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, […]
Tag: parental-rights
Vaccines for Homeschoolers…in your state?
Nothing can spark controversy quite like the question of vaccines, especially since COVID-19. Individuals, families, and even legislatures can all disagree on the wisdom, efficacy, and necessity of vaccines. While everyone is free to have their own opinion on the subject, no one should be allowed to force others to share their opinion. Unfortunately, most […]
Member Story: Hasty reporting leads to visits by CPS and police
This member story was originally published by Heritage Defense in 2018. Mrs. Aaron* was at home with her children one afternoon when she heard a knock at the door. When she opened the door, she was met by two social workers from child protective services (CPS) and one law enforcement officer. When Mrs. Aaron asked […]
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 […]
How many reports to CPS in my state?
While child protective services (CPS) investigators may sometimes overstep their bounds, encroachments upon the parental rights of innocent families are typically instigated well before a CPS investigator gets involved. Generally, two things have to happen before a CPS worker ever gets assigned to investigate a family: Referral. Someone notifies a CPS agency hotline/intake unit that […]
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 […]
Can parents legally record social workers?
Can parents legally record interactions with government social workers, law enforcement, or others? Must they provide notice that the conversation is being recorded or otherwise get consent? Not surprisingly, the answers to these questions differ by state. Unfortunately, most states do not have a specific law governing whether a citizen may record a law enforcement […]
Do you know your state’s car seat law?
Every state has a law about children’s car seats, but do you know what the law is in your state? Should your child’s car seat be rear-facing or forward-facing? Should your child be in an infant car seat, a convertible car seat, or a booster seat? Do you know what age, weight, or height limits […]
Member Story: Two months after giving birth, CPS was investigating me for child abuse.
This member story was originally published by Heritage Defense in 2018. The Halberts had been so vigilant about caring for their newborn baby boy, Jacob.* Within the first two weeks of his birth, they had already gone to two checkups with his doctor and almost everything was looking great. However, since Jacob was below his […]
Member Story: Innocent accident? Mandated report.
It had been a normal day so far for the Wheeler* family, Ashley was cleaning in the kitchen while 4-year-old Rachel played in the living room. Ashley finished in the kitchen and walked into the next room to pick up Rachel who was playing on the floor next to the couch. What Ashley didn’t see […]