CPS Accountability Movement

08/24/2025

Another Brave Voice Standing Up Against DHHS Retaliation

Today I want to honor Betsey Grant, a licensed childcare provider in Maine, who is courageously speaking out against the retaliation, abuse of power, and systemic failure happening inside Maine DHHS/OCFS.

Betsey’s daycare served 91 children — including 59 foster children — many from low-income families. She testified at the Maine State House about discrimination against foster children, federal funding misuse, and how mandated reporters are ignored until tragedy strikes.

Instead of listening and fixing these failures, DHHS leaders mocked her in public and retaliated:

Sanctioned her license

Withheld $30,000 in foster children’s funds

Cut her from the federal food program, costing $230,496

Caused her to lose a $75,000 federal expansion grant

Her “crime”? Refusing to allow adults, visitors, and staff to share bathrooms with infants, toddlers, and school-age children — a rule she knows is unsafe.

Even when DHHS repaid the $30,000, they tried to cover their tracks by asking her to change the date to avoid an audit.

This is not just my fight. Betsey’s story proves Maine’s DHHS/OCFS are silencing anyone who dares to protect the vulnerable and expose the truth.

Betsey — thank you for using your voice, even when those in power try to crush it. Your courage is proof that we are not alone, and that speaking up matters.

Maine, America — how many more voices will we lose to retaliation before real reform happens?

08/14/2025

07/24/2025

Editor’s Note & Trigger Warning:

The following article contains firsthand accounts of severe childhood trauma, including descriptions of r**e, foster care abuse, medical mistreatment, systemic injustice, wrongful family separation, and gender-based violence. These themes may be distressing or triggering for some readers—especially survivors of similar experiences or those currently involved in the child welfare system.

Please take care while reading. If you or someone you know is experiencing emotional distress or crisis, help is available. Reach out to a trusted mental health provider or call a crisis support line in your area.

Why This Story Matters
This is more than a story—it’s a cry for help from a man still carrying the weight of his stolen childhood. It’s an urgent call to confront a decades-old injustice that continues to haunt an entire family.

The author, Ryan Michaels, shares this article in solidarity with a survivor named Prentice Nicholas and his father, Jerry Nicholas. Though Ryan has never met this family in person, he believes—as many of us do—that truth, transparency, and accountability must rise above silence and time.

If you choose to read on, do so with empathy, with courage, and—if you’re in a position of influence—with a willingness to act.

Title: “We Were Children, Not Criminals”: A Son’s Desperate Plea to Reunite a Family and Expose the Truth

By Ryan Michaels

In an email sent with the simple subject line “please help,” a grown son—Prentice Lashaun Nicholas—poured his broken heart into words that no child should ever have to write.

“I remember at five years old being taken away from my mother and father by the police... I don't understand why all of this happened to us. My father and mother never did anything wrong.”

Now an adult, Prentice is pleading for someone—anyone—to investigate the devastating decisions made by Illinois DCFS and the Cook County courts over 30 years ago that tore him and his five siblings from their loving parents, Jerry and Joanne Nicholas.

Backed by disturbing court documents and placement forms from 1993, Prentice’s story raises urgent questions about systemic failures, trauma inflicted in foster care, and how justice was never served for him or his siblings. Each child’s name—Princess, Wendy, Carolyn, Jerry Jr., Christopher, and Prentice—appears in state records that authorized their removal and placement in state custody. Many of these documents were signed within days or hours of the children’s seizure from their home, prompting suspicions that paperwork was used to retroactively justify what Prentice and Jerry describe as a legally unsupported raidimage.

In his letter, Prentice describes witnessing the r**e of his sister in foster care, being drugged until dizzy and disoriented, and enduring years of separation under a fabricated last name.

One of the most heartbreaking elements: neither he nor his siblings understand why they were taken. Prentice begs for answers from DCFS Director Heidi Mueller and Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert:

“Why didn’t our parents come and get us out of here? Why didn’t the lawyers help us go home? What did our parents do wrong? Why were we punished like this?”

He closes his message with an urgent appeal: investigate the lawsuit allegedly filed in their names—one he claims his family never knew about. “Please find out about this lawsuit,” he pleads. “Because why don’t our parents even know about it?”

A Call to Action: If I Can Help, So Can You

My name is Ryan Michaels. I’m just a random guy from Maine who runs a grassroots campaign for CPS accountability. I didn’t know Jerry Nicholas. He found me on social media and asked for help. I listened. I looked at the documents. I heard his son’s voice crying out for answers—and now, I can’t turn away.

If someone thousands of miles away with no prior connection can volunteer to elevate this story, then surely those in power—those in Illinois who are sworn to protect families—can do even more.

I am asking every legislator, every reporter, and every official reading this to do what’s right. Look at the evidence. Speak to Jerry Nicholas. Speak to his son. Reopen the case. Audit the money. And most of all—bring truth and healing to this family before it’s too late.

Because the children are no longer children. But they are still waiting to be heard.

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06/27/2025

Everyone,

I have now created a living timeline of events as it pertains to my struggle to obtain truth and transparency from Maines very own OCFS (Office of Family and Child Services).

This timeline includes video evidence, audio, emails, letters, and more. Each dated in chronological order to connect the dots for everyone else to follow along.

When I win in my fight for truth and transparency, we all win. Help me raise awareness by clicking the link below and taking a look at tge newly created timeline. Share this post with friends, share the link, and let's keep making noise.

We will speak the truth so loud, together, that these lawless individuals won't be able to ignore us anymore.

Change is coming. Justice is coming. Our pain and suffering will be acknowledged and will not be for nothing. I will use the pain and heartache of my story to light reform that this state hasn't ever seen before. And I will then use it to aid other states to start following suit.

I'm done with the corruption and destruction of families...are you?💔❤️‍🩹💚🌱

Www.letsgetgrowing.org/justiceformichaels

CPS Accountability Movement

Together We Grow | Mental Health Awareness, Support & Community. Together We Grow is a movement dedicated to mental health awareness, education, and recovery. We empower individuals, break the stigma, and provide support through community-driven initiatives. Join us and take the first step toward he...

06/23/2025

When Justice Becomes a Weapon: The Human Cost of Systemic Betrayal:

There is a chilling reality that too many people still don’t understand: the systems meant to protect—Child Protective Services, family courts, legal safeguards—can be twisted into tools of control, manipulation, and abuse.

When someone weaponizes these systems, it's not just a strategy. It's a calculated act of destruction.

It starts with one accusation. One false narrative. One moment where truth is eclipsed by performance, where paperwork outweighs pain, and where silence is mistaken for guilt. Suddenly, you're not a parent. You're not a partner. You're not even a person. You're a case file, a docket number, an inconvenience.

And the damage is profound.

The Cost to the Innocent

The parent who loses their child not because of danger—but because of a bitter lie.
The child ripped from a loving home, indoctrinated into fear and confusion.
The partner smeared with stigma, forced into mental health evaluations, surveilled and silenced, while the abuser hides behind the badge of “concern.”

When CPS is weaponized, trauma becomes institutional.
When courtrooms become battlegrounds for ego and revenge, justice dies in plain sight.

What We Lose

We lose trust in the system.
We lose precious time with our children.
We lose our jobs, our homes, our savings, our sanity.
We lose the chance to heal, to speak, to prove we are more than the lies written in someone else’s narrative.

And yet—those who abuse the system face no consequences. They walk free, empowered by bureaucracy, protected by red tape, and emboldened by the knowledge that the truth is too buried, too complex, too painful to unpack.

But There’s Still a Voice

If you’ve lived this—you know.
If you’ve watched it happen—you remember.
If you’ve been silent—now is the time to speak.

Because this is more than a broken system. It’s a weaponized one.
And when systems meant to serve become systems that destroy, it’s not just the victims who suffer—it’s society that pays the price.

Accountability is overdue. Reform is not optional.
And until the day comes where truth is louder than manipulation, we must speak—again and again—until justice remembers how to be just.

CPS Accountability Movement

06/15/2025

Today is Father's Day.
But like so many days before it…
I won’t see my children.
I won’t hear their voices.
And I won’t even try to ask.

Not because I don’t want to.
Because I’ve already asked.
More times than I can count.
I’ve begged, negotiated, hoped, compromised, and waited.
And still—nothing.

The truth is: I know better by now.
Even if I asked to see them under a supervisor of her choosing…
Even if this could’ve been planned months ago…
Even if there’s a court order in place…
It wouldn’t matter. Because this system doesn’t protect me. It protects power.
It enables abuse through silence, through delay, through deferral.

The courts are not just flawed.
They are complicit.
They create space for alienation. They embolden those who manipulate.
And they leave parents like me—loving, willing, desperate—grieving children who are still alive, but kept out of reach.

I long for my children today, just like every other day.
But today the ache is louder.
Today the silence is heavier.
And still—I pray. I hope. I wait.
For someone to finally hear me.
For someone who has the courage, the ability, and the heart to help me fight through this madness.

I’ve reached out to lawyer after lawyer.
Each one tells me my case is too big. And that they wish they could help me but they can't help because they are “ At capacity”.
And so they pass me on to the next… and the next…
While my children continue growing without me.

So this is Father’s Day—for me, and for so many others trapped in systems that punish love, silence truth, and reward control.

If you hear this—please don’t look away.
I’m not asking for pity. I’m asking for justice.
For my kids. For me. For all of us caught in this storm.

But this pain is not the end of my story.

💥 I am still here.
🛑 I will not be erased.
🗣️ And I will speak until someone finally listens.

Because no child deserves to be used as a weapon.
And no parent should have to scream into the void just to be heard.

If you’re reading this—hear me now.
Stand with fathers like me.
Challenge this broken system.
Share this story. Ask the hard questions.
And be the reason something finally changes.

✊🏼 I am the father they don’t see.
But I refuse to be silent anymore.

- Ryan Michaels
Ryan Michaels

CPS Accountability Movement
Together We Grow Mindspace W/ Ryan Michaels

06/06/2025

📣 Testimonial: “Following Up on the Follow-Up to My Follow-Up”

By Ryan Michaels

“I’m just a father trying to follow the rules, and still — it feels like no one’s listening.”

I reached out to Home To Home, a supervised visitation provider in Maine, because I’m desperate for a safe, structured space to see my children. Not because I’ve done anything to deserve this distance — but because the system has made it nearly impossible to be a present father without third-party oversight.

Here’s the irony:
My children live two minutes away.
But I’ve offered — without hesitation — to drive hours to Lewiston or Brunswick if that’s what it takes to see them.

I’ve complied with court orders. I’ve submitted the paperwork. I’ve apologized for even the smallest missteps. I’ve followed every rule and shown nothing but respect — even when those in power have shown me silence.

I emailed.
Then I followed up.
Then I followed up on my follow-up.
Then I followed up again.
And again.

Home To Home confirmed there was a waitlist. That was nearly two months ago. No update. No scheduling. No empathy. No urgency. Just a quiet, bureaucratic dismissal of the most human plea a father can make: “Please let me see my kids.”

What breaks me isn’t just the distance. It’s the fact that I’ve done everything right, and I’m still being punished.

This is what so many of us are up against — a system that claims to protect children while stripping away their right to know a loving, dedicated parent. A system that turns a two-minute drive into a two-month wait.

All I’ve asked for is:

A fair, neutral space.
The chance to show up.
A system that honors the love between parent and child over red tape and silence.

This isn’t just my story. It’s the story of every parent who’s been pushed to the margins while trying to hold on to what matters most.

💚 If this resonates with you — you’re not alone.

We are not just files. We are fathers, mothers, parents — and we’re done being erased.

CPS Accountability Movement

05/31/2025

The Courthouse Drop-Off That Said Everything.

Today, I dropped off a letter to the judge at the Biddeford courthouse. What was supposed to be a simple errand turned into yet another reminder of just how broken and dehumanizing our legal system has become.

As I stood in the courthouse lobby, I witnessed a scene that I’ve not only seen countless times—but have personally lived. A woman stood at the counter, calm on the surface but clearly battling a storm inside. She was trying to make sense of a legal process that has separated her from her children, and like so many others, she was desperately seeking guidance. Yet what she received instead were robotic responses—mechanical replies that offered no direction, no compassion, and not a shred of human empathy.

She said she couldn’t afford a lawyer. She explained she didn’t understand what to do. Her eyes said the rest: she was lost, scared, overwhelmed. And still, the system offered her nothing but indifference.

Everything she said echoed inside me like a bell. I’ve said those same words. I’ve felt that same desperation. I’ve hit those same brick walls, only to be met with shrugs from people who have the power to help but choose not to. She even had the courage to say what so many of us are thinking: that the court is broken. That the justice system is lacking even basic common sense. That none of it feels like justice at all.

And she was right. Every word—spot on.

So I walked over. I told her I saw her. I heard her. I tried to offer something—anything—that resembled hope. Because in that moment, I wasn’t just witnessing her pain. I was standing in it, too.

This isn’t right. None of it is. What’s happening in our courtrooms and legal offices isn’t justice—it’s a bureaucratic machine that’s lost its soul. And it’s hurting people. It’s destroying families. It’s an embarrassment to humanity.

Today was just another day at the courthouse. But for people like us, these moments are everything. They’re evidence. They’re testimony. They’re the lived truth of a system that’s failing us.

And the truth is: this should never be normal.



CPS Accountability Movement

05/26/2025

For the Fallen. For the Living. For the Future.

This Memorial Day, we remember those who laid down their lives for the freedoms we hold dear. Among those freedoms is the right to truth, justice, and protection for all families.

Let us honor their sacrifice by standing up to systems that harm the vulnerable and by fighting for a world where no family is silenced, no child is lost in the cracks, and no voice goes unheard.

The brave fought for a better tomorrow. Let’s make sure we build it.



CPS Accountability Movement

05/23/2025

CPS Accountability Movement

05/23/2025

Have you ever watched a system meant to protect children actually cause more harm—and felt powerless to stop it? What would justice look like if CPS truly prioritized truth, transparency, and the best interests of the child?

CPS Accountability Movement

05/13/2025

Advocacy Update: When Silence Becomes Complicity

For nearly a year, I’ve been fighting to protect my rights, my voice, and—most importantly—my children. That fight has led me to some hard truths, especially about how our institutions respond when they’re asked to do better.

Most recently, I’ve been trying to get a response from the Chief of the Berwick Police Department regarding their refusal to issue no-trespass orders and their inconsistent enforcement practices. Despite repeated emails, in-person visits, and respectful requests, I’ve been met with nothing but stonewalling, silence, and evasion.

Sadly, this is not new.

Throughout this journey, I’ve experienced the same behavior from CPS, school staff, law enforcement, and other professionals connected to my kids. It’s as if these people believe that ignoring me somehow absolves them of any responsibility. That silence—whether from fear, convenience, or bias—is not neutrality. It is complicity.

Everyone says, “Let the courts handle it.” But when the system has already weaponized false narratives against you—when CPS has painted a picture that others accept without question—"leaving it to the courts" becomes a luxury I don’t have.

I’m forced to advocate not only for my kids, but against an entire web of systems that treated me as guilty from the start—because of lies, stigma, and institutional cowardice.

Let me be clear: I’m not giving up. I'm not backing down. Accountability still matters. Truth still matters. And I will keep pushing until someone finally has the courage to respond—not just to me, but to the deeper injustice at the heart of all this.

If you believe in justice, transparency, and the right to be heard—stand with me. Because no parent should have to fight this hard just to be treated like a human being.



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