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Heritage Defense, 2082 US 183, Ste. 170/224, Leander, TX (2026)

08/27/2026

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, Ella needed some help, so Courtney went to help her on the other side of the playground while the other parents watched two-year-old Mia. While Courtney was helping Ella, she heard a loud wail from the direction of the picnic table and immediately knew it was Mia and that she had gotten hurt.

When Courtney got to the picnic table she found the other parents comforting Mia. They told Courtney that Mia had been trying to climb onto the picnic table bench, had fallen, and had landed on her face. Mia had an abrasion around her eye. Within just a minute or two, Mia had calmed down and started playing again. The other parents all agreed that Mia was going to have a “big shiner” black eye, and one appeared not long after while still at the park.

Through an unfortunate coincidence, just a few days before this, two-year-old Mia had mumbled to a church children’s ministry worker something that sounded like she was saying her mom and dad hit her (Mia also seemed to say that their dog hit her). While Courtney and her husband Andrew did occasionally exercise corporal discipline, it was always reasonable and age-appropriate, and never in excess or in anger. The children’s ministry director discussed all this with Courtney and believed it all to be an innocent comment, if that is even what Mia had said. But when Mia showed up the next week with a black eye, the children’s ministry apparently made a report to child protective services (CPS) without first asking the Caddos to explain the black eye. A CPS investigator called the Caddos the next day.

Andrew and Courtney are members of Heritage Defense, so right after the CPS investigator called, Courtney called the Heritage Defense 24/7 line reserved for members with urgent legal situations. Courtney was connected with a Heritage Defense attorney and explained what happened. Then the Heritage Defense attorney called CPS on behalf of the family, got more details about the allegations, and called the Caddos back to discuss how they wanted to handle the matter.

Witness statements from the other parents who witnessed Mia’s fall may have been enough to close the case. However, due to special circumstances, the Caddos wanted to be extra sure all the allegations would be completely ruled out. They requested to go ahead and allow the CPS investigator to do a home visit, interviews with the children, and interviews with the parents, as long as their attorney could be present (Heritage Defense covers the cost of the attorney being present in person with parents for interactions like this).

The meeting took place the next day with the Heritage Defense attorney present. Everything went smoothly and the family also provided the CPS investigator with statements from the other parents who had witnessed Mia’s fall plus numerous other reference letters vouching for the Caddos’ good character. At the end of the meeting, it sounded like CPS would be closing the case.

Two months later, though, the family had still heard nothing back from CPS. When the attorney contacted CPS to get a letter confirming the case was closed and the allegations were ruled out, CPS said the case was still open and had been reassigned to a new investigator. Now the new investigator wanted to see the children again. Additionally, the first investigator had never gotten the witness statements and other reference letters to the new investigator, so she also wanted those again. The attorney re-sent the documents but politely refused further contact with the family. Thankfully, within just a few days, CPS had closed the case and sent a closing letter to the family.

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 Caddos. 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.

Click the link in our bio to submit an application to join.

*Names changed for privacy

08/20/2026

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 in a wholly unexpected manner.

One day not long after, the Fairfields’ daily routine was suddenly interrupted when Amanda answered the door and found herself face-to-face with a government social worker.

“Hi, I’m from Child Protective Services, and I’m here to investigate an allegation of a lack of supervision of your children.”

The CPS investigator went on to explain the allegations that all six of the Fairfield children had been reported to be playing outside in the creek, and even under cars—all without supervision. In reality, only their two oldest children, ages 13 and 6, were allowed to play outside without an adult, and they knew to stay together.

Thankfully, the Fairfields are Heritage Defense members, so Amanda tensely asked the investigator to wait while she called her attorney. Her mind whirling, Amanda closed the door, retrieved her phone, and called the Heritage Defense 24/7 emergency help line. Within moments, she was speaking with an experienced Heritage Defense attorney.

Amanda explained the allegations as she understood them. Seeking to comprehend the case as thoroughly as possible, the attorney inquired whether Amanda had any idea who might have reported. At first, she had no idea, but then she remembered. The neighbors. With a sinking feeling, Amanda informed the attorney that she suspected the report was retaliation by a neighbor with an unruly dog.

Regardless of the reporter, there was still a social worker at the door to contend with. Taking the phone with her, Amanda went back outside so the social worker could speak with the attorney. With the attorney’s help, Amanda agreed to allow the investigator to lay eyes on the children while refusing her entry to the home or interviews with the children. The children came outside, and the social worker took a few notes then departed. Heritage Defense immediately assigned a local attorney to the case who speedily contacted CPS directly and resolved the groundless case.

The Fairfield family’s case was not unique. Many families are falsely or groundlessly reported, sometimes by well-meaning but ignorant observers and sometimes by disgruntled acquaintances. With the help of Heritage Defense families do not have to face these accusations alone.

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 Fairfields. 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. Click the link in our bio to learn more.

*Names changed for privacy

08/14/2026

Member Story: Our adopted daughter reported us

Charles and Linda Bachman had been going through a difficult season with their adopted daughter, Ella. Ella had experienced childhood trauma before she was adopted by Charles and Linda just before her ninth birthday. Charles and Linda had done their best to raise her, but Ella became rebellious and disruptive and ran away from home. When police found her and attempted to bring her back, she resisted, which ended with her being placed in a therapeutic boarding school. However, after only a few short weeks, Ella was removed from the school for assaulting a fellow student.

Ella was then placed in a rehab facility, but things worsened, and after only a few weeks, Ella was removed from the facility, again for assault. In the meantime, Ella had turned 18. Charles and Linda tried to continue to minister to Ella, but she cut them off.

One of Charles and Linda’s older daughters was able to maintain contact with Ella, but shortly after Ella was removed from the rehab facility, she approached Charles and Linda distressed and said she no longer wanted to speak with Ella.

A few days later, Ella called Linda and told her that she was not going to let Linda cut her off from her siblings and that she was going to report them to CPS. Linda tried to talk to Ella and explain, but Ella hung up.

Linda did not have to wonder long if Ella was going to follow through with her threat. The next day, there was a knock on the Bachman’s front door.

When Linda opened it, she was met with a CPS investigator and a police officer. The investigator told Linda that she was there to investigate a report made against them and asked to come inside. Linda declined and asked the investigator what the allegations were. The investigator refused to say and left, leaving her card with Linda.

Linda immediately called Heritage Defense. Our attorney told Linda we would contact one of our attorneys in their area and get him on the case.

The local attorney contacted the CPS investigator and the police department and learned that the police had contacted Ella regarding the report. The police department informed the local attorney that they believed the report was unfounded and would not pursue it.

The CPS investigator told the local attorney that she wanted to come do a walk-through of the family's home and interview the family. The attorney made his position clear: given the lack of evidence and the police department’s own conclusion, he did not believe that any further action was necessary. The attorney told the investigator she could either close the case or take the matter to court.

A short time later, CPS said that they would be closing the case.

Charles and Linda gave their testimony on the case:

“Having Heritage Defense to defend us made all the difference; you brought us such peace of mind. The biggest thing was that there were no additional fees for our attorney. The first thing that came to mind when CPS knocked on our door was that we could not afford another attorney. We had a prior legal matter, and I know how expensive it is to hire an attorney. I cannot overstate how comforting it was that Heritage Defense covered all legal fees, and we never had to worry about them. I cannot thank you enough.”

Charles and Linda never expected to face a situation like this, but when the knock came, they were grateful they didn’t have to face it alone.

For families who are not members, moments like these often come with impossible choices: Do we cooperate? Do we call a lawyer? Can we even afford one?

Heritage Defense exists to ensure families do not face those questions alone during a crisis.

To learn how Heritage Defense can protect your family before you need it, click the link in our bio.

08/12/2026

Member Story: Child “blows up” Santa. CPS investigates.

“Santa is dead,” 6-year-old Noah Kemp* announced grimly.

The other young children at tumbling class looked at him in surprise. This was not a very merry sentiment.

“No, he’s not!” someone piped up.

“Yes, he is!” Noah shot back, “He came down the chimney, so I blew him up.”

A few little boys seemed impressed, but the tumbling class instructor was not.

“What are you talking about?”

Noah was eager to explain.

“I blow up ALL my enemies with an RPG.”

The instructor blinked.

“Ok class, let’s stop talking about killing people and get back to tumbling. And Avery, stop adjusting your leotard.”

“I don’t like it—it hurts,” 3-year-old Avery Kemp complained. The instructor frowned.

A few days later, a week before December 25, the Kemp family received an unexpected visitor—and he was not Santa Claus.

When Heritage Defense answered the call from the 24/7 member hotline, Brian Kemp, Noah and Avery’s dad, was on the other end. He explained that he was on his way home from work, and his wife Heather had just called to say a CPS investigator had visited their home. He said the allegations claimed Noah was “overly aggressive” and that Avery was abused.

Heather told the Heritage Defense attorney her suspicion that the tumbling class instructor had reported their family. The attorney asked for the CPS investigator’s business card. He then contacted CPS to notify the investigator that he would be representing the Kemp family.

At that point, the allegations were that Noah was threatening to blow people up with an RPG and that Avery was uncomfortable in her leotard. The older Kemp children were not involved.

The Heritage Defense attorney asked the Kemps if they had any idea of any bases for the allegations.

Brian described how he had been in the Army for 18 years with multiple active duty deployments. Brian explained that, as a veteran, his boys have asked him to tell them war stories. The boys often ask if he has been shot at, blown up, or had RPGs shot at him. He believes in being honest with them, but without getting into graphic details.

Heather added that Noah was possibly on the autism spectrum, but that was not verified because his pediatrician said that was not necessary yet. They also explained that Avery previously had a urinary tract infection and found her leotard uncomfortable, but the pediatrician had already concluded that this was not evidence of abuse.

With those details clarified, the attorney called CPS. While speaking with the CPS investigator, the attorney realized the allegations against the Kemps had grown. They were now also being investigated for medical neglect because they allegedly had not addressed Noah’s potential autism.

Additionally, CPS still demanded to interview the parents and six-year-old Noah. Although the CPS investigator admitted he doubted anything was wrong, he said he still had to do his investigation.

Armed with the details from his conversation with the Kemps and documentation from them, their pediatrician, and their references, the attorney sent the investigator a letter documenting their innocence along with multiple letters vouching for Brian and Heather’s fitness as parents.

By the end of January, the CPS worker replied that he would be closing the case. By mid-February, CPS mailed a notification letter confirming it. The case was closed with no further intrusion into the Kemp family.

The Kemps share their thoughts on the experience:

“Nobody thinks you are going to get that knock but having someone to call is a huge relief. It’s 100% worth it to not go through that experience alone and knowing that you have people that actually care in resolving your family’s issue. It gave us so much peace of mind knowing someone was in our corner.”

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 Kemps. 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

08/07/2026

Homeschoolers treated as abusers?

New laws affecting homeschoolers in Nebraska and Connecticut essentially presume that homeschool parents are abusers.

Opposition to homeschooling is growing. But what do these bills actually do? And what do they mean for homeschooling nationwide?

In summary, they fail their stated goal of protecting children while simultaneously infringing upon constitutionally protected freedoms.

The new Nebraska law is straightforward. It says that parents who are being investigated by CPS cannot transfer or disenroll their children from school for 14 days. Read more here: https://hslda.org/post/lb-1224.

In Connecticut, the laws will become increasingly more restrictive as the bill goes into effect over the next two years. First, parents will not be able to withdraw their children from a government school to homeschool if any adult living in the home (not just the parent) is on the state child abuse and neglect registry or is even being investigated by DCF. To withdraw their children from a government school, parents must pass a background check with DCF, but a home visit is not required. Second, the law will require homeschool parents to submit an annual intent to educate form. Read more here: https://hslda.org/homeschool-freedom-under-threat-in-connecticut.

These bills incorporate language from the Coalition for Responsible Home Education’s (CRHE) model law, the “Make Homeschooling Safe Act.”

The stated goal behind these bills is to protect children from parents who want to abuse them outside the eye of school personnel. However, these bills do not meet that goal.

They only apply to families who are currently being investigated. That means CPS already knows about the family’s situation. If CPS is already investigating, it does not matter whether the children attend government school during the day—the investigation is happening regardless.

The only difference is that parental consent is not required to interview children at school. But even if it becomes necessary to interview children at home, court orders can easily be obtained.

Once a family is already under investigation, it is unclear how forcing the children to continue being educated outside the home would make them much safer.

These bills also fail to account for perfectly innocent reasons parents may have for homeschooling—including avoidance of an abusive school official.

Additionally, it will not make children safer to simply add a child’s name in another government database, which is all the Connecticut annual intent form accomplishes.

On top of failing their stated goals, these bills cause more harm than good. Instead of protecting children, they weaponize a broken CPS system to limit homeschool freedoms.

Although intentionally false reports to CPS are illegal in both states, that law is rarely enforced, and anonymous reporting is allowed. This means that any person who objects to homeschooling need only report the family to CPS, and the family cannot homeschool, for 14 days in Nebraska and until the investigation is completed in Connecticut, which can take months.

To make matters worse, Connecticut is taking away the option to homeschool from an entire class of individuals who have been convicted of no crime. Permanently. Or at least until they can get their record expunged.

While to some it may not seem horrible to prevent confirmed child abusers from homeschooling, the fact is that having your name in a child abuse and neglect registry does not necessarily mean you are a child abuser. All it takes for someone to end up in the registry is one CPS investigator or supervisor deciding the allegations were substantiated.

Except for a few differing and vague exceptions, there are few due process protections and woefully inadequate judicial oversight for the registry. That means innocent parents can easily end up in it and can only be removed with great difficulty and expense, if at all.

Fundamentally, these bills assume aspiring homeschool parents are likely child abusers. This violates the basic legal principle that the people are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Also violated is the constitutional presumption that parents act in their children’s best interests. The United States Supreme Court has explicitly recognized that the right to control and direct a child’s education is a constitutionally protected fundamental right. As a result, these laws will likely be challenged.

Regarding Connecticut, HSLDA and Family Institute of Connecticut have filed complaints with the U.S. Department of Education, and both complaints have been accepted for further inquiry.

Heritage Defense will continue to monitor the situation.

So what does this mean for homeschoolers across the U.S.?

These new laws reflect growing opposition to homeschooling. Freedom must be actively guarded, so families should be vigilant against similar legislation in their own states. One way to do this is by contacting and supporting HSLDA and state homeschool organizations which send legislative alerts and connect families with their legislators. Find your state homeschool organization here: https://homeschoolfreedom.com/resources.

Along the way, Heritage Defense is here to protect our member families against false allegations and unnecessary CPS investigations.

Please note that the above article is not legal advice. Member families with further questions can schedule a consultation with a Heritage Defense attorney.

07/30/2026

Member Story: Hasty reporting leads to visits by CPS and police

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 what they needed, one of the social workers informed her that CPS had received a report of abuse involving three of the Aaron children. Allegedly, two of the children had black eyes and another child had a bruise on his head.

Mrs. Aaron vaguely recalled her elementary-age son having a small bruise on his forehead from some boyhood collision, but she knew the allegation of black eyes on any of her children was false. However, instead of immediately starting to defend herself, Mrs. Aaron politely said, “Would you excuse me one moment while I get my attorney on the phone?”

The Aarons are members of Heritage Defense, so Mrs. Aaron stepped back into her house and quickly called Heritage Defense. Although the call was made after normal office hours, Mrs. Aaron was immediately connected with a Heritage Defense attorney because she had called the 24/7 line reserved for members with urgent legal situations. After briefly discussing the situation with the attorney and how best to handle it, Mrs. Aaron stepped back outside, put the phone on speaker, and let the attorney advocate for her family’s rights.

The lead social worker explained to the attorney the reason for the visit and that CPS wanted to see the children. Mrs. Aaron consented to letting the social workers and law enforcement officer observe the three children on the front porch. The social worker saw the small bruise and agreed that it was not suspicious and looked entirely accidental.

However, the social worker then said she wanted to interview the children. Since the attorney had already discussed with Mrs. Aaron the likelihood the social worker would want to ask questions that were invasive and unrelated to the allegations, the attorney asked the social worker what she wanted to ask the children.

She replied, “I want to ask them about whether there is enough food in the home, how they are taken care of, what happens when they get in trouble, that sort of thing.”

The attorney declined to let her ask the children these questions but allowed her to ask the Aarons’ son about the small bruise. The boy said he did not even know he had a bruise much less where he had gotten it.

With that, the social workers said they thought everything was fine and that they would be closing the case. Before he left, the officer did press the family to provide dates of birth for all the children, including those not listed in the report, for his own records. However, the attorney declined on the Aarons’ behalf since the information was private and unrelated to resolving the allegations. The officer then left after saying his report would also state that the allegations were unfounded and that the bruise appeared to be accidental.

Later, once Mr. Aaron had gotten home, the Aarons talked with the Heritage Defense attorney to explain that they were sure the report had come from an instructor who taught a swim class that these three of their children had been attending. The Aarons struggled with deciding whether to withdraw the children from the class, but ultimately opted to continue, at least for a few days, until they both had time to meet with the class coordinator to make a complaint. However, two days later, the Aarons got another knock at the door.

Mr. and Mrs. Aaron were out and their teenage children answered the door to another police officer. The officer respectfully left his card and said he would be back later. When they got home, Mr. Aaron called the officer. By the time the officer was able to get back to them and come over, it was already after 11 PM. The officer explained that he had been requested to do a wellness check on one of the Aarons’ children.

“Someone from the pool filed a report of suspicious scratches on your child’s face by an unknown perpetrator.” He stated.

Yet again, the Aarons calmly said they needed to step inside to call their attorney, which they did. Although it was after 2 AM in the Heritage Defense attorney’s time zone, the Aarons were immediately connected.

Once the attorney spoke with the officer and the officer saw the superficial half-inch scratch on the child’s face caused by his baby brother, the officer apologized for disturbing the family. The officer described the scratch as, “Small, superficial, and insignificant.”

The Aarons later decided to address this issue with the head of the pool. After scheduling an appointment, Mr. and Mrs. Aaron told the head of the pool that although they had been bringing their children to swim lessons at this pool for many years, they could not continue because of the repeated reports being made to CPS. The Aarons respectfully told their story to the head of the pool, how the social workers and police stated the “injuries” were insignificant, and showed him photos the Aarons had taken of their children. The head of the pool was unaware the reports were being made, agreed that they shouldn’t have been made, apologized, and refunded their swim lesson tuition. Thankfully, they have not heard anything else from CPS.

In the end, the scare to the Aaron family and disturbance of their peace could have been avoided if the swim instructor had just talked with the parents first. If the instructor had done so, the instructor would have learned from the parents that the two children with “black eyes” just had naturally darker eyes that became even darker during swimming and after wearing swim goggles; that getting a random dime-sized forehead bruise is just part of normal life for any rambunctious young boy; and that baby brothers with sharp fingernails sometimes swat at their brothers’ faces.

Mrs. Aaron shares her thoughts on the experience:

I first want to express my deepest thanks for the Heritage Defense team for helping families like ours that have been falsely accused of child abuse. To other dear families, I cannot stress enough how important membership in Heritage Defense is.

We need to understand two things: First, anyone can report anything to CPS and accuse you of abusing your children. The social workers at our door even admitted that they are often checking up on “abused children” only to find that they have allergies or marker stain on their skin!!! Don’t ever think that just because you are good parents with happy children that you won’t be reported. The danger is real.

Secondly, we as parents need to understand our system. The two social workers and the police officers that came to our door, came for one purpose and one purpose only: to decide whether or not to take our children away. Right then. They may say a lot of other things, but the reality is that they are there to make a decision. That means, YOU ARE ON TRIAL. My front porch became my courtroom, the social workers and police officer were the judge, jury and executioners, and I was the defendant. Thankfully, I wasn’t alone. I had legal representation. I had Heritage Defense.

Our case was a simple one and everything went very well, but I can’t tell you what may have happened had Heritage Defense not been there. The social workers wanted to investigate my home and ask invasive questions of my children about the food in our refrigerator, the activities they are involved in, our home life, and what happens to them when they get in trouble. Why? To see if there was any reason (in their minds) they should remove our children. We, of course, declined this line of questioning. The social workers accepted our decision to decline (though begrudgingly) because we had a lawyer. If he wasn’t there and I was declining the questioning myself, I believe they would have pushed back — possibly even using the fact I wouldn’t allow them to question my children against me. That’s a risk no family should take.

That this danger to families is real is the bad news, but here is the good news: God loves to protect His children!! And one of His favorite ways to protect and bless His Children is by raising up other Christians who can provide for that need. That’s what Heritage Defense is. I know money is tight when you are a homeschool family and we all have to prioritize. Please tell all your friends to put Heritage Defense at the top of the list!

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 Aarons. 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

Heritage Defense

08/27/2026

08/20/2026

08/14/2026

08/12/2026

08/07/2026

07/30/2026

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