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 lesbian. 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: