Michigan CPS News Archive

Is foster care in Michigan getting better?

by Sarah Alvarez

Michigan's foster care system is huge, the sixth biggest in the country. So many kids in the system were being abused, neglected or just forgotten about under the state's care that a group called Children's Rights sued the state to force it to change.

Williams knows somebody needs to step up and be there for kids who need love, and guidance. The state for too long, was not stepping up. So when the state got sued the court said it has to do much more to keep kids safe from abuse and neglect in foster care. For example it will have to move kids out of the system faster and try to get kids a permanent placement-like an adoption or something close to it-within a year. That might keep kids from having to go through what Williams did. She lived with five different families before she was seven years-old and lived in several more placements after that.

michiganradio.org

July 3, 2012

Appeals court upholds death civil case

by Ray Kisonas

In 2006, a 17-month-old girl was beaten to death and a Monroe woman eventually was convicted of the toddler's murder and sentenced to life in prison.

In the years since the death of Gracie Simmons, her mother, Holly Preston, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Monroe County Child Protective Services claiming the agency did not do enough to protect her child from Sonya Moussaed, the convicted murderer who was the child's father's girlfriend at the time.

monroenews.com

June 30, 2012

Amer Bill heads to Washington

U.S. Congressman John Conyers will be introducing the Federal Amer Act Bill in Washington this week.

The bill was originated by Ahmed and Rehab Amer, two local Dearborn residents who were estranged from their children after they were put in foster care by Child Protective Services, following the accidential death of their two-year-old son Samier, who fell in the family's bathtub and fractured his skull in 1985. The bill, which was already passed in Michigan in 2010, will allow children who are taken away by Child Protective Services the right to live with other family members, instead of being exposed to different environments that could differ from their upbringing. Another highlight of the bill includes keeping the children within the same religious enivornment that their parents had practiced as well.

arabamericannews.com

June 22, 2012

Michigan attacks obesity crisis with new 4X4 plan

by Getting the Right Health Services

LANSING, Mich. - Obesity is a serious epidemic in Michigan, which has been named one of the top 10 heaviest states in the nation. The state health department says 32% of adults and 17% of kids in Michigan are obese.

Healthy behaviors are: maintain a healthy diet, engage in regular exercise, get an annual physical exam, and avoid all tobacco use. The four health measures are body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, cholesterol level, and blood sugar/glucose level. The State Health Department says, the 4 x 4 plan, "not only allows Michiganders to take personal responsibility for their health, but also significantly increases life expectancy, reduces the chances of disability, and improves overall quality of life."

wxyz.com

June 4, 2012

Charges expected against grandmother in West Bloomfield teen's death

by Robin Erb and Lori Higgins

WEST BLOOMFIELD - Charges could come today in the case of a slain 17-year-old. Jonathan Hoffman died after he was shot inside his grandparents' condo in West Bloomfield. His grandmother, whom police have not named, was taken into custody.

Her attorney, Jerome Sabbota, said Sunday that investigators have turned the case over to the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office. Sabbota said Saturday that his client fired the gun because "she was afraid." Even in a case of self-defense, Sabbota said, prosecutors will file charges for a jury to consider.

freep.com

May 21, 2012

Ask the Doctor: How to Manage Tension Headaches

The featured question this week: I have headaches a few times a week. They start in the neck, and I usually wind up with a headache by the evening. Is there anything I can do?

As a chiropractor, I see this type of headache a lot. Tension headaches usually begin with some tension in the neck and shoulders and by evening, the tension turns into a headache that is oftentimes at the base of the skull. Unfortunately, a lot of our daily activities are going to predispose many of us to getting these type of headaches.

clawson.patch.com

May 16, 2012

Why Was William Reddie So Agitated?

by Jacob Sullum

A Michigan prosecutor recently concluded that Crawford County Sheriff's Deputy John Klepadlo was justified in using deadly force to stop a man who lunged at him with a knife.

Although a state police investigator wanted to charge Klepadlo in connection with the February 3 shooting in Grayling, Roscommon County Prosecutor Mark Jernigan, whom the Michigan Attorney General's Office asked to review the case, said Klepadlo responded appropriately to a potentially lethal threat...sounds reasonable, until you learn the circumstances of the shooting, which make it seem not quite so justified.

reason.com

March 30, 2012

Same-sex couple fights to change adoption laws

by Heather Catallo

Imagine not being allowed to adopt a child you had raised since birth. That is what some same-sex partners are facing. Michigan is among a handful of states that still offers no legal protections for gays and lesbians.

A local lesbian couple has been raising three children since birth, kids who otherwise would have been in the foster care system. One of the women adopted one child - while the other woman had to adopt the other two - that's because the law in Michigan won't let them jointly adopt all three kids. And they're hoping this lawsuit will change the lives of children all over Michigan.

wxyz.com

January 23, 2012

Woman's history allowed in child abuse case

by Jenny Lancour

ESCANABA - Previous acts of violence by an Escanaba woman - accused of seriously abusing her baby - will be allowed to be presented as evidence of domestic violence during her trial in March, the court decided Friday.

Angel Dawn Micheau, 21, accused of first-degree child abuse, is scheduled to go to trial on the 15-year felony March 12-15. Micheau was arrested on Oct. 21, 2011, for child abuse stemming from an April 11, 2011 incident involving burns on her three-month-old daughter. Her daughter is now one year old. The charge accuses Micheau of knowingly or intentionally causing serious physical harm - partial thickness burns - to the victim. The burns were allegedly caused by exposure to scalding water or steam, according to court records.

dailypress.net

January 16, 2012

"No Mandatory Mental Health Screening For Children!" by Ron Paul

by Op-Ed by Congressman Ron Paul

Maryanne Godboldo, a mother in Michigan, noticed that pills prescribed by her daughter's doctor were making her condition worse, not better. So Mrs. Godboldo stopped giving them to her. That's when the trouble began.

When Child Protective Services (CPS) bureaucrats became aware that the girl was not receiving her prescribed medication, they decided the child should be taken away from her mother's custody on grounds of medical neglect. When Ms. Godboldo refused to surrender her daughter to the state, CPS enlisted the help of a police SWAT team! On March 24 of this year a 12 hour standoff ensued and young Ariana was taken into custody.

cchrint.org

January 13, 2012

Defense cross-examines Corrine Baker at Brandon Hayes trial

by David Harris

FLINT, Michigan -- Defense attorney James Piazza hammered away at Corrine Baker's credibility this morning during cross examination in the Brandon Hayes trial.

Hayes is accused of beating to death Baker's son Dominick Calhoun, 4, in April 2010. Piazza questioned about her past drug use and her dealings with Child Protective Services. "It seems as if whenever CPS gets involved, there's an accusation of the person living with you being violent with one of your children," said Piazza. He also questioned why Baker didn't go to the police.

mlive.com

January 12, 2012

Godboldo still seeking closure

by Eric T. Campbell

DETROIT - A recent court ruling assured that the Godboldo family will be intact and together for the holidays.

But the Wayne County Prosecutors office will continue to appeal the court's position that 13-year-old Ariana Godboldo was illegally taken from her home by Child Protective Services.

michigancitizen.com

December 30, 2011