Every day in America, innocent parents are scrutinized by doctors and government bureaucrats.
Parents who homeschool, question their child’s doctor, or opt-out of progressive curriculum in our schools are all under the microscope.
Perhaps no case of this persecution has been more severe than what one Texas family has been dealing with.
Just imagine going through the nightmare of having Child Protective Services come to your home and demand that you hand over your child.
No evidence of any wrongdoing on your part; no explanation of what is going on; being threatened with arrest if you don’t comply.
It’s unimaginable, yet it’s exactly what the Pardo family of Texas has been dealing with for months.
Mommy Underground brought you this tragic story as it unfolded. Four-year-old Drake Pardo, a homeschooler who has serious medical issues, was ripped from his home this past June.
The action was spurred by a family physician who reported Drake’s parents, simply because they asked for a second opinion about a new treatment for their son.
After months of court hearings, mandated psychological evaluations of the Pardos, and even admitted perjury on the part of CPS officers, Drake remained in foster care.
Tim Lambert of the Texas Home School Coalition (THSC) has been working the entire time on behalf of the family.
The most recent court hearings were held to determine whether Drake should remain in foster care or be able to go home.
And just as in the original hearings that placed him in foster care, CPS caseworkers withheld information, ignored protocols, and purposely worked against the family.
The court ordered a home visit to determine where Drake should be placed, something that should have been done in the beginning of the case — yet never was.
The visit was delayed far longer than is typical – until the judge ordered in August that CPS expedite the visit and have it completed within two weeks.
After everything the Pardos had been through with CPS, they were no longer surprised when CPS defied the court order and did not complete the home visit within the designated timeframe.
After two months, the Pardos’ attorney filed a motion to have the judge sanction the department for violating the court order.
Once again, completely without shame or explanation, the CPS supervisor admitted that she had not requested the home visit be expedited, nor mentioned to anyone in the department that there was a court-mandated deadline.
It seems clear that this division of CPS has it in for the Pardo family, without any reason behind their lack of cooperation whatsoever.
Not surprisingly, CPS recommended to the judge that Drake remain in foster care.
They claimed he was not really suffering from any real medical condition – just “faking” it. A CPS psychologist even diagnosed the child with “somatic symptom disorder” (SSD), meaning that Drake thinks and acts as if he is sick with no physical reason.
While under oath, the CPS psychologist admitted that she had altered the findings in her report at the behest of her supervisors in the department.
The therapist who has been working with Drake says that any diagnosis of SSD is absolutely false. She believes he has not only physical medical problems but is likely autistic.
In the end, the judge in the case awarded temporary custody to this therapist who has developed a bond with Drake.
While it is not ideal for the family, it at least gets Drake out of foster care – and one step closer to being reunited with his family.
CPS caseworkers seem to have gone rogue, according to Lambert, and they are not held accountable for their purposeful destruction of the Pardo’s family unit.
He remains hopeful that Drake will be returned to his family soon and that the case will shed light on a systemic issue within this broken Child Protective Services department.
Mommy Underground will keep you updated on any further developments in this case. We continue to pray that Drake Pardo will be returned to his family – where he belongs.
What do you think of the unethical and illegal behaviors of CPS caseworkers in this case? Leave us your thoughts.