Category: CPS Investigation

  • CPS Workers – Not Your “Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman”

    CPS workers do a very hard job. They are tasked with protecting children from abusive situations, which is highly stressful and often emotionally taxing. Like police officers, they see the worst case scenarios on a regular basis, and have little chance to see the good. And so, over time, they often get jaded. They begin…

  • The Truth About Interviewing Victims of Child Abuse (Part 3)

    In the previous segment we discussed some of the issues that plague forensic interviewers during interrogation sessions with children. These include the intimidating nature of police stations, cops in uniform when they are the interviewers, and the danger of openly recording the session. In this next piece we’ll be talking about confirmatory bias, which can…

  • The Truth About Interviewing Victims of Child Abuse (Part 2)

    Welcome back. In the first article of this series, we talked a little about what exactly a forensic interviewer is, and what they do. Yet in looking at this particular subject, there are many questions about how effective their techniques are. We also wondered what some of the problems might be when interviewing a potentially…

  • Missing and Endangered Michigan Teen Found in Iowa

    If you have access to social media, then chances are you saw the recent posts about a missing and endangered Michigan teenager who was being searched for by the Michigan State Police. Law enforcement has located her in Iowa, although the story that led to her disappearance and rediscovery is an interesting one. MSP issued…

  • Mom Facing Charges After Children Were Left Alone at Home

    Sara Maria King, a 25-year-old resident of Detroit, has been charged with leaving her two young daughters alone and unsupervised at home. The two girls, aged 6 years and 8 months, were discovered by a neighbor, standing on the home’s front porch on Tyler Street at about 2:30 in the afternoon, shouting for help. According…

  • CPS Petitions in Michigan: What You Need To Know 3

    In the previous installment in this series on CPS petitions, we looked at everything in the process that leads up to the trial. Moving forward, we are going to look at exactly what is involved in an abuse or neglect trial in family court. If you are only joining us now, we recommend that you…

  • Target 8 Investigation Prompts Mixed Reactions About CPS Involvement 2

    In the first installment of this two part series, we discussed the investigation that Target 8 had conducted into how much oversight CPS provides for families after a baby is born with drugs in it’s system. According to the Office of Children’s Ombudsman, the answer is not enough. But according to CPS, a parent with…

  • Target 8 Investigation Prompts Mixed Reactions About CPS Involvement 1

    Target 8 is the investigative arm of Wood TV8 out of Grand Rapids in Kent County. The media group regularly investigates situations and individuals it believes may be overlooked by the public. This list includes nursing homes, insurance benefits, and in the case of one recent story – CPS‘s involvement in the lives of babies…

  • Parents Located For Oakland County’s Wandering Toddler

    A miscommunication between parents and a babysitter resulted in a little boy left unattended, roaming the streets, to be later found by police. The issue was eventually resolved and no one was harmed, but instead of a joyous reunion between the parents and their missing son, CPS has taken the boy away from his parents…

  • CPS Investigates Family of 8-Year-Old Who Stabbed Another Child in Kent County

    Police and Child Protective Services are currently investigating the family of an 8-year-old boy from Kent County who is accused of stabbing another, 12-year-old child. According to police records, the incident took place in Grand Rapids, at about 8 pm on November 9th. It is reminiscent of the Jamarion Lawhorn case, where an abused and…