A Denton County Judge has denied a Corinth mother custody of her 2-year-old son, taken by Child Protective Services in December 2023 after she opted to leave a pediatric hospital against medical advice.
The case has gained national attention over parental rights and whether Texas Children’s Protective Services followed proper protocol in removing the child from his home.
Joslyn Sanders is accused of medically neglecting her son who suffered a severe body rash in late 2023 that doctors contend was caused by severe malnutrition.
In court on Tuesday, Sanders was last to take the stand, after three weeks of testimony.
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Sanders claims Children's Dallas doctors never told her Josiah was malnourished and could die if he left. She also acknowledged this was the third CPS medical neglect investigation in a 7-month period in 2023.
The child’s medical care team at Shine Pediatrics in Richardson testified they were concerned the rash could cause sepsis and urged Sanders to take Josiah to a hospital on Dec. 20, 2023. Sanders opted to take Josiah to Children’s Medical Center in Dallas, where Josiah had been treated in March 2023 after suffering a seizure.
The family took Josiah to Children’s Dallas but left after objecting to a ‘black box antibiotic’ doctors wanted to administer. Sanders told doctors she wanted to seek a second opinion with her child’s medical team at Shine. The mother’s choice to leave the hospital triggered a CPS investigation, as is protocol.
The family left the hospital late in the night on Dec. 20 and the child’s grandfather showed up at Shine Pediatrics without Josiah the following day, according to testimony.
The family admittedly took a holistic approach to medication and asked for and received an alternative medication from their holistic pediatrician, Dr. Randy Naidoo, MD.
A key witness took the stand Tuesday morning facing questions and admitting mistakes were made during the removal of the boy.
Anuki Wachsman testified she received the case on Dec. 21, one day after officially joining CPS as an investigator able to receive cases.
Wachsman admits she ‘made mistakes’ when she went to Sanders’ home in Corinth, including not including information provided by Josiah’s family in her report.
The new CPS employee said her only job that day was to conduct an "emergency removal" after speaking with Children’s Dallas who insisted the boy’s life could be in danger if he did not receive immediate care in the hospital.
Wachsman also acknowledged telling the family she had a court order to remove the child when she did not have one. However, CPS does not need a court order in an "emergency removal," according to state law.
An audio recording captured part of the two-hour visit in which Wachsman later informed the family she was there to remove the child and take him back to Dallas Children’s.
Josiah’s grandfather is heard telling Wachsman they already planned to take Josiah back to his primary care provider the following day.
When the CPS worker told the family she needed to get him to the hospital that moment, Josiah’s mother asked if she could take him to Children’s Plano instead of the Dallas location.
Wachsman admitted to mistakenly telling Sanders she could take her son to Plano, before calling a supervisor who responded to the house.
Wachsman testified doctors alerted her that there was concern Josiah could die if he was fed outside of a hospital setting.
She noticed the boy’s family trying to feed him pasta during her visit, she said.
Wachsman said she observed the child constantly crying and ‘chunks of hair’ falling off.
After about an hour and a half back-and-forth with the family, Wachsman took Josiah in her car to Children’s Dallas where he remained for approximately two months.
Sanders’ attorney criticized the CPS worker’s decision to drive back to Dallas and not a closer hospital if he was indeed at risk of dying.
The CPS employee testified during her decision to remove Josiah, she took into consideration a previous CPS case involving the same child and a previous situation where Sanders left Children's Dallas against medical advice in March 2023.
By all accounts, Josiah’s condition has improved, and the boy looks "healthy" according to his mother.
Sanders had been allowed to see her son once a week for an hour. Supervised visitations were increased to three one-hour visits a week last week.
The judge ruled that Josiah should remain with an extended family member under CPS custody, saying CPS had no choice but to take the child. He also ordered CPS services, saying he wants her to learn how to properly nourish her child.
Following the judge's decision, Sanders says that she is heartbroken.
"I'm thankful that I was given this opportunity to be able to speak on this injustice because again I don't know how many people are dealing with this," said Sanders. "Me dealing with this is very hard and it's very heartbreaking."
Sanders' attorney, Brenda Derouen, said she is a loving and attentive mother and was entitled to a second opinion by law.
"I want to tell my son Josiah that I love him and miss him and we did everything in our absolute power to bring him back home to me today," Sanders said emotionally following the judge's decision.
