After death of 5 year old, family and Michigan senator demand more transparency from CPS

Published: Feb. 02, 2023

By Alyssa Burr|aburr@mlive.com

A Michigan lawmaker and the family of a boy who was allegedly beaten to death by his parents have spoken out about the system they believed failed him.

Candace Rush and Ashley Belcher were joined by Sen. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake, Thursday, Feb. 2 for a press conference at the Michigan Capitol over concerns that a lack of action by Child Protective Services (CPS) contributed to the death of Rush and Belcher’s nephew, Ethan, 5.

Ethan was pronounced dead Sunday afternoon after he was taken to a local hospital. His cause of death, according to Belcher, was determined to be blunt force trauma.

He was the son of Valeria Lynn Hamilton and stepson of Shane Robert Shelton, who allegedly fatally physically abused Ethan and non-fatally abused their 3-year-old son.

Rush and Belcher, Ethan’s paternal aunts, said they had been in contact with CPS over the course of several years because of abuse concerns within the home.

To this day, the women said they still have yet to receive answers from CPS about why action was not taken to remove Ethan and his brother from the situation.

They are now calling for accountability in Ethan’s case— against the case workers, CPS and the Michigan Department of Human Services (MDHHS), which oversees the program.

“These children are sent back to these homes and they ultimately lose their lives at the hands of these monsters,” Belcher said. “They’re not checking on these babies. Some serious changes need to be made within the system.”

The issue hit home for Runestad. He and his wife used to be foster care parents before he was in the legislature, and he said they would encounter similar issues when attempting to gather information about a child in their care they feared was being neglected.

It’s this need for transparency behind why he intends to introduce legislation that would amend Michigan’s child protection law to allow sitting legislators and credentialed media to have access to MDHHS’ confidential records.

“Around the state, the same things been going on for decade after decade,” Runestad said. “If we’re going to have any change in how things are done, we have to have transparency.”

Through tears, Belcher spoke about Ethan as the “sweet, sweet boy” they knew.

She said there were occasions when Ethan was in her care and reluctant to go back to his family’s home, which she described as “an abandoned house.” The family was living in Detroit at the time of the incident, while Belcher lives in Michigan’s down river area and Rush is from Tennessee.

“He didn’t want to leave my house when he was there,” Belcher said. “He loved being there because they were fed, clothed.”

Belcher echoed Runestad’s statements, saying increased transparency from the department could have prevented Ethan’s death and other child abuse cases not taken seriously by officials.

“It bothers me a lot that things are swept under the rug and kept hush hush,” Belcher said. “They don’t want people to know the things that are just let go.”

When asked whether there was appropriate oversight in Ethan’s case, MDHHS spokesperson Bob Wheaton said in a statement to MLive that the department extends its sympathies to the Belcher family, and that officials will continue to work with stakeholders on child abuse prevention services.

He added that the department strives to be “as transparent as the law allows.”

“Confidentiality of CPS records has been part of state law for decades,” Wheaton said. “The confidentiality requirement in state and federal law protects children who have been abused or neglected – and their siblings – from the additional trauma of having the intimate details of their alleged abuse and neglect made public.”

“The department is always willing to work with our legislative partners to protect the well-being of children and families.”

State law prohibits MDHHS from sharing specifics of CPS cases outside of those involved in a case, like a legally mandated child protective agency, law enforcement or medical personnel.

Runestad acknowledged the law was written to prevent the spread of sensitive information about children, but that, even with his provisions, it would still be a misdemeanor for any parties involved to share that information.

He anticipates some resistance when the bill starts to move through the legislature, but said he is open to suggestions on how to improve it.

“Whenever you have that secrecy, there’s a problem,” Runestad said. “The solution to this is to bust this open and give the media and sitting legislators an opportunity to look at these cases again.”

Read the Story on Mlive here: https://www.mlive.com/politics/2023/02/after-death-of-5-year-old-family-and-michigan-senator-demand-more-transparency-from-cps.html