Tag: Michigan CPS Defense

  • Dealing With CPS? Be Careful Where You Get Your Advice!

    If you were to ask Forrest Gump, he’d probably tell you the internet is like a box of chocolates. Sometimes you get lucky and find the caramel ones. And sometimes you strike out and get the nougat one instead. (Eugh!) But how do you tell the difference before taking that first bite? How do make…

  • When Are my Kids Old Enough to Stay Home Alone In Michigan?

    There isn’t a week that goes by without some tragic story making the headlines, about a neglectful or abusive parent who makes terrible parenting decisions and CPS has to step in. But not everything is the way it appears in the media. Not every parent painted with that brush is actually a ‘bad parent’ or…

  • Former Foster Youth Conduct Survey – Keep Families Together!

    There have been countless studies conducted over the years to determine whether children fare better in foster care, or with their natural families. The answers have been unanimous across the board – kids are better off with their own families, wherever possible. But what makes this particular piece of research unique is that it was…

  • Families of The Accused Also Suffer in Child Abuse Cases!

    When someone is accused of abusing a child, they suffer enormously, even if the allegations aren’t true. In fact, those are by far the most tragic cases – where someone is falsely accused of hurting a child, and as a result of the allegations their life’s turned upside down. They lose their job, their relationships…

  • Would CPS Label You “Neglectful” if They Showed up at Your House Today? (Pt. 2)

    Welcome back, and thanks for joining us again for this difficult discussion on predictive risk assessment as it’s used by CPS to determine if parents are likely to harm their children. In the previous article we looked at an article written by Virginia Eubanks that explained the problems with predictive risk assessment, and how it…

  • Child Advocacy Center to Open in Lenawee County This Month!

    On January 26th, a whole group of people from a wide variety of agencies will get together on Broad Street in Adrian, Michigan to cut the ribbon of Lenawee County’s brand new Child Advocacy Center! Many other counties have something similar, but for Lenawee County, this is a first. Many agencies were involved in making…

  • Is Foster Care Better? Or Should Families be Kept Together? (pt. 1)

    The National Coalition for Child Protection Reform has long been of the belief that more harm is done by removing children from their homes, even if those homes are not the happiest, versus removing the kids from their imperfect families. As it turns out, they were on to something. And there’s evidence to prove it.…

  • Can Kids Use Medical Marijuana in Michigan? (Part 2)

    Welcome back, and thank for joining us again for this rather controversial discussion about kids and medical marijuana use in Michigan. In our previous article we talked about two separate cases here in Michigan. One ended with a child receiving legal medical marijuana treatment, while the other ended with child abuse charges. The difference, as…

  • Can Kids Use Medical Marijuana in Michigan? (Part 1)

    After the excitement following the legalization of medical marihuana (sometimes written as marijuana), 2014 ended with Michigan’s first medical marijuana child abuse case. Amy Renee Cunningham, a 31-year-old mother from Mesick village, chose to treat her sons with medical marijuana. The 10 and 12-year old allegedly suffered from emotional issues, and Cunningham said she prefered…

  • What is Foster Care Panic? And Does it Affect Child Welfare in Michigan? (Pt. 4)

    Welcome back and thanks for joining us. If you’re just finding this series now, we recommend you take a minute to get caught up. If you’ve been with us from the start, let’s dive in… At this point it we think it would be safe to assume that we are all on the same page.…