Legal / Legislative Updates

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Family Trip Results In Investigation

Mr. and Mrs. Hammond (name changed to protect family’s privacy) and their eight children recently took an educational trip to Niagara Falls and stayed at a campground in Canada. Two weeks after returning to New Hampshire, the family was shocked to receive a visit from a caseworker from the New Hampshire Division for Children, Youth and Families (DCYF).*

Apparently a fellow camper disliked the family and had called New York State Child Protective Services to report that the parents left the children unsupervised and that Mr. Hammond hit his daughter in the face. The second allegation was false, and regarding the first, the parents did not irresponsibly leave their children unsupervised. They did at one point leave their children under the supervision of the oldest child, then 12, while they took a short walk to the camp store to pick up travel information—they were also connected by walkie-talkie to their children.

After bullying his way into the family’s home, the caseworker demanded that the family sign a release form allowing him to speak with the parents and see the children. The family appropriately refused to sign the form, and the caseworker eventually left.

However, the false allegations resulted in a second caseworker visit. When the worker showed up at their door, the family did not realize that they could deny him entrance into their home as well as interviews with their children. Although an investigation ensued, the caseworker decided he didn’t have time to interview the eight children. During the investigation, the family contacted Home School Legal Defense Association, and staff attorney Michael Donnelly was able to help the family navigate the remainder of the investigation with minimal follow-up and intrusion by social services.

Unfortunately, this kind of unwarranted investigation is not uncommon. Many who are suspicious of homeschooling families are quick to make an anonymous tip to social services agencies. HSLDA offers our members assistance with social services investigations and advises member families on their 4th and 5th Amendment rights to be free from unreasonable governmental intrusion. Recently, we won a case in Arizona which clarified that social workers who threaten to remove children from a home without evidence of an emergency, are guilty of violating the fundamental right to family integrity. To read more about this case, see Active Cases on page 38. To read the text of this important decision, visit www.hslda.org/az1.

— by Michael P. Donnelly