Judge places five children under Lenawee County supervision after CPS removal petition

A Lenawee County judge on Feb. 14 placed five children who were the subject of a Child Protective Services petition into supervised placements, finding a substantial risk of harm while they remained in the care of their mother, Rebecca Whitten.

The court took jurisdiction over the children and ordered the two children then in Whitten’s care returned to foster care under department supervision; three older children who were staying with Mark Kameen were retained in his home under in‑home jurisdiction with Kameen’s father supervising; another child, referred to in court as GW, was returned to the custody of his father. The court set initial disposition and adjudication for Feb. 28, 2025, at 10 a.m.

The order followed testimony from a Child Protective Services investigator, Ms. Wasek, who said her investigation beginning Jan. 23 documented active substance use by Whitten, long‑standing service needs and lapses in supervision. “She was essentially nodding out, eyes fluttering, eyeballing in the back of her head during my initial visit,” Wasek testified, and she reported the children appeared disheveled, had unexplained bruising and lacked regular medical care. Wasek told the court the department had attempted safety planning and outreach for two weeks but concluded the mother had not followed through on required appointments and had been removed from a shelter after a physical altercation.

Whitten denied intentionally harming the children and spoke directly to the court about wanting to keep them. “Nobody’s gonna love them the way that I love them. We read books at nighttime. You know, I wanna be the one washing their hair at night,” she said, adding she was seeking shelter or inpatient services that would accept children and offering to submit to daily drug testing if the children remained with her.

Counsel for the department, Ms. Thomas, and other parties emphasized the children’s prior involvement with child welfare and the department’s concern that current conditions — including relapse, housing instability and missed medical and school contacts — posed immediate risks. The court noted the family’s history in earlier cases and referenced prior services and a prior removal period discussed by the investigator.

The judge explained placements on the record, saying the two children with Whitten would “be placed back into foster care under the supervision of the department” and that placement with a prior foster family would be used for continuity. The court found placement with Kameen and his father appropriate for the three children already in Kameen’s care but ordered the department to retain jurisdiction and revisit placement if conditions change. The child GW was released to his father, after the court concluded no substantial risk required department custody for that child.

The court directed parties and the department to prepare for the Feb. 28 initial disposition and adjudication hearings and ordered that the department continue services and monitoring in the interim.

Court orders and placements recorded in today’s hearing mirror the department’s petition and the investigator’s testimony; the orders are administrative and reflect the court’s determination of immediate safety and placement, not a final adjudication of all parental rights or future custody. The Feb. 28 session will address initial disposition and any further adjudication steps.