Mother argues CPS mishandled situation as she battles to regain custody of 2-year-old son
DENTON COUNTY — A North Texas mom continues to fight to regain custody of her two-year-old son after Child Protective Services removed him from her home over a disagreement about his medical care.
A Denton County judge is set to decide on the boy's placement Tuesday morning.
Josiah Sanders has been away from his mom for more than 80 days.
"It is a very emotional experience," said his mother, Joslyn Sanders. "…I just can't imagine the emotional toll it's taken on him. I know how hard it is for me, and I'm an adult, so I just can't imagine the pain that he's going through."
According to Sanders, a trip to Children's Medical Center Dallas last December sparked a CPS investigation.
The toddler's pediatrician had advised her to take Josiah there for testing after his weight dropped and he developed a rash. Sanders objected to the antibiotic the doctors wanted to give Josiah, so she left the hospital against medical advice. That decision triggered a complaint to CPS, which appears to be standard protocol.
The next day, Sanders says a CPS worker, along with police officers, came to their home in Corinth.
According to Sanders, she told the CPS worker that she had already taken Josiah to the pediatrician that morning and received an alternate antibiotic and that she was also willing to take the boy to a different hospital for further evaluation.
Sanders says she made CPS aware that Josiah was under the care of a nutritional feeding therapist as well.
The CPS worker removed Josiah from the home, reportedly over concerns for his medical health, and took him back to Children's in Dallas.
Sanders alleges that CPS didn't include any of the information about her current treatment plan for her son in its affidavit to the court.
"You find out later on that CPS took those three things out - the information that literally deemed you under state law, that allowed that judge to even remove this child because there are checks and balances of the judiciary," said Dominique Alexander, president of the Next Generation Action Network.
The social justice group is helping Sanders and her family navigate this legal battle. They want the judge to not only return Josiah to Sanders' custody but to also hold CPS accountable for what happened.
"We have situations of children being abused," Alexander said. "CPS should use its full resources towards those situations, and not parents who are loving in a situation like this. This is something that if someone would have done their proper due diligence, we wouldn't be here today."
Sanders will likely take the stand Tuesday to share why she believes she should be reunited with her son.
"I'm just honored that we were able to be able to shed light on this story as well, on this injustice, and hopefully bring about a change in the future because there's no telling how many other families are dealing with this situation and just don't have the ability to speak out on it," she said.
CBS News Texas reached out to CPS about these allegations, but the agency says it doesn't comment on open litigation.
We also reached out to Children's Health about Josiah's case and received this statement from a spokesperson: "The safety and well-being of all our patients is our top priority. To comply with patient privacy laws, Children's Health maintains strict confidentiality and as such, we do not share or discuss any patient information."
The custody hearing is set to begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday in Denton.
