State taking your kids... Too much power?

State taking your kids... Too much power?

Well, it's about time someone questioned child welfare in Michigan.  The power is based on the premise that poverty is the crime of child abuse.

(WXYZ) - All parents make mistakes. But in Michigan, one mistake can cost you your child. Critics say it’s happening all too often.

Legal experts say one of the reasons kids are getting wrenched from their parents is because we have one of the worst laws in the country when it comes to how and when the state can take your children.

You probably remember the “Mike’s Hard Lemonade” case – where a University of Michigan professor accidentally gave his 7-year-old son alcoholic lemonade at a Tiger’s game. By all accounts it was an honest mistake.

The dad in that case had never heard of Mike’s Hard Lemonade and had no idea it was for adults.

But legal experts tell Action News the chain of events that led to that boy being put in foster care isn’t unique.

On Sunday, on Action News at 11, Investigator Heather Catallo digs deep into what many call a broken system.

Catallo also takes a close look at something called the “guilt by association” problem – where even a parent who isn’t accused of anything can get caught up in the court system and risks losing the rights to their own child.