On a Facebook page entitled fight.cps.false.allegations, Jennafer McEvers shares her and her daughter’s heartbreaking story of their battle with CPS, and their fight to keep Jennafer’s tiny preemie grandson, Ryker James-LaRoy McEvers.
Ryker was born 14 weeks early via cesarean section to Danielle McEvers. At birth, he weighed a single pound. But before being released to go home, after multiple surgeries and stays in two different hospitals, CPS was already involved in his life.
A social worker at the hospital where Ryker was born claimed that she had observed Danielle exhibiting “sad behavior”.” She also expressed concern about Danielle’s sleep apnea, and her apparent decision to refuse medication to treat her bipolar disorder. But Jennafer tells a very different story.
“Dannielle had never been diagnosed with sleep apnea and she had been asymptomatic of bipolar-disorder for two years.” she explains on the fight.cps page. “The sleep study was going to be addressed after we got the baby home. Why would she take meds for bipolar-disorder when she had been asymptomatic for two years? That would be like taking high blood pressure pills when you already have low blood pressure or taking anti seizure meds when you don’t have seizures. It just didn’t make sense.”
An agency worker showed up, investigated their home, and insisted that they undergo psychological evaluations. But the investigation revealed an immaculate house, and nothing ever came of the demand for the mental health evaluations. CPS even gave the mother and daughter a gas card to use when visiting Ryker at the hospital.
CPS workers appeared to want to help the family, but that wasn’t the case.
After a few false starts and necessary medical interventions, Ryker finally came home. But it didn’t last. Within 18 hours his heart wasn’t beating fast enough and he was turning blue. Danielle called 911, and her baby was readmitted to the hospital. Danielle followed her son to the hospital and stayed the night with him. She went home again the next day to shower, get clean clothes and then return to join her baby.
A CPS worker conducted an investigation into the 911 call that Danielle had made which resulted in Ryker’s return to hospital, and stated that everything had been handled perfectly. They were certain, after all of this, that they were in the clear. They were wrong.
The very next day a CPS worker and a sheriff’s deputy arrived with a court order stating that Ryker had been removed from Danielle’s care, and was being placed into the custody of the state. According to Jennafer, in the detailed story she shared online, Ryker has been in foster care for months now, and Danielle is doing all she can to get her son back.
The most recent hearing in this case was held in the Clare County Family Court on June 29th, before Judge Marci Klaus. According to Jennafer, the plan is to reunify Danielle and her son Ryker. We wish this family the very best, and hope that their reunification is both quick and joyful. Our only regret is that they had to be parted at all.