Posts by Sheila Roberts
New Hope for Due Process
This week a blog called “Rethinking Foster Care” features a post by Hope Lyzette Newton, a mom falsely accused of child abuse who spent the last ten-plus years on New York’s State Central Register (SCR). Under the title “Branded,” Newton explains that for the entire time she was on the register, she felt like she…
Read MoreSave the Date for the Parents Know Best Rally
Mark your calendars! Parentalrights.org Pennsylvania is hosting the Parents Know Best Rally in Harrisburg, PA on September 24th. This event is organized to promote the passage of Pennsylvania House Bill 508, the Parental Rights Protection Act, sponsored by Rep. Jim Cox. It will take place at the Capitol Building in Harrisburg. The tentative schedule for…
Read MoreVideo Reveals CPS Critical Flaw
A new video from the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) reveals a fundamental problem with Child Protective Services (CPS). When CPS gets a call, their first move is to send an investigator to look around. This “first-responder” role is often portrayed as social work: a stranger stepping in to help needy families. In reality, the investigator…
Read MoreParental Rights Briefing Held for U.S. Senators
Last Thursday we had the honor of presenting a briefing on the matter of the CAPTA reauthorization to staffers from several Senate offices. (We have chosen not to identify the specific offices for politically strategic reasons.) CAPTA is the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, a federal law that provides funding to the states if…
Read MoreState Victories, but Challenges Remain
So far 36 state legislatures have wrapped up their 2019 legislative sessions, with six more to adjourn by the end of the month. So, what has 2019 brought at the state level? And where do we stand in the remaining eight states? To sum it up, we have seen a number of victories—mostly defeats of…
Read MoreThe House CAPTA Bill Would Harm Families
Betrayed. That’s how I felt when I read the House’s version of a bill to reauthorize CAPTA, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act. It’s how we all felt. And by “we all,” I mean our allies and coalition partners from all across the political spectrum. I mean partners I just met at the National…
Read MoreParental Rights Case Law on Vaccines Is Not Settled
Note: We were disappointed to see a recent opinion piece in which an admired legal professor claims the case law is settled, that parents have no right to make vaccine decisions for their children. We offered an opposing opinion to the Sacramento Bee, who published the original piece. They declined to print our opinion, so…
Read MorePreventing Bad Ideas in Federal Law
Dear Parental Rights Champion, You know the power of a good idea. Or a bad one. Corey Widen’s eight-year-old daughter had just returned from walking the dog around the block—most of which Corey could see from her windows—when there was a troubling knock at the door. It was the Wilmette (IL) police, responding to a…
Read MoreTake Action to Oppose SB 276 in California
Senate Bill 276 in California is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Health Committee this Wednesday, April 24, at 1:30 pm in Room 4203 of the State Capitol. A rally in opposition to the bill has been scheduled to follow the hearing. Background Senate Bill 276 in California is designed to greatly reduce the…
Read MoreParental Rights Conference Coming to Detroit April 27th
The Second Annual Maryanne Godboldo Forum for Parental Rights will be held at the Hartford Memorial Baptist Church located at 18700 James Couzens Highway in Detroit, Michigan. The event is scheduled for Saturday, April 27, from 8 am to 3 pm. Maryanne Godboldo is the Detroit-area mother who faced a SWAT team through a 10-hour…
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