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CPS Podcast

CPS Podcast

By: Michele Rodriguez
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CPS is a true crime podcast investigating and sharing real stories from inside child protective services. Public dialogue is often shaped by limited knowledge or a single viewpoint, which leaves many important perspectives overlooked. CPS aims to change that by offering a fuller picture of the system through stories told with honesty, compassion, and respect for everyone who navigates its complexity.Michele Rodriguez True Crime
Episodes
  • Episode 4 "Justice for Michael Webb"

    Episode 4 "Justice for Michael Webb"
    May 24 2026

    CPS, Episode 4, shares the story of Little Michael Webb. His life taken by his adopted parents, Christina and Johnathan Miranda, in September 2025.

    The case is still unfolding, as less than nine months have passed since the tragic death of Michael Webb, and his adoptive parents have been charged with capital murder but have not yet been tried or convicted. Michael’s biological mother and grandmother allege that his biological aunt, Christina Miranda, manipulated the system to adopt him. Michael survived brain cancer, but not the alleged horrors inflicted on his small body in the laundry room of his home. The world and family are still mourning the loss of Michael, and with great care we share his story.

    This week’s episode examines what is known so far. It also takes a hard look at Texas child protective services, which reported 187 child abuse–related deaths in 2023, raising serious concerns about the system’s ability to keep children safe.

    Jonathan and Christina Miranda are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

    To see sources and images for this episode please visit CPS Podcast at https://www.cpspodcast.com/little-michael-webb/
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    37 mins
  • Episode 3 "The Jackson Family"

    Episode 3 "The Jackson Family"
    May 10 2026

    At 19, the eldest child of the Jackson family was only forty-five pounds and starving when the New Jersey child abuse hotline was called. His large adopted family appeared to be a pillar of the community, but this was far from the truth.

    Episode 3 takes a deeper look When into what went wrong within the Jackson family and how it took so long for the community to take notice. Faheem Williams (episode 2) and his brothers are forever tied to the Jackson family in that the two cases happened within a short period of time from one another and were at the heart of the lawsuit that changed every aspect of how child protective services in the state of New Jersey functions.

    When looking at the Jackson Family case, it becomes clear that the family, the supports that surrounded the family, and child protective services, known as DYFS in 2003 in New Jersey, all played a role in what happened to the four boys in the Jackson home.

    Learn the shocking reality about Pastor Harry Thomas, and strong advocate for the family, later was convicted on several counts of sexual abuse.


    To see images and sources please visit CPS Podcast at https://www.cpspodcast.com/s1ep3/
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    38 mins
  • Episode 1 "The Story of Little Mary Ellen"

    Episode 1 "The Story of Little Mary Ellen"
    Mar 31 2023
    CPS PODCAST Season 1, Episode 1: The story of Little Mary EllenOur first Child Protective Services podcast takes us all the way back to where laws and practice to prevent child abuse began. This is because of the long and interesting life of a little girl named Mary Ellen Wilson. Much of the controversy begins in 1874, the year Mary Ellen’s caregiver was taken to court for abuse.No Child Protective Services?One shocking takeaway from Mary Ellen’s case is the role the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) plays in Mary Ellen finding freedom from her abuser.Wait! Wait! There are many in the child welfare field that think Mary Ellen’s story has been purposely twisted to be a more shocking tale and they challenge some of the information that has been broadcast by very trusted sources. In our digging, we find that there are a lot of differing accounts of the story and a lot of history that many Americans would most likely wish was forgotten.SOURCES FOR THIS PODCAST:“CHILD CARE AGENCIES TO BE CONSOLIDATED.” New York Times, 12 June 1944, p. 22.Children’s Aid. “The Orphan Train Movement.” Children’s Aid, https://www.childrensaidnyc.org/about/orphan-train-movement.“THE CUSTODY OF MARY ELLEN WILSON. .” New York Times, 1 May 1874, p. 2.History.com Editors. “Tenements.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 22 Apr. 2010, https://www.history.com/topics/immigration/tenements.“LITTLE MARY ELLEN FINALLY DISPOSED OF.” New York Times, 27 Dec. 1874, p. 12.Markel, Howard. “Case Shined First Light on Abuse of Children.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 14 Dec. 2009, https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/15/health/15abus.html.“MARY ELLEN WILSON. FURTHER TESTIMONY AS TO THE CHILD’S ILL TREATMENT BY HER GUARDIANS.” New York Times, 12 Apr. 1874, p. 12.“MARY ELLEN WILSON. FURTHER TESTIMONY IN THE CASE TWO INDICTMETS FOUND AGAINST MRS. CONNOLLY BY THE GRAND JURY.” New York Times, 14 Apr. 1874, p. 2.“MARY ELLEN WILSON. MRS. CONNOLLY, THE GUARDIAN, FOUND GUILTY, AND SENTENCED TO ONE YEAR’S IMPRISONMENT AT HARD LABOR. WORKING MEN’S FREE READING-ROOM.” New York Times, 28 Apr. 1874, p. 8.“THE MISSION OF HUMANITY.; CONTINUATION OF THE PROCEEDINGS INSTITUTED BY MR. BERGH ON BEHALF OF THE CHILD, MARY ELLEN WILSON.” New York Times, 11 Apr. 1874, p. 2.“MARY ELLEN WILSON.” New York Times, 14 June 1874, p. 10.“MARY ELLEN WILSON.” New York Times, 2 June 1874, p. 8.“MARY ELLEN WILSON.” New York Times, 22 Apr. 1874, p. 8.Montanari, Giulia. “Mary Ellen Wilson: When Abused Children Had Fewer Rights than Pets.” Medium, History of Yesterday, 21 Nov. 2021, https://historyofyesterday.com/mary-ellen-wilson-the-abused-child-rescued-by-animal-rights-activists-9dfb5b1f100a.“MR. BERGH ENLARGING HIS SPHERE OF USEFULNESS.” New York Times, 10 Apr. 1874, p. 8.“MRS. E.A. WHEELER, CHILD RESCUER, DIES.” New York Times, 12 Dec. 1921, p. 15.National Coalition for Child Protection Reform. Another Reporter Suckered by the Myths of Mary Ellen (and an Amazing Number of Other Myths as Well), 1 Jan. 1970, https://www.nccprblog.org/2009/06/another-reporter-suckered-by-myths-of.html.“The Orphan Train Movement in the Mid-1800s to Early 1900s.” PBS LearningMedia, Iowa PBS, 16 Jan. 2021, https://whyy.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/iptv_wbot_20151115_westbyorphantrain_01/wbot_20151115_westbyorphantrain_01/.“OUR CITY CHARITIES VERSUS THE CASE OF MARY ELLEN.” New York Times, 16 Apr. 1874, p. 4.“Our History.” Sheltering Arms, Sheltering Arms, https://shelteringarmsny.org/history/.Shelman, Eric A., and Stephen Lazoritz. Out of the Darkness: The Story of Mary Ellen Wilson. Dolphin Moon Pub., 1998.“The Sheltering Arms.” New York Times, 25 Dec. 1864, p. 8.Watkins, Sallie. “The Mary Ellen Myth: Correcting Child Welfare History – Jstor Home.” JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/23715954.
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    29 mins
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