“Have you ever wondered what you would do if CPS showed up at your door? This happened to our family a little over a year ago and today I’m telling our story.” In her recent podcast episode, Durenda Wilson, homeschool mom and author of The Unhurried Homeschooler and The Four Hour School Day, recounts her […]
Tag: child
Member Story: We ended up in court
After the Lavons’ church preached a sermon about child training, some embittered ex-members of the church heard about it. They then twisted it out of context and accused the Lavons and numerous other families in the church of excessive corporal discipline. To defend the Lavons, Heritage Defense fought the system all the way to court. […]
Newborn Blood Spot Screening and Parental Rights
Do I have to let the state health department have a sample of my baby’s blood? As if labor, delivery, and postpartum recovery were not enough to deal with upon a newborn’s arrival, there are also postnatal laws and regulations parents will encounter. One of these is the required newborn screening (NBS) process, which can […]
Top News: Mandatory reporting laws are a failure
When a person has a suspicion that a child is being abused or neglected, laws in every state require members of certain professions—and sometimes everyone—to report those suspicions to law enforcement or child protective services. On its face, this seems like a good idea. But it has actually been counterproductive to the original intent of […]
COVID-19 Vaccines for Schoolchildren
Though few people are talking about it anymore, a question raised over the past several years remains: will states require the COVID-19 vaccine for school-aged children? The answer is that it depends on the state. A few states have already published their immunization requirements for school children for the 2023-24 school year, but most have […]
Holding False Reporters Accountable
Bearing false witness against one’s neighbor is an act so grievous that God explicitly prohibited it in the Ten Commandments. Being falsely accused of doing something wrong is serious business. It is especially dangerous when it means you could lose your liberty or your children. It seems obvious that false reporters of child abuse or […]
Member Story: “Their dog bit my child, then they reported us to CPS.”
At times, relationships with neighbors can be complicated. Relationships with the neighbors’ pet can sometimes be even more so, like it was for Amanda Fairfield.* When the neighbor’s dog harassed and eventually bit one of her children, Amanda called the police. Afterwards, the family moved on with life, little anticipating that the issue would resurface […]
Member Story: Church children’s ministry calls CPS on parents
One bright Friday morning, Courtney Caddo* took her two daughters, two-year-old Mia and five-year-old Ella, to a park day with lots of other parents and children from their church. While Ella played on the playground, Courtney was at a picnic table visiting with five other parents while Mia played next to her. At one point, […]
Member Story: Abortion activists used CPS to attack my family.
When Christopher and Ashley Bachman* began pleading for the lives of preborn children at abortion clinics and publicly around town, they understood the costs. The Bachmans knew that they would become objects of profanity, insults, hatred, and potentially even physical violence. Nevertheless, seeking to love their neighbors as themselves, they went anyway, and they often […]
Is it legal to spank my child?
In most states, state statutes explicitly allow for reasonable physical discipline of a child–often called corporal punishment or corporal discipline. In the states without such statutes, case law from courts allow for it.¹ Whether by statute or case law, every state allows parents to discipline a child with reasonable and developmentally-appropriate force in order to […]