Grandmother tells House oversight subcommittee CPS failures preceded death of 2-year-old Cassius

Brenda Wellens Watson told the Michigan House oversight subcommittee on child welfare system that her 2-year-old grandson, Cassius, who had Down syndrome, died after she reported injuries to Children's Protective Services on July 21, 2024 and the child was not taken to a hospital for four days.

Watson said she sent photographs of Cassius's injuries as instructed and received an immediate confirmation that the photos had come through. She said the case was handed between workers, her repeated calls went unanswered, and a home visit was never made before Cassius was returned to the mother’s care. "The system, the very one designed to protect our most valuable vulnerable children failed," Watson told the committee, adding, "because of that failure, my grandson is gone."

The committee opened its hearing with Representative Regas moving to approve the minutes of the June 3 meeting; hearing no objection, the minutes were approved. The subcommittee then heard Watson's testimony and several members asked questions about communication, triage and decisionmaking inside CPS.

Why it matters: Watson framed her testimony as a call for structural change in CPS rather than individual blame. She told the panel she has applied to work in Wayne County's central intake unit so she could help analyze and reform intake and communication processes. Several committee members said the testimony highlighted wider problems the panel has discussed before, including staffing, triage and coordination with medical providers.

Details from Watson's account

- Report and hospital timeline: Watson said she reported suspected abuse on or about July 21, 2024, sent photos of injuries by text and received confirmation. She said it took four days before Cassius was taken to the hospital.

- Case management and handoffs: Watson said the case was reassigned and reassigned back, that she called seven times before someone answered, and that at one point a caseworker hung up on her. She said she asked to speak with a supervisor and was given another name and number.

- Placement and follow-up: Watson said, after the hospital visit, Cassius was placed with a friend of the mother, identified in testimony as Patricia, who had recently regained custody of her own children. Watson said Patricia was given two $25 gift cards and two diapers; there was no home visit to check for basic utilities or food, she said.

- Prior signs and family offers: Watson told the committee she had earlier observed what she believed was a belt-buckle mark and had asked to take Cassius into her care; she said her offer was not accepted. She said the child's father declined involvement.

Committee members' response and follow-up

Members repeatedly expressed sympathy and described the account as disturbing. Representative Colin said, "I'm so sorry for your loss," and asked why Watson had not been given custody when she offered it. Representative McDonough asked, "Shouldn't a court have been involved at some point?" and whether workers could move children without court oversight. Several members observed CPS receives a very large volume of calls (committee discussion referenced about 70,000 calls per year) and raised concerns about triage at intake and whether serious cases are being routed promptly to medical providers or law enforcement.

Representative Regas also summarized another case the committee hopes to schedule for a future hearing: a Jan. 27, 2025 fire in Grand Rapids in which prosecutors say a mother disabled smoke detectors and set a house on fire, killing a 12-year-old and injuring two other children; the summary said CPS had previously returned children to the mother's care after psychiatric hospital discharge and that prosecutors allege the mother admitted to disabling detectors.

Watson's stated remedies and next steps

Watson asked legislators to treat her testimony as a call for changes to policy and oversight. She said she applied May 13 for a central intake position and hoped to help fix intake and communication problems. Representative Rodriguez asked members to bring ideas for statute changes to the committee. The subcommittee adjourned at the conclusion of testimony.

Ending: The hearing produced no formal orders or votes beyond approval of the June 3 minutes. Members said they will pursue additional hearings and consider statutory recommendations; the committee asked for ideas from members about possible changes to law or practice to strengthen oversight and triage at intake.