All Nationwide Newsletters
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 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 MoreLegislative Update and a Big Surprise
This legislative season has been something of a mixed bag, with some victories, some disappointments, some challenges, and one particular story that took us by surprise. Some Victories In Oklahoma, the Parental Rights Amendment (PRA) resolution, SCR 1, passed the House of Representatives by unanimous consent on April 3, making Oklahoma the seventh state to…
Read MoreHouse Hearing on CAPTA – Good News?
The U.S. House Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Human Resources held a hearing on Tuesday, March 26, regarding efforts to reauthorize CAPTA—the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act. While we were not able to get onto the witness list, our D.C. liaison Maggie McKneely was on hand for most of the hearing in person. I…
Read MoreCAPTA Coalition to Offer Testimony
The newly formed House Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Human Services will meet on Tuesday, March 26, to discuss CAPTA reauthorization. CAPTA is the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, the vehicle by which the federal government grants money to states if they will follow federal guidelines regarding child welfare organizations. What’s the Rush? We…
Read More