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 […]
Tag: mandatory-reporters
Member Story: Hasty Reporting Leads to Visits to Family by CPS and Police
When you hire someone to teach your children to swim, you should not have to worry about the instructor making unfounded reports about them to CPS. Twice.
Bystander Reports Parents to Police After Seeing Boy’s “Tangled” Hair and “Small” Pants
Last fall, Mary Cobb and her husband spent the afternoon at the lake with their five-year-old son who struggles with autism and is often prone to meltdowns, self-injurious behavior, and violent outbursts. On that day, however, he had dressed himself (in one-size-too-small pants), let his dad help him put his coat on, and had enjoyed […]
Can a Broken Arm Break a Family?
Mrs. Henry was running some errands that morning while Mr. Henry had taken the day off to spend it with their five children.* As Mr. Henry was making breakfast, their eleven- and eight-year-old daughters, Regina and Sarah, were supposed to be outside doing their chores. Instead, they had run away…
Doctor Reports Mom to CPS for Feeding Goat Milk to Her Baby
When her newborn son Carson did not take to breastfeeding, Alorah Gellerson began feeding him a vitamin-fortified goat milk baby formula. When her doctor found out, the doctor reported Mrs. Gellerson to the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. CPS then got involved. She came in and threatened to take him away and put […]
Kevin Swanson interviews Don Hart on Generations Radio
Heritage Defense Founder and President Don Hart was recently interviewed by pastor, homeschooling dad, and popular conference speaker Kevin Swanson on his radio show, Generations. Here is Mr. Swanson’s title and introduction for the show: When Social Services Knocks on Your Door: The Real and Present Risk of Losing Your Children Anonymous tips. Mandatory […]
Should Obese Children Be Taken from Parents?
The government wants to tell you how to have children, educate them, vaccinate them, give them medical care and insurance, and much more. According to the Los Angeles Times, now some “experts” in England and Ireland want the government to tell you how to feed your children. If you do not feed your children according […]
Informants: Some Doctors Practice Double Standard when Reporting Child Abuse
By law, medical doctors are mandatory reporters of child abuse and neglect in nearly every state. Consequently, doctors are among the most common informants for social services agencies. However, recently there has been some concern that some doctors may report parents for minor concerns, but overlook serious acts of child abuse among their own colleagues.