Member Story: Teenage daughter calls CPS on parents

When their biological children had grown up and moved out of the home, Michael and Lisa Proctor* felt a call to rescue older foster children through adoption. They ended up adopting six older children out of CPS foster care, including a 7-year-old girl, Abigail, who had been labeled “unadoptable” by CPS because of her behavioral issues.

The Proctors struggled with Abigail for years. At the age of 15, Abigail began saying she wanted to see a counselor. As a former foster child, Abigail was eligible for a state-provided counselor, so the Proctors made her an appointment with one. The state counselor turned out to be a woman in her early twenties who, Michael and Lisa later found out, was struggling with her own mental health issues. Sadly, as the counseling sessions continued, Abigail’s already unstable behavior seriously declined.

Eventually, Abigail decided she wanted to become completely independent of her parents’ authority. Soon after, Abigail informed Michael and Lisa that she now identified as a homosexual. Shocked as they were, Michael and Lisa told her they still loved her but refused to affirm her sinful behavior. They did not expect what happened next.

To retaliate against her parents for not affirming her sin, and to pursue her goal of complete independence from them, Abigail reported Michael and Lisa to CPS. Abigail claimed that Michael and Lisa had emotionally abused her and that it was making her suicidal, in spite of the fact that the Proctors had just taken Abigail to an evaluation by a mental health facility and the doctors there had cleared her.

Being members of Heritage Defense, as soon as the Proctors were contacted by CPS, they called Heritage Defense and were immediately connected with an attorney.

After Abigail’s report, CPS opened an investigation and was demanding to come into the Proctors’ home and separately interview each of the Proctors’ children alone. However, because their other adopted children had come through CPS foster care, the Proctors knew that letting CPS in for interviews would trigger serious trauma for them. These children had already been through multiple removals by CPS in previous homes, and re-awakening those memories and fears was not in their best interest. Moreover, the Proctors believed the interviews were completely unnecessary–the allegations were false and had nothing to do with the other children. The Proctors had worked for years to give their adopted children a sense of safety and security, and they did not want a vindictive CPS report destroying that in a moment. However, CPS kept pushing.

Heritage Defense’s attorney handled 100% of communications with CPS. He explained how completely unnecessary these interviews were and the negative effect they would have on the children. The attorney provided CPS with pictures of the family, pictures of the home, and reference letters from friends who were close to the Proctors. Even the CPS social worker who had helped Michael and Lisa go through the adoptions vouched for them.

In the meantime, Abigail had recanted and apologized for making a false report. Even more, she said, “I’m not a lesbian. I don’t want to leave. I love you.” While not all of the behavior issues were over, this was a huge encouragement for Michael and Lisa to hear from Abigail.

After the advocacy by Heritage Defense, the next contact from CPS was two months later. It was a letter stating that the allegations were deemed unfounded and the case had been closed.

Michael shared this about their experience:

“CPS opened a case and wanted to interview all of our kids. We talked to our kids and none of them wanted to talk to CPS, they feared CPS and wanted nothing to do with them. We called Heritage Defense and from that point on we told CPS that they have to talk to our lawyer and Heritage handled everything. We later got a letter from CPS saying the case was closed. We are so very grateful to Heritage, you guys saved us from all the stress and pain. God bless you all.”

If you are a member of Heritage Defense, we hope it is an encouragement for you to know that your membership is going to help families like the Proctors. While we cannot guarantee outcomes, if your family is ever falsely accused of child abuse or neglect, we are ready to fight to defend you and your rights.

If you are not yet a member, please join today to have 24/7 access to experienced attorneys ready to defend your family.

*Names changed for privacy