North Texas judge rules against reuniting 2-year-old with mother
NORTH TEXAS – A 2-year-old who was taken into CPS custody after a disagreement over his medical care will not be reunited with his mother, a Denton County judge ruled Tuesday.
A caseworker carried out an emergency removal order last December after Josiah Sanders' mom, Joslyn Sanders, left a Dallas hospital with him against medical advice.
Sanders spent about three hours on the stand Tuesday afternoon, detailing her son's medical issues and the care she sought for him.
Ultimately, the judge said he simply didn't believe her and that he didn't find her testimony credible, agreeing with the state that there's "risk of continued danger" to Josiah if he's returned home.
The judge ruled there was sufficient evidence to show an urgent need for protection required immediate removal.
According to the state, this recent instance was the third complaint of medical neglect against Sanders in a seven-month span. They presented photos of a rash Josiah had all over his body and argued it was related to his severe malnourishment.
After CPS removed him from the home, Josiah spent more than 60 days at Children's Health Medical Center in Dallas for treatment and still has a feeding tube in his nose.
Sanders testified she had sought treatment for his rash and feeding problems and followed the advice of her pediatrician. She told the court she left the hospital last December because she wanted a second opinion on the antibiotic doctors wanted to treat Josiah with and that no one explained the severity of her son's condition to her at that time.
Once she understood how sick he was, Sanders told CPS she was willing to take him back to the hospital.
Essentially, it was too late. The order for removal had already been approved, and it was upheld again Tuesday.
"I just want to say that my heart is broken," said Sanders, after the judge made his decision. "I feel like the wrong decision was made, given all the evidence presented… I want to tell my son Josiah that I love him and I miss him and I did everything in my power to bring him back home today."
Josiah's caseworker did take the stand earlier in the day and admitted to making some mistakes in the removal process.
She also testified that she left out what could be considered key information in her affidavit to the court, like the fact that Sanders agreed to bring Josiah back to a hospital.
Ultimately, it wasn't enough to convince the judge to rule in Sanders' favor. He ordered services for her, "so she can learn how to properly nourish the child so he doesn't get in a desperate, life-threatening state again."
Sanders' attorney, Brenda DeRouen, says their team will continue to fight to reunite Josiah with his mother.
"I think it's unfortunate that this judge made a verbal admonishment of my client's credibility when the evidence showed that CPS was not credible, that medical providers, based on their medical records, were not credible or consistent," said DeRouen. "…I think that we have a Texas Family Code that this court did not follow. I believe that CPS has a pamphlet and a manual, a protocol that was not followed. And I think it's unfortunate that this was the result that we got here today."
Both sides agreed Josiah is now doing well and his health has improved over the past several months, but Sanders' attorney argues she would have had the same results if she'd been given the opportunity to continue managing his care.
