 2012.

Read more here. bit.ly/2IrXcLW