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Corinth woman fights to get her son back from CPS
The boy's mother says she never imagined that taking her son to the hospital for a rash would end with him being taken from her home the next day. Her court hearing to try to get her son back is still a week away.
CORINTH, Texas - A North Texas mother is fighting to get her toddler back after Child Protective Services took him without a court order and without police officers seeing an immediate need for his removal.
The 2-year-old is set to be released from Dallas Children's Hospital into a foster home on Tuesday.
The boy's mother says she never imagined that taking her son to the hospital for a rash would end with him being taken from her home the next day, and her court hearing is still a week away.
Joslyn Sanders says she already overcame big odds just to give birth to her son, Josiah.
"They kept saying I wouldn't make it 40 weeks," she said.
Joslyn was paralyzed from the waist down when she was in high school. Her dad, Jason, says she persevered through college.
"When she graduated, she was in the top 10% out of 40,000 students. To witness her give natural birth the next day to my grandson out of all odds," he said.
But now, Joslyn is in a battle she never expected. She took Josiah to Children's Medical Center Dallas because her son had a rash that she believed was a reaction to a new laundry detergent.
"I realized his foot was swelling and took him to the hospital at the advice of a pediatrician," she said.
Joslyn says the doctor recommended a medicine she was not comfortable with.
"I was not ok with clindamycin since that antibiotic is reserved for more severe infections," she said.
Joslyn decided to leave the hospital against medical advice to take Josiah to her pediatrician, which she did.
Even so, the next afternoon, CPS officers came to her apartment and were accompanied by Corinth police.
Corinth Police Chief Jerry Garner told FOX 4 what his officers observed.
"They did not observe anything that would indicate the child was in imminent danger," he said.
According to CPS, investigators said they were responding to a report from Children's about a child being malnourished. But the family provided medical records showing on the date Josiah left the hospital, there was no "indication of child abuse or negligence."
"They observed the child would eat, and drink. They saw a rash, but they did not see an emergency," Chief Garner said. "They did not see anything obvious to indicate the child was malnourished."
The police report says Joslyn agreed to take Josiah to a different hospital. But the CPS worker told her that was no longer an option and proceeded to take Josiah.
"I think being instructed to take the child into custody without a court order, without a directive from a judge would be unusual," Garner said.
"I think being instructed to take the child into custody without a court order, without a directive from a judge would be unusual," she said.
The court affidavit filed by the CPS worker stated "The child had a skin infection and a nutritional deficiency. Mother Joslyn Sanders provided no explanation about the child being malnourished. The doctor said the child is at severe risk of becoming septic due to serious infection."
Joslyn says the affidavit failed to include information that Josiah was receiving treatment for feeding difficulties through his nutrition therapist and an alternate antibiotic from his primary care provider.
"I've never been away from my son for more than a few hours; it's now been 60 days," she said. "I think about him every moment."
A spokeswoman with CPS told FOX 4 in an email that she can confirm a judge ordered Josiah to be in their care.
Joslyn says she has not yet had a hearing where she can present her side yet. That is scheduled for next Wednesday.