If the County Prosecutor has decided not to pursue termination of parental rights, then how is it that Livingston County CPS has the authority to take up the pursuit?
Let's begin with the authority of CPS.
CPS is supposed to be considered as a fact finding entity which provides services. In this instance it has now transformed itself into a self-governing entity with usurpation powers.
Where is it written that CPS can, against the authority of the State, hire an external prosecutor?
I would like to know the legal authority on this because I am quite sure it does not exist.
With that being said, CPS would have to take its request, for budgetary and representative reasons, to a public body for approval.
If the County Prosecutor is under the authority of the Attorney General would that not mean that CPS would have to formally request some kind of grant of leave from the State in order for approval to budget and pay for an external prosecutor who would than be granted subpoena powers of the State, including powers to represent the State of Michigan in a court of law?
Were there any federal funding appropriation in the grants and cost reimbursements to allow for external prosecution outside the purview of the Attorney General?
Someone in the Burns camp needs to FOIA these concerns of representational and funding authority to the State.
I would even strongly encourage contacting the HHS OIG and DOJ as a whistleblower and request investigation into the issues of independent prosecution.
HOWELL, Mich. (WXYZ) - Prosecutors in Livingston County are now saying they won’t try to terminate the parental rights of a father who’s at the center of a case that involved a controversial child abuse conviction.
The Burns family has maintained from the start that they were being unfairly accused of child abuse. Now there’s a sudden shift in the mood in Livingston County, as the prosecutor is backing down on some aspects of this case.
Last week, a Livingston County Judge cited the growing community support for the Burns family when she went against state guidelines and only sentenced Josh Burns to one year in the county jail.
The 38-year-old Brighton father was convicted of second degree child abuse, a 10-year felony.
Josh Burns says that when his daughter Naomi was 2-months-old, she slipped off his lap, and he caught her by the face to keep her from hitting the floor.
Both Josh and his wife Brenda say it was an accident, and Josh passed a polygraph examination.
"It’s been the hardest thing I’ve ever been through in my life,” Burns told 7 Investigator Heather Catallo during an exclusive interview in January.
Later, doctors discovered bleeding between the baby’s skull and brain and they found retinal hemorrhages. Both parents and some medical experts say that Naomi’s injuries were largely caused by birth trauma and illness.
But prosecutors say it was abuse.
Last year, Brenda was cleared of all abuse allegations, and now has custody of Naomi.
But as the 7 Investigators have reported, she had to go into hiding recently when Child Protective Services started coming after her again – even bringing five Brighton cops into her home one night.
“I am in fear. I have nightmares at night,” said Brenda Burns during the January interview.
Earlier this month, both Livingston County Prosecutors and CPS filed a petition against Brenda Burns – demanding to see Naomi.
Now prosecutors have dropped that. They’re also dropping their bid to terminate the parental rights of Josh Burns.
Prosecutor Bill Vailliencourt tells the 7 Investigators that because Burns is locked up in jail – and then has to face 2 more years of probation – prosecutors no longer have concerns that he would have contact with the baby.
Now they say, the termination of his parental rights is “no longer a viable option.”
So far, CPS caseworkers are moving forward with both the termination hearing and with their petition against Brenda Burns. But they have to hire a new lawyer to do that; Livingston County prosecutors will not be on the case.
“I will pursue justice for families for the rest of my life,” said Josh Burns, shortly before his sentencing last week. “We plan to start a foundation to educate folks around the country about CPS abuses and prosecutorial misconduct.”
Legal experts tell the 7 Investigators, these moves by the prosecutor’s office could signal that this family could be reunified at some point.
That’s what the Burns want.
Now they just have to wait to see if CPS will agree with them, and allow that to happen.
BRIGHTON, Mich. (WXYZ) - The showdown over a local baby continues. The 7 Investigators first showed you last night how a mother in Livingston County has gone into hiding because she fears authorities will take her daughter away, even though the mom has been cleared of all abuse allegations.
The mom is absolutely correct. CPS has all intentions of taking the child back into the custody of the State. A CPS case will remain open, up to a year, to monitor the status of the child. It justifies billing, which of course, is detailed as case management. It only takes one incident of non-compliance. In this situation the non-compliance was when she tried to resist CPS and police entering and searching the home without warrant. But, as we, in the industry of fighting fraud, waste and abuse, well know, CPS enters a home without a warrant under what is called exigent circumstances. Exigent circumstances in child welfare means someone, like an untrained social worker will bring in law enforcement to validate their whimsical notion that the child is in immediate danger.
Child Protective Services workers are still demanding an address for Brenda Burns and her baby, Naomi.
Even though the case against the mother has been dismissed, that does not mean that CPS cannot, at any time they please, file another petition, even if there are no grounds for a petition, and if the petition is deficient, they can, whenever the wind blows, amend the petition. This means CPS has every legal right to demand the whereabouts of the child. If the mother does not comply, that is ground for amending the petition to child neglect.
Brenda’s lawyer told 7 Investigator Heather Catallo that CPS isn’t following the law, and they’ve even gone so far as to put Brenda Burns on a secret list labeling her a child abuser – despite the fact that a jury found her innocent.
CPS is following the law. Typically, CPS will place an individual on the Central Registry for Abuse and Neglect within 48 hours of an investigated complaint. It has nothing to do with substantiation. By law, the State must notify an individual of being on the Registry within 30 days but rarely does. This is one reason there may be more than 100,000 people on the Central Registry without any knowledge. So why does the State maintain this "secret registry"? Well, I can only at this time speak upon Wayne County. The Registry is secret because of the fraudulent billing. Yes, CPS Wayne County was "rubber stamping" court orders for CPS a while back. These court documents for removal and placement were rubber stamped due to the fact that the cases were fraudulent. By this I mean they never existed. No judge. No court. No prosecutor. No defendant. Yet, these cases were being billed. If and hopefully when the Central Registry is made public, it may behoove federal investigators of HHS OIG and DOJ to cross reference each individual on the Registry to the case billings for cost reimbursement. They will find children, and even parents, were prosecuted as juvenile delinquents and foster care. This is called 'double jackets'. Fortunately, Madame Maura Corrigan made sure these cases were absent any federal review.
Welcome to the war. You have been chosen. Assume your position in the ranks.
Both Josh and Brenda Burns deny that they ever hurt their daughter Naomi.
Of course they did not harm their daughter. Most parents do not. I doubt if anyone even realizes poverty is considered abuse and neglect. Mental illness, poor education and low IQ are also considered child abuse. Failing to admit you hurt your child or even challenging the charges that you hurt your child is considered child abuse and sent up as aggregate data to generate national statistics on child abuse. So, because the Burns deny that they ever hurt their daughter Naomi, that is child abuse and justification for filing a second petition for removal of the child.
“It’s been the hardest thing I’ve ever been through in my life,” said Josh Burns as he fought back tears during an interview in January.
No. This is not the hardest thing you have ever been through in your life. Just wait until you see your daughter being drugged, beaten and raped in foster care, knowing there is nothing you can do about it, not even shed a tear because if you do break down, you will give CPS all the ammunition needed to file for termination of parental rights as you are clearly mentally unstable, demonstrating a future likelihood of emotional abuse.
Naomi is now a 14-month-old. When she was only 10-weeks-old, the baby had to be hospitalized after suffering from seizures and severe vomiting. Medical experts say the Naomi had injuries from vacuum suctioning during a very difficult labor.
Ah, but your medical doctor did not document the trauma. This makes the hospital and doctor liable for medical malpractice and, of course, humiliates the attorney general in the prosecution.
“Watching my wife go through what she went thru to bring our daughter into the world, it gave me a new love for my wife,” said Josh.
I bet it did.
But a doctor at the University of Michigan said the bleeding they later discovered between Naomi’s brain and skull was caused by abuse. Josh admits that Naomi slipped off his knee last March, but says he caught her before she hit anything.
Doctors are mandatory reporters who are trained that it is "better to err on the side of the child", famous words of Janet Reno. No doctor will ever jeopardize a medical license just for a parent.
Livingston County CPS workers accused both parents of child abuse and they put Naomi in foster care.
Counties get their funding and sustain jobs by meeting quotas and maintaining levels of children in the system. If Livingston County CPS is snatching from a new demographic, it tells me they are running out of fresh baby bodies to put in the system.
A jury later cleared Brenda and she now has custody of her daughter.
The reasons she was cleared were because her husband had too much trust in the system by sharing the 'lap slip' story. By clearing her, CPS is eligible to put more services in place to monitor....and bill.
Josh was convicted of felony child abuse in January, but both parents maintain that Josh is innocent. Brenda told us that she has lost all faith in the judicial system.
One cannot loose faith in the justice system when child welfare does not have the same justice system. You are guilty until proven innocent. Period. You are not allowed to face your accusers. You are not even allowed to be present when a petition is filed against you. Hell, you are not even notified to be present in court when a petition is filed. You are not allowed legal representation during the course of 'services' or better put as interrogation. It is your word against a social worker, if they are even a social worker. You are not allowed to request second opinions from professionals who are not contracted with the State.
“I am in fear. I have nightmares at night,” said Brenda Burns during an interview in January. “I don’t feel good about my country, I don’t feel like it’s a safe place.”
All parents should have this fear. All it takes is one phone call to the CPS hotline.
Brenda’s lawyer says a raid on her home by police and a CPS worker the night of Josh’s criminal conviction prompted the mother to fear that CPS was coming after Naomi again.
CPS will raid, at any time, day or night, without warrant, with no more than a piece of paper that says the child is in danger, which you are disallowed from viewing if it even exists. What that danger is can always be generated in a court report after the fact, at a later date.
That’s why attorney Elizabeth Warner sent a letter to CPS last week – telling them that Brenda was moving – and if they needed to talk to her – CPS could go through Warner.
Wrong. Too Much Information. TMI. Never tell them anything. Anything you say will be used to remove a child, particularly if you just had charges dropped against you. Retribution generates revenue.
The result? CPS filed a new petition against Brenda, demanding she give them her address.
No, CPS filed a petition of child neglect because she failed to provide for the proper needs of the child. Those needs, not being expounded upon in the petition, are of the State to protect the best interests of the child. Those interests have high dividends when the funds are properly invested in the stock markets and other child protection programs, which only exist in a pretty, shiny brochure.
“It has all the makings of a personal grudge. Somebody in that Livingston child welfare system is upset at losing the civil trial against the mother. And they just won’t let it go,” said Warner.
It is more than just personal. It is about potential revenue maximization. Remember, Michigan wants to go private. Once privatization kicks fully in, there is no public scrutiny. There is no due process. There are no civil rights. The mother has committed the crime of moral turpitude, which is classified as child abuse. Look it up.
Warner is outraged that even though Brenda Burns was cleared, CPS still put her on their secret list of child abusers, called the Central Registry. Warner says under the law, Brenda should not have been placed on the registry, which will prevent her from resuming work as a registered nurse.
Yes. The days of nursing are done. She was suppose to petition for removal from the Registry but of course, could not as she just recently received notice that she was on the registry. This is a typical response from State Administrative Law Judges and Child Welfare /Administrators when asked why a person is on the Registry and is denied removal: "You are denied being removed from the Central Registry because you were placed on the Central Registry." I kid you not.
“So they’re trying to destroy her, emotionally, financially, legally, any way that can,” said Warner.
They are not trying to destroy her. It is just pro forma. That is how the system is designed.
The letter from CPS tells Brenda that she’s on the registry as person responsible for: “Severe Physical Injury, Shaken Baby Syndrome, Physical Abuse. And while the date of the notice says April 2, 2014, the CPS case worker didn’t sign it and send it until January of this year. Warner says the law requires CPS to notify you within 30 days of their investigation that you’re on the registry, not 9 months later like this.
She should be grateful she was even notified.
“They put her on the registry when there’s a 2014 law that says they can’t do that,” said Warner.
The law says that she can petition to be removed. She never petitioned and now it is too late as there is a second petition.
“They need to back out of this family. They have overstepped their legal limits!”
CPS has no legal limits. No oversight. No contractual disbarment. No sanctions. No license revocation. No prosecution. No termination. No prosecution. No recovery. Why? It's the Eleventh Amendment. States are immune and to strip in federal court is a freakin' bitch of an action because it will take lots of money, a keen legal mind and a bold legal soul who is not afraid of being blacklisted in Michigan.
Brenda Burns is now in hiding because she fears retribution from CPS. A hearing is scheduled for next week to address this issue of Brenda’s address.
I hope you have Native American in you. Hide on a reservation and stay there until the child turns 18 years of age. Otherwise, you are going down. You can always sign over your rights to someone else in another state before Michigan takes jurisdiction again.
That will be held on the same day of her husband’s sentencing, and it will be held in front of the same judge who will be sentencing Josh Burns. Now family members and attorneys are concerned that the CPS actions will hurt him in court.
It will hurt the mother more than the father. It also looks like the father will serve time. His appeal will be denied and this is why. Michigan, during the 1980s revamped its courts. To reduce backlog, the Court of Appeals does not have to entertain every petition for appeal. Besides, the last time I checked, many of the COA judges are affiliated with child placing agencies. thanks to the judicial lobbying of Madame Maura Corrigan. Is this a conflict of interests? Of course, but there is nothing one can do about it. It is Michigan.
A spokesman for the Department of Human Services, which oversees CPS, says they cannot discuss individual cases, due to confidentiality laws. Bob Wheaton did tell us in an email that “the standard for being listed on the Central Registry is different than the standard in court. By law, DHS has the responsibility to place an individual on the Central Registry when the department substantiates that individual as a perpetrator of child abuse or neglect.”
Wheaton is correct. Abuse has been substantiated. They were married. He was found guilty. She is the wife. End of story.
A federal lawsuit is underway challenging the constitutionality of that process; lawyers say there is no due process because parents can be labelled an abuser on the Central Registry without a conviction in court.
True. If a person is successful in a CPS case of this magnitude, does that mean the State must reimburse the federal government? When hell freezes over. Now is the time for federal intervention. Now is the time to put civil rights in child welfare. Now is the time to audit non-profits.
It looks like Michigan has its showcase for April's Child Abuse Propaganda Month!
Child welfare has a new face on its propaganda poster to justify its course in securing more funding for its operations.
No longer is it the socially constructed face of the inner city, welfare single mom. We now have a new demographic to validate the continuance of civil rights deconstruction.
Here is what will more than likely happen in this case:
Dad will appeal conviction and lose;
Mom will be charged with child neglect for failing to "provide for the necessary needs of the child";
Child will not be placed with relatives because the family is too close;
Mom will be order to undergo psychiatric evaluation where she will be diagnosed with some off the wall malady to justify the petition of removal;
Termination of parental rights will be filed to prevent any civil litigation;
Child will be placed in foster care to grow up on psych meds to silent her being raped, beaten and eventually age out to a life of prostitution.
Yes, the scenario I have just painted is a drastic, yet realistic.
The one key event that has led me to believe this as the most likely outcome is what was stated in the case: The child was born with the condition.
If this is correct, the hospital, medical profession and Livingston CPS are liable, or rather fallible, but of course, that could never happen.
Besides, mom and dad will lose their professional licenses and will never be capable of fighting the issue of civil rights in through the courts.
BRIGHTON, Mich. (WXYZ) - A local baby at the center of a wild child abuse case is now among Michigan’s most wanted kids.
Little Naomi Burns has been taken into hiding by her mother, who fears authorities will take the child from her.
An attorney for Brenda Burns is calling this legal terrorism. Brenda has been cleared of all abuse allegations, but when her attorney told Child Protective Services workers last week to stop contacting Brenda, CPS went to court, demanding an address for the child.
The Burns family has created a website to document their legal battle – click HERE to see it.
For two months in 2014, the Burns family was the picture of perfection.
Josh Burns was flying planes for a commercial airline. Brenda was a registered nurse, and little Naomi was their bundle of joy.
“Naomi was a very wanted child. We waited a very long time to have children,” said Brenda in an interview with 7 Investigator Heather Catallo in January.
“I attended daddy boot camp classes at St. Joe’s [Hospital] before she even came into the world, because I wanted to be the best dad I could be,” said Josh during the same interview.
But two months after Naomi’s difficult C-section birth – trouble started. Josh says the baby slipped off his knee one day. In the tumble, mom and dad say she suffered only a faint bruise on her cheek.
“She was smiling and giggling, we went about our normal day,” said Josh.
But the next day, Naomi started projectile vomiting. Josh and Brenda rushed to the ER.
“I told the attending physician there about it, and he scoffed at it, and said – ‘Dad, this is nothing you did, your daughter is suffering from an infection or virus,’” said Josh.
But a doctor at the University of Michigan later found more: bleeding in the area between Naomi’s brain and skull. That’s called a subdural hematoma. They also discovered retinal hemorrhaging.
There were no other signs of trauma on the child, but that doctor then accused Josh and Brenda of abuse. Both adamantly deny they ever harmed their baby.
Brenda describes the accusations as, “devastating, humiliating, and terrifying.” CPS put Naomi into foster care.
“We were shocked. We had been in the hospital for 10 days, trusting these people with our daughter’s life. We brought her back to these same people. It was like somebody threw a hand grenade into our room and walked away,” said Josh.
Brenda was ultimately cleared and Naomi was eventually returned to her. But Josh was charged with child abuse.
“It’s like living a nightmare. And you wake up every day and you’re still there. And you just think, what do I have to do to prove to these people that I’m not the man I say I am,” said Josh.
And despite experts who said the bleeding inside Naomi’s head happened at birth and was caused by trauma during her delivery, a jury convicted Josh in January. Josh says he hasn’t seen his daughter in nearly a year.
“It’s been the hardest thing I’ve ever been through in my life,” said Josh.
The night of Josh’s conviction, a Child Protective Services worker from the Michigan Department of Human Services showed up with Brighton Police at Brenda’s house. They wanted to see if Josh was violating a court order that prevents him from seeing Naomi. The encounter was captured on a nanny cam inside the home.
“I’m with CPS, I’m with DHS. I was asked to just come out and just verify that he was not here,” CPS worker Melinda Chamberlain can be heard saying on the video.
“You can check the house if you choose,” says Charles Burns, Naomi’s grandfather.
Brenda’s attorney, Elizabeth Warner, says they had no warrant to search the home.
“Five Brighton City police officers and a DHS employee committed a home invasion of the child’s home. The child was there with her grandparents. But regardless of who she was there with – it wasn’t her father, and they had absolutely no reason to do that,” said Warner.
Warner says this police raid is one of the reasons she sent CPS a letter last week telling them that Brenda was moving. Warner said they could write to Brenda at a post office box, or they could call Warner.
But now CPS has filed a new court petition against Brenda, demanding that she provide them with Naomi’s new address.
“Does she have to do that,” asked Catallo.
“No,” said Warner. “It’s definitely not a crime for her to take her daughter and live wherever she wants to with her daughter. Her daughter was given back to her, she’s the fit parent, and under our constitution and the way that our Michigan Supreme Court has interpreted it, they cannot put her child under supervision of DHS.”
Now Brenda is in hiding.
“I think that would be the safest thing for any good mother to do. These people in Livingston County have not acted either honorably or legally. It frankly is the most stupid, silly petition I’ve ever seen filed. It doesn’t accuse her of any child neglect. It doesn’t accuse her of any child abuse. It accuses her of moving. And having an attorney. Period,” said Warner. “It is pure hypocrisy, and legal terrorism. I don’t know any other way you can put it.”
A referee issued an order, demanding an address for the child by 5:00 p.m. on Friday March 6.
The Livingston County prosecutor told us that as of March 11, the child’s location has not been provided.
“It is not our desire to keep a child from her mother. We want to make sure that the child is protected from the man who abused her. To the extent there is a dispute over what the court can order the mother to do, that is a matter that will be litigated and ultimately decided by the courts,” said Bill Vailliencourt in an email to the 7 Investigators. “There is no vendetta here. Our primary concern has always been the protection of the child from harm and holding her abuser accountable for his criminal conduct.”
