Heritage Defense

06/23/2026

Member Story: My therapist reported me

Tracy Braunig was working through the difficulties of homeschooling her three young children after going through a difficult divorce several years prior.

Tracy’s oldest child was autistic, and her youngest was also showing signs of autism. Because of all this, she chose to take the children to regular therapy appointments.

These seemed to be going well until Tracy received word that the therapist had reported her to CPS.

When Tracy learned that the report was something regarding sexual abuse, she was dumbfounded and had no idea why the therapist would make a report like that.

Tracy immediately contacted Heritage Defense.

One of our attorneys spoke with Tracy about what next steps she should take and what to do if CPS showed up at her door.

We then contacted a local attorney where Tracy lived and assigned him to the case.

The local attorney reached out to Tracy and met with her and the children. He then contacted CPS to notify them that he was representing Tracy and that all future contact with her should be conducted through him.

However, CPS did not respond. Our local attorney pursued the records on Tracy through the CPS system and was able to obtain the full report.

What he found was good news.

He learned that CPS had evaluated out the case against Tracy, meaning they had looked into it enough and decided not to pursue any further investigation. He also learned that no cross-report had been made to law enforcement.

Our local attorney passed this on to Tracy, explaining that this essentially meant the case had been closed.

Tracy shared her testimony about the case:
"I thought our local attorney was very kind and professional. He thought of a lot of things that I didn't think of, and he was great with my kids. I love how he handled everything. Heritage Defense brought me peace of mind. I sleep much better knowing that I have you as a resource."

Tracy never expected that a therapist she had trusted with her children would be the one to bring CPS to her door.

But when it happened, she did not have to face it alone.

Heritage Defense exists to ensure families do not have to navigate moments like these on their own.

If you are not already a member, learn how Heritage Defense can protect your family from an unfounded CPS investigation by clicking the link in our bio.

06/22/2026

Traveling this summer?

Are you traveling out of state this summer? Varying laws in different states may affect your rights during a potential CPS investigation or even the likelihood of being reported. Our Law and Policy Vault contains several areas of law that parents should know about.

06/18/2026

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 when she went to pick up Rachel is that she had slid her foot under the couch. Unfortunately, as Ashley picked her up, Rachel’s ankle twisted.

A couple of hours later, Rachel was still complaining to her mother that her ankle hurt. So Ashley and her husband Joshua decided to take Rachel to the urgent care for x-rays. The x-rays came back showing that Rachel had a small break in her ankle. Although the urgent care doctors said they had no concerns of abuse, because the break was an oblique fracture, they said their own policies required them as mandatory reporters to report the incident to CPS.

Shortly after the Wheelers had returned home, CPS knocked on their door and demanded that they be allowed to inspect the home and interview Rachel and the Wheelers’ other children. Joshua calmly asked the social worker to excuse him one moment while he got his attorney on the phone. He then stepped back inside, shut the door, and called Heritage Defense.

The Heritage Defense attorney then spoke to the social worker and arranged a meeting with her and the parents, with the attorney present, but the attorney would not agree to a home inspection or interviews with the children. Eventually, the social worker agreed.

The meeting went very smoothly and shortly after, CPS closed the case and labeled the allegations as unfounded.

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 Wheelers. 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

06/02/2026

All forced removals, even short ones, are traumatizing for children and parents. A.C.S. acknowledges that many of its caseworkers have “experienced the toddler whose little fingers have to be pried off of her mother.”

A class-action lawsuit is challenging the emergency-removal practices of New York’s Administration for Children’s Services.

06/01/2026

Member Story: Hostile neighbor reported us to CPS

For months, a neighbor had been harassing the Bonham family. The same woman had already been arrested twice for harassment, had threatened the family on multiple occasions, and had threatened more than once to call CPS. There was even an ongoing investigation with the sheriff’s department over her behavior.

Now, it seemed that she had followed through with one of her many threats.

Maria immediately called Heritage Defense.

One of our attorneys spoke with her right away and walked her through what to do next.

Our attorney asked whether the children were presentable enough to be brought outside so the investigator could see them. Maria was helping a couple of the youngers children finish dressing and confirmed that they were presentable.

Our attorney also asked Maria about the allegations. Maria said that she never pushed her children, but that raising six kids on an acre of land included occasional chaos, and there was sometimes some yelling.

With our attorney on speakerphone, Maria brought all of the children outside so the investigator could lay eyes on them.

The investigator read the allegations aloud, along with notice about Maria’s rights as a parent. She then asked Maria why she thought someone had reported her. Maria explained the pattern of harassment from her neighbor and the ongoing sheriff’s investigation.

When the investigator said she wanted to come inside the home to verify there was food, our attorney advised Maria to take photos of the pantry and refrigerator and show them to the investigator instead. Maria also walked the investigator over to show the fridge and freezer in the garage.

The investigator appeared satisfied and left.

Within a few weeks, Maria received a letter from CPS officially ruling out the allegations.

When the case was closed, Maria shared her experience with Heritage Defense:

“It’s been great. We’ve had two other instances where we had to deal with CPS on our own, and having Heritage Defense was so much less stressful than before. It was so much simpler, even for a mother of six.”

The Bonham family never expected to face a CPS investigation from a disgruntled neighbor’s false accusations.

But when the unexpected knock came, they did not have to face it alone.

Heritage Defense exists to ensure families do not have to navigate moments like these on their own.

If you are not already a member, learn how Heritage Defense can protect your family from a CPS investigation by clicking the link in our bio.

05/28/2026

When can CPS take a family to court?

Once CPS has completed their investigation, when can they take a family to court? How much evidence is required?

In part, this depends on the level of evidence legally required for CPS to substantiate a report of abuse or neglect.

To understand this, we must examine what substantiation means in the context of a CPS investigation and then review the various levels of evidence.

What is substantiation?

Once an allegation of abuse or neglect is screened-in, CPS initiates an investigation, which generally involves a home visit and interviews with the parents and children.

CPS will then make a determination based on their findings.

When, in the judgment of the investigator, CPS determines that abuse or neglect has occurred, they will mark the case as “substantiated” (or “indicated” or “determined” in some states) and usually file it with the court to seek a judicial finding of abuse or neglect. This court determination is called an “adjudication.”

Thankfully, most Heritage Defense cases end without being substantiated and never reach the court because CPS determines they are unfounded.

But how does CPS decide whether to substantiate a case?

What are the levels of evidence?

The three most common levels of evidence used in the law are beyond a reasonable doubt, clear and convincing evidence, and preponderance of the evidence.

Most people have heard of the highest level of evidence in the law: beyond a reasonable doubt, which is the standard used during a trial for a crime.

The intermediate level of evidence is clear and convincing evidence. It is generally used in civil trials in serious cases like custody and guardianship.

Of the three, preponderance of the evidence is the lowest standard, and it is typically used in civil trials. Preponderance of the evidence generally requires that an alleged fact be determined to be more likely true than not. It is essentially a 51% standard.

But, as explained above, substantiation does not occur at trial. Rather, it is an internal decision made by CPS. So while preponderance is the lowest level of evidence at trial, it is the highest level that states require for substantiation. Over half of all states require preponderance or its effective equivalent.

The rest of the states require a lower and often less definite standard ranging from “substantial” or “credible” evidence weighed under the totality of the circumstances all the way down to a “reasonable cause to suspect.”

Why does this matter?

The level of evidence limits social workers’ discretion when determining whether to take a family to court. At least one study has unsurprisingly found a correlation indicating that higher levels of evidence result in fewer substantiations.¹ Thus, higher levels of evidence would protect more innocent families and children from going to court unnecessarily. Therefore, states receive higher grades for stricter levels of evidence, and lower grades based on how much discretion is left with CPS.

At Heritage Defense, we are here to defend your parental rights and help defend against unfounded allegations from being substantiated.

Learn more about the substantiation level of evidence in your state by clicking the link in our bio.

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

¹ Nicholas E. Kahn, Josh Gupta-Kagan, & Mary Eschelbach Hansen, The Standard of Proof in the Substantiation of Child Abuse and Neglect, 14 J. Empirical Legal Stud. 333 (2017).

05/26/2026

Testimonial from a Heritage Defense member. To join Heritage Defense click the link in our bio.

05/20/2026

Member Story: Two months after giving birth, CPS was investigating me for child abuse.

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 growth curve for weight-for-age, the doctor suggested that they supplement the breast milk with some formula.

After six weeks of supplementing Jacob’s diet with formula and two more visits to the doctor, Jacob was ahead of the growth curve and the doctor said there were no further concerns about his weight. That’s when the Halberts were contacted by a CPS investigator.

The investigator said she had received a report that Jacob was underweight and injured (neither allegation was true), and she stated that she “needed” to come into the Halberts’ home and perform a home inspection. The CPS investigator also “needed” to interview the Halberts’ other children. The Halberts politely said they would need to talk with their attorney first. The Halberts are members of Heritage Defense, so as soon as the investigator had left, they called the Heritage Defense 24/7 line reserved for members with urgent legal situations (note: we do encourage members to call us as soon as CPS arrives and before answering any questions).

Once the Halberts had spoken with an attorney with Heritage Defense, Heritage Defense contacted the CPS investigator. In the course of those communications, Heritage Defense pointed out to the investigator that a home inspection or interviews with the other children had virtually nothing to do with the allegations.

“It’s protocol,” she insisted.

Heritage Defense then asked the investigator what questions she intended to ask the children.

“Just questions that our normal protocol requires, which includes how they are disciplined, if there are guns in the home, have they ever been sexually abused, do they get enough to eat, do their parents ever fight, etc.”

Heritage Defense pointed out to the investigator that none of those questions were related to the allegations and that pursuing the investigation in this manner treated the parents like they were guilty until proven innocent. After the investigator kept insisting on following “protocol,” Heritage Defense, on behalf of the Halberts, refused the home visit and the interviews. When the investigator threatened to go to court to get an order to inspect the home and interview the children, Heritage Defense made it clear that Heritage Defense would be there in court to fight it. Ultimately, though the investigator did prepare documentation to get a court order, the attorney for CPS refused to pursue it due to the lack of any evidence substantiating the allegations.

Once the opportunity to conduct an unnecessarily invasive investigation had been blocked, the investigator became much more reasonable. In the end, the family agreed to sit down with the investigator (with their Heritage Defense attorney) and allowed herto speak with Jacob’s doctor. Once that was done, CPS closed the case.

By the grace of God, the case was resolved without CPS ever stepping foot in the Halberts’ home or subjecting their children to unnecessary and traumatic interrogations, while the cost of their defense was provided by Heritage Defense.

The Halberts share their thoughts on the experience:
“We were blessed to join Heritage Defense near its inception. We joined because we wanted extra protection beyond what other homeschool organizations provided. Being a member of Heritage Defense gave us the peace that someone was watching our back as we raised our family in a Christian manner. The rubber really hit the road for us when a social worker showed up and wanted to come in our home and interview our children. From the moment we told her we had a lawyer and she took a step back, through the entire process, we were so glad we had joined Heritage Defense. Our Heritage Defense attorney walked with us and stood up for us and was able to help us get everything resolved with just a meeting with the social worker. We took it upon ourselves before we ever faced a social worker to learn what we could do to protect our family, and we encourage every other family to do the same.”

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 Halberts. 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.

This member story was originally published by Heritage Defense in 2018.

*Names changed for privacy

05/19/2026

Member Story: I got a call from CPS after tension with relatives.

The following account was written by a Heritage Defense member family we assisted.

Thank you for your help with our recent case. Our story began with a phone call from CPS, who cordially explained that they had received an anonymous tipoff with several allegations.

Though the caller was unknown to us, we had signed up for Heritage Defense some time prior, in part due to tension with relatives across broader situations.

Following the call with the CPS agent who requested we schedule a time to meet, I called Heritage Defense at the non-emergency line and soon had a meeting scheduled with a lawyer in our state.

We worked with credentialed friends and relatives to write letters documenting how we seek to raise our children to serve the Lord and prioritize their safety, well-being, education, and training with utmost priority.

Our Heritage Defense lawyer warmly supported our efforts and made himself available for questions and help throughout the hurried process before compiling them with photo documentation to respond to the allegations.

CPS continued to request a meeting after the documentation was submitted, at which point our lawyer spoke with the local deputy prosecutor about the next steps and then advised we decline to meet with CPS.

We received a letter closing the case within several days, dated a day or so after we declined the final meeting.

We are very grateful to the Lord for answered prayers, a cordial CPS agent, and the help that Heritage provided along the way. The CPS agent we dealt with seemed more reasonable than I anticipated given the many other stories of those who have fared worse, but nonetheless, this event led to much prayer and we were greatly thankful for Heritage’s support through the event.

Though we pray for no future such events, we plan to remain Heritage members for years to come, given the excellent counsel and moral support of having an intermediary to assist in communications with the county government. We encourage other families to join Heritage Defense, as trying to raise children with a Biblical perspective runs counter to culture. Heritage Defense has been a valuable tool for us in utilizing the blessed freedoms we have in this country to question government overreach.

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 this. 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.

05/11/2026

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 le***an. 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