The House Oversight Subcommittee on Child Welfare, chaired by State Representative Luke Meerman (R-Coopersville), will hear testimony on Tuesday regarding the lawsuit filed against the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ Child Protective Services program (CPS) by the father of Chayce Allen, a 3-year-old boy who was murdered by his mother in 2022 after multiple documented incidents of abuse and neglect observed by CPS workers. Jonathan Marko, the principal attorney for Allen’s father in this case, and Monroe County Sheriff Troy Goodnough will testify. Meerman issued the following statement on the Chayce Allen incident ahead of the Tuesday committee meeting:

“When CPS investigations fail, children are left in danger and in the worst circumstances, and CPS failures result in death. It is of the utmost importance that CPS investigations adhere to the policies codified in statute to ensure children don’t fall through the cracks. The Oversight Subcommittee on the Child Welfare System will hear from the attorney representing the father of Chayce Allen, a young boy murdered by his mother in southeast Michigan despite repeated visits from CPS investigators.

“We failed Chayce. The state failed Chayce and there are far too many questions left unanswered after CPS became involved in the care of this young boy. Child protective services failed Chayce. We need to know how CPS failed, and this hearing is critical for getting answers for Chayce and this committee’s work.

“The last couple weeks, this body has heard testimony from the Children’s Services Administrator Starling on the performance of CPS investigations as it relates to a 2024 audit completed by the Auditor General. We heard testimony on the successes of the agency and excuses on its failures. It is vile that anyone can stand before this committee, espouse the timeliness and promptness of CPS investigations, and have this case moving forward. It’s a blight on our state that it failed Chayce through this tragedy.”