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Kidjacked | Jacked Up
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On average, a child who enters care will remain in foster care for 32 months, and only about half will return to their parents. Michigan CPS News Archive
Michigan News Coverage
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Two children found alone, crying after babysitter's mom took teen home
by Laura Angus
Two children, ages 1 and 2, were found alone and crying with the front door of their home wide open after 5 p.m. Tuesday near Russell and Martin Luther King avenues.
The babysitter's mother called dispatchers to tell them she had taken her daughter from the home because she was a runaway, according to the report. The children were left with their parents pending the CPS investigation.
Flint Journal
March 18, 2010
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Another symptom of the problem: Detroit school board President Otis Mathis can't write (seriously!)
It's bad enough that Detroit Public Schools (DPS) graduates a pathetic 1 in 4 students, the worst in the nation. That graduation rate is high because DPS commits 'social promotion' - passing students onto the next grade who are not ready.
Apparently being a Detroit school board president and having to compose written communications is so easy even a caveman can do it. How can the board claim that they are raising standards for education when their own president can't write English?
The Blog Prof
March 5, 2010
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Lawsuit likely to be filed against state for Calista Springer's death
by Kathy Jessup
The Michigan Department of Human Services could face a wrongful-death lawsuit on behalf of Calista Springer, who died in a house fire she while chained to her bed, according to court documents filed on behalf of the girl's fraternal grandmother.
Suzanne Langdon, of Three Rivers, says the state agency's child protective services division "dropped the ball" in responding to multiple complaints, including some filed by her, that her granddaughter Calista Springer was being abused and neglected by her parents, Anthony and Marsha Springer.
Kalamazoo Gazette
February 25, 2010
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Legislators eye ways to keep welfare workers safe
by Ralph Heibutzki
BENTON HARBOR - Berrien County Department of Human Services Director Jerry Frank's agency puts a premium on training staff to deal with people who become hostile due to the stress they're under, he says.
State legislators, including Rep. John Proos, R-St. Joseph, want to create even stronger safeguards. Chief among the factors bringing tempers to a boiling point is an unemployment rate that hovers near 15 percent and remains among the nation's worst.
Herald Palladium
February 14, 2010
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11-month-old baby tests positive for cocaine in Flint; Child Protective Services investigating
by Laura Angus
Police and Child Protective Services are investigating after a 22-year-old woman brought her baby to Hurley Medical Center and the child tested positive for cocaine.
The woman told police she was at a friend's house with her 11-month-old son when she noticed strange behavior from him. She reported getting worried because his jaw was twitching and his hand was moving in a strange way.
Flint News
January 13, 2010
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Child Neglect Investigation Underway Involving Mentally Impaired Child in Jackson
by Jennifer Dowling
Police were called to the 400 block of South Elm Street in Jackson after a fight broke out between two adult sisters. When officers arrived, the found something else that concerned them.
Acting Lt. Elmer Hitt says, "Through the investigation, obviously checking the house, they felt that there were children that lived there as well. One particular incident that kind of concerned them was an 11-year-old that was in an upstairs bedroom."
WILX Jackson
December 21, 2009
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Police: Sexual misconduct did occur in Manistee elementary school
MANISTEE -- Police and school officials have determined that incidents of sexual misconduct did occur in a Jefferson Elementary School second grade classroom among several students.
According a news release from Manistee Police Chief Dave Bachman, the children involved are being referred to counseling which investigators, counselors and school officials would best serve the children. None are in school currently.
Ludington Daily News
December 7, 2009
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Michigan Mom Aimee Louise Sword Faces Trial for Incest With Son She Gave Up for Adoption
by Sarah Netter
Aimee Louise Sword, a 35-year-old mother from Michigan, is facing a trial, charged with criminal sexual conduct after allegedly have sex with the son she gave up for adoption years ago.
Sword began a sexual relationship with her biological son in the summer of 2008 after reconnecting with him on the Internet. "She had given the child up early on in life for adoption," he said, adding that Sword's adoption agreement permitted limited contact with the boy.
ABC News
September 11, 2009
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Children’s best interest
by Rosalie Currier
Thursday is the day family and juvenile court Judge Thomas Shumaker holds hearings for those who have had cases filed against them by Child Protective Services.
Outside the courtroom clusters of people wait their turn. Rather like the doctor's office, there are nearly always extra details that slow down the scheduled court appointments. While they wait, many parents talk to a support person who has accompanied them. When their lawyer arrives, they talk a few minutes before it's their turn in court.
Sturgis Journal
August 27, 2009
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Meth baby placed in care of dad's mom
by Jessica Leffler
One day before his first birthday, Steven Rish Jr. is caught in the middle of a shocking meth bust. The baby was at a Sidney home when his grandmother and four others were caught with methamphetamine and materials to make it.
Later, some of the meth turned up in his diaper. Steven was taken into custody of Child Protective Services after the raid, despite the fact that he and his mother, Katrina Compo, were living in the home and Compo said she knew nothing of any meth production or use.
WOOD TV8
August 18, 2009
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Police: Mich. father used son, 7, to pick up women
Authorities say a 48-year-old Utica man faces a disorderly conduct charge after he used his 7-year-old son to try and meet women in a park.
Utica police Detective Sgt. David Faber says the man instructed his son on Sunday evening to ask women "if they would like to meet his dad so he could have a mother." When the women in suburban Detroit's Grant Park "would refuse, the boy would get upset and cry."
Chicago Tribune
August 11, 2009
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Bethany Christian Services Co-Founder Dies at Age 93
by Joshua A.Goldberg
Mary Vanden Bosch, the co-founder of the nation's largest adoption agency, passed away Monday. She was 93.
Since starting humbly in Grand Rapids, Mich., as Bethany Christian Home, Bethany Christian Services has grown to include 81 offices in 31 states and international ministries in 17 countries. The Christ-centered adoption and orphan care agency, which last year placed 1,694 children with their adoptive families, provides pregnancy counseling, family counseling, foster care programs, and an infertility ministry.
The Christian Post
August 7, 2009
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Court: Girl stays with foster family
by Kevin Braciszeski
A 5-year-old Mason County girl will remain with her foster parents following a hearing in Mason County Family Court Tuesday - a hearing which was not attended by her biological father, who has been seeking visitation rights and custody.
Judge Mark Raven ruled Tuesday that the girl will continue as a temporary ward of the court, remaining in the same home she's been in for three years. Raven also gave the Michigan Department of Human Services 30 days to file a petition to terminate the parental rights of the father, Darroll Rood, for noncompliance with the reunification process.
Ludington Daily News
July 23, 2009
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Deputies: Children alone 2 hours while parents swam at Disney pool
by Walter Pacheco
A Michigan couple left their foster children, ages 2 and 4, alone in their Walt Disney World hotel room for two hours Friday while they swam and tanned at the resort's pool, deputies said.
Stephen Simmons, 49, and Kimberly Simmons, 41, were booked into the Orange County Jail on charges of child neglect. Officials at the Department of Children and Families, who have custody of the children, said leaving a child unsupervised is a serious safety risk.
Orlando Sentinel
July 20, 2009
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Terminating parental rights
by Jeff Broddle
A decision by the state to remove a child from his or her home follows a lengthy and complex legal process. A child protection worker investigates.
Another factor that increases costs is the 2008 settlement of a lawsuit against the state by the watchdog group Children's Rights. As a part of the settlement, the state has agreed to cut the ratio of cases to workers to 15-1 instead of a 40-1 ratio. The state also has agreed to hire a medical director and offer more mental health services.
Cadillac News
July 7, 2009
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Terminating parental rights
by Jeff Broddle
A decision by the state to remove a child from his or her home follows a lengthy and complex legal process. Wexford County Probate Judge Kenneth Tacoma describes the process as follows:
First, the state receives information that abuse may be taking place. The tip may come from a doctor, teacher, police officer, social worker, therapist or other professional who is required by law to report signs of apparent abuse, or it may come from an anonymous source.
cadillacnews.com
June 22, 2009
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Oldest daughter of Lorrie Thomas runs away from foster care
by Shannon Murphy
The daughter of a quadriplegic girl's accused killer is in a new foster care home after running away Saturday, reportedly for not wanting to testify against her mom.
On Saturday, her oldest daughter, a 15-year-old, ran away from the foster home she was staying at with her own two young children, said Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton. She was found Monday staying with friends and family.
The Flint Journal
June 9, 2009
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Kellogg Foundation aids ex-foster kids at WMU
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation is giving $500,000 to Western Michigan University to help ex-foster children survive the rigors of college.
The Kalamazoo school says the five-year grant "will help boost the college success rate of former foster care youth." The school says it planned to accommodate 15 to 20 students but says the program has attracted more than 50.
Chicago Tribune
June 9, 2009
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Fact Finder: DHS Daycare Payment Problems
by Diana Fairbanks
It all started with an eye opening audit. Millions of dollars in fraud from the Michigan Department of Human Services... money that was supposed to pay for child care for low income families.
Some day care providers say it's not worth it and are refusing to accept children who rely on state aid, while other providers are changing their billing. Betty says, "Now the parents have to pay me until the state kicks in because this is my income. If they have a minimum wage job I'm sure most of their check is coming to daycare, but in the same respect I can't wait that long to get paid either."
Up North Live
June 4, 2009
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Kalamazoo foster-care event aims to recruit and train parents
Fostering PRICE will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Christian Life Center, 1225 W. Paterson. The event will cover the topics of teamwork and permanence, attachment, loss and discipline, and will provide 12 hours of training.
According to Colleen Cachero, a children's-services specialist with the Kalamazoo Department of Human Services, 177 children were removed from the care of their parents in Kalamazoo County in 2008. Of those children, 58 percent were placed with relatives. In 2008, the state began requiring families that foster children related to them to become licensed foster parents.
Kalamazoo Gazette
May 28, 2009
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Shylae's family recalls fears
by Catherine Jun
Razetta Thomas Carroll was sure something was wrong with her little sister. Despite her pleas, Carroll couldn't get inside the adoptive home where her 9-year-old quadriplegic sister lived.
Nor could Carroll coax Shylae Thomas' adoptive mother to bring her little sister outside. And she suspected her sister was being kept long hours in bed and wasn't being properly fed. So on April 20, Carroll placed a desperate phone call to the Michigan Department of Human Services, one that she hoped would grab someone's attention.
The Detroit News
May 6, 2009
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Task force report calls for changes in child-welfare system
by Shannon Murphy
Changes to Michigan's child-welfare system are sorely needed and could have prevented the death of Shylae Thomas, her family said Monday.
Recommendations include providing early intervention and family support programs so fewer children are placed in foster care. It also suggests that when children are placed with extended family members, policies should ensure they have the same financial support and services available as those in non-relative foster care.
Flint News
April 28, 2009
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Tea Party, Lansing Edition
by Doug Powers
As makeshift "protests" go, the turnout at the state Capitol wasn't too bad considering it was a Friday afternoon and the temperature in the mid-20's.
I knew the turnout wasn't going to be fantastic though when I was able to find a parking spot just a couple of blocks from Capitol (here's a pic taken from where I parked... the "tea party" was on the other side of the building).
A Blog of Townhall
March 1, 2009
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Mother who left infant at hospital wants newborn back
by Jim Kasuba
WYANDOTTE -- A woman who abandoned her newborn infant Jan. 29 at Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital has come forward.
The law gives the parent 28 days to petition the court to regain custody. According to Yoscovits, the woman indicated that she would like the baby returned.
The News Herald
February 6, 2009
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Prison given in child sex case
by Dennis Pelham
A 68-year-old Morenci grandfather said Friday that God will back him up when he claims in his dying breath he is innocent of molesting a 3-year-old girl. But a judge more than doubled his guideline prison sentence.
Paul Allison Corrin Sr. was ordered to spend a minimum eight years and four months and up to 15 years in prison for a second-degree criminal sexual conduct conviction. A Lenawee County Circuit Court jury found him guilty of molesting a girl in Morenci after a two-day trial in December.
Daily Telegram
January 24, 2009
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