EPPiC Broadcast

In this episode, Emilie Kao, senior counsel and vice president of advocacy strategy for Alliance Defending Freedom and member of the Parental Rights Foundation Board of Advisors, joins us to discuss her article “Preserving Childhood: Dependency, Consent, and Parental Rights in Healthcare,” featured in The State of Parental Rights in America . Emilie explores the legal foundations of parental right...

In this episode, Joyce McMillan, founder and executive director of Just Making a Change for Families and a member of the Parental Rights Foundation Board of Advisors, joins us to discuss her recent article “Common Sense Guardrails for CPS,” featured in The State of Parental Rights in America . Drawing from her work with families impacted by the child welfare system, Joyce argues that Child Protect...

In this episode, Allison Green, Chief Legal Officer at the National Association of Counsel for Children, and Natalece Washington, Policy Counsel at NACC, join us to discuss the Counsel for Kids Campaign and the effort to guarantee legal representation for children in foster care. They explain the current gap in access to counsel across states and make the case for why children, like parents, shoul...

In this episode, Layal Bou Harfouch, drug policy analyst at Reason Foundation and doctoral student at the University of Oxford, joins us to discuss her recent article examining the relationship between substance use and child welfare policy. Drawing on her background in addiction medicine and research, she explains how substance use is often treated as automatic evidence of risk, even though it is...

In this episode, Alex Cinney, Staff Attorney at the American Bar Association’s Center on Children and the Law, and Toia Potts, a family advocate and co-founder of Carolina Parent Defenders, join us to discuss the realities and consequences of Termination of Parental Rights (TPR). Drawing on both legal expertise and lived experience, they examine how TPR functions within the child welfare system an...

In this episode, David Kelly, Co-Director of the Family Justice Group and former Senior Policy Advisor at the U.S. Children’s Bureau, joins us to reflect on his time in federal service and discuss the future of child welfare policy. Drawing on years of experience working alongside families, advocates, and policymakers, David shares insights into the importance of prioritizing family preservation,...

In this episode, William Wagner, constitutional legal scholar and newly appointed Chairman of the Board at the Parental Rights Foundation, joins us to reflect on this leadership transition and the future of the organization. Wagner shares his appreciation for outgoing Chairman Jim Mason and discusses the Foundation’s growth from its early connection with the Home School Legal Defense Association t...

In this episode, Sharon Balmer Cartagena, Directing Attorney of Public Counsel’s Child, Youth & Family Advocacy Project in California, joins us to discuss innovative efforts to support families earlier in the child welfare process. Drawing on her work with the Keeping Families Together Project in Los Angeles County, she explains how expanding access to support and legal counsel can help bridge...

In this episode, Will Estrada, Esq., Senior Counsel at the Home School Legal Defense Association, joins us to discuss recent legislative efforts impacting homeschool families across the country. Focusing on two contrasting bills in New England, Estrada explains how Connecticut’s HB5468 would significantly increase regulations on homeschool families, while New Hampshire’s HB1268 would move in the o...

In this episode, Vernadette R. Broyles, Esq., President and Chief Counsel of the Child and Parental Rights Campaign, joins us to discuss the recent Mirabelli decision and its implications for parental rights. Broyles explains the background of the case and why many advocates view the ruling as a significant development in the ongoing legal debate over whether schools can withhold information from...

In this episode, Kelley Fong, Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Irvine and author of the award-winning book Investigating Families: Motherhood in the Shadow of Child Protective Services , and Frank Edwards, Associate Professor at the Rutgers University School of Criminal Justice, join us to discuss their new study examining the relationship between foster care entry...

In this episode, James Uthmeier, Attorney General of Florida, joins us to discuss the creation of the state’s first-in-the-nation Office of Parental Rights within the Attorney General’s Office. Established earlier this year in response to a growing number of parental complaints, the office works to ensure Florida’s parental rights laws are upheld and that parents have a place to turn when those ri...

In this episode, Darren Jones, Senior Counsel and Director of Group Services at the Homeschool Legal Defense Association, joins us to explore the growing world of homeschooling, co-ops, and micro schools. Darren explains why parents are fully capable of educating their children, pointing to decades of strong academic outcomes and the wide range of resources available to families today. He also bre...

In this episode, Aubrey Edwards-Luce, Executive Director at the Center for Families, Children, and the Courts at the University of Baltimore School of Law, joins us to discuss the growing issue of hidden foster care. Hidden foster care is a way to keep children with family instead of entering the foster system, but with no oversight or due process, it doesn't always give parents, children, or...

In this episode, Attorney Aaron Rapier from the Rapier Law Firm joins us to discuss the troubling Krueger v. Petrak case in Illinois. In this case, investigators found the abuse allegations to be unfounded and the case was officially closed. However, only weeks later, the children were still removed from the home and separated from their parents for over a year. We explore what this case reveals a...

Welcome back to the EPPiC Broadcast ! In this episode, Matt Sharp, Senior Counsel and Director of the Center for Public Policy at Alliance Defending Freedom, discusses the renewed push for the Family Rights and Responsibilities Act. Matt explains how this legislation would strengthen parental rights at the federal level by applying the strict scrutiny standard to any government action that interfe...

Welcome back to the EPPiC Broadcast! We're re-featuring one of our well-received episodes featuring Grover Norquist, the founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform, a political advocacy group fighting for lower taxes. Today, he talks about limiting the government’s role in telling citizens how to live their lives - which naturally impacts its power over parents and families. The EPPiC...

Welcome back to the EPPiC Broadcast ! This week, we're rewinding to our episode featuring Brittany Patterson, a Georgia mother who made headlines when she was arrested after her 10-year-old walked to the store solo. David DeLugas, executive director of ParentsUSA and Brittany’s attorney, joined us as well.  Brittany tells her story and gives us a closer look at what happened on the day she wa...

During the times of American legalized slavery, the relationship between Black parents and their children was fraught with fear, and entirely controlled by the heavy hand of their owners. In her book Neglected Stories: The Constitution and Family Values, Prof. Peggy Cooper Davis draws the connection between this past reality, and the present reality of Black families finding themselves under the c...

AB 495 is a troubling bill in California that’s just passed the legislature and is heading to the governor’s desk for his signature or veto. The bill would allow for any adult to make custody-like educational or medical decisions for any minor child, simply by signing an affidavit claiming they are “related to the child by blood, adoption, or affinity within the 5th degree of kinship.” No proof wo...

Welcome back to the EPPiC Broadcast ! Today, our guest is Marci Comeau, the managing attorney at the Washington State Office of Public Defense in the Parents Representation Program. She talks with Michael about the hotline she manages, the WA Voluntary Placement Agreement Legal Consultation Hotline. This is a number that parents can call if they are facing a CPS investigation where they are offere...

A family who had CPS called on them four separate times for letting their children play outside in front of their house. A mother who was arrested after her ten-year-old walked into town and back alone. How do we keep this from happening? Welcome back to the EPPiC Broadcast - today, our guest is Lenore Skenazy, president of Let Grow. She’s here to discuss the negative consequences of society not a...

Welcome back to the EPPiC Broadcast ! We’re kicking off season 11 with returning guest William Wagner, Esq. William is the Vice President of the Parental Rights Foundation, and a constitutional legal scholar. Today, he discusses the recent monumental Supreme Court decision on Mahmoud v. Taylor from this past summer, and what it means for parents' right to direct the education and upbringing o...

On June 1, 1925, the Supreme Court declared, “The child is not the mere creature of the State; those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right, coupled with the high duty, to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations.” Pierce firmly established the liberty of parents to direct the lives of their minor children without interference by the government. You’ve listened to our Le...

The Supreme Court released its landmark parental rights decision in Pierce v. Society of Sisters on June 1, 1925—exactly 100 years ago next month. To celebrate this milestone, we’ve gathered two special panels on the EPPiC Broadcast , comprised of parental rights champions from either side of the political aisle to protect our children.  Today, we speak with the Left Panel: Martin Guggenheim, foun...