Every year, child protective services agencies across the country receive millions of reports claiming that a child may be a victim of abuse or neglect. Roughly half of these reports are screened in for investigation.1 Of the reports investigated, only a fraction find that a child is actually a victim of abuse or neglect.2 The […]
Member Story: CPS and police investigate an innocent fall
The day of the incident started like any other for Sandra Livingston and her two sons, six-year-old David and four-year-old Levi. Sandra had gotten the boys dressed and was in her bathroom getting ready for the day when she heard David calling for her from the boys’ bedroom. Sandra ran into the room to find […]
How do you define child abuse?
At Heritage Defense, we defend our member families against false allegations of child abuse and neglect. But how does the law define child abuse? And how is it different from neglect? Each state has its own definitions. Some states define child abuse simply as physical harm, while others get more specific, listing actions such as […]
Member Story: My in-laws reported us to CPS
The following account was written by a Heritage Defense member family we assisted: We cannot thank you enough for the services provided by Heritage Defense to our family recently. Due to some tensions with my in-laws, I suggested to my husband that we become members of Heritage Defense as a safety measure. We became members […]
Is CPS investigating innocent families?
CPS gets numerous referrals and conducts thousands of investigations a year in every state. But how many of these reports are substantiated? Do these investigations normally result in CPS finding abused children? For 2022, the most recent year with available data, CPS agencies nationwide received a national estimate of 4,276,000 total referrals, involving an estimated […]
It shocks the conscience.
A Texas court issued an order prohibiting a mother from communicating with her children—for life. The order would apply even after the children become adults. If allowed to stand, this order would set a dangerous precedent for parental rights. Unfortunately, it’s already been affirmed by one appellate court. Through a legal loophole, the mother’s parental […]
Member Story: Our daughter got into our medication.
Under the direction of their doctor, Mark and Tracy Kurby* sometimes take THC-free CBD oil to help them sleep. One evening, Mark took some right before they went to bed and left it on his bedside table. The next morning, Mark and Tracy started doing their morning routine and getting their children up and dressed. […]
A loss for parental rights
Last November, Heritage Defense Foundation filed a legal brief with the United States Supreme Court in a case where a minor child had been removed from Christian parents. What had the parents supposedly done wrong? They had simply refused to affirm their son changing his name and pronouns to identify as female. Though the parents […]
Hepatitis B Vaccines at Birth and Parental Rights
When a baby is born, several tests and treatments are common protocol for U.S. medical personnel. One is administration of the Hepatitis B immunization, which is generally given within one day of birth. While the HepB vaccine is commonly given to newborns across the U.S., is it legally required in your state? Hepatitis B is […]
The State of Idaho took our Baby
Levi and Marissa Anderson’s lives were joyful; they had recently been blessed with their first baby, a healthy boy named Cyrus. Cyrus was born the picture of health and remained so for the first seven and a half months. Gradually, Marissa began weaning him off of breastfeeding and started feeding him solid foods. Cyrus, however, […]