Michigan senator pushes for passage of bill demanding CPS accountability after 5-year-old's death
Michigan Republican Sen. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake, is calling for accountability from Child Protective Services after the 2023 death of 5-year-old Ethan Belcher and other child abuse cases.
Runestad held a press conference on Wednesday, claiming negligence by the agency in Ethan's death. Runestad called CPS a "crash and burn disaster."
"They (CPS) operate with minimal oversight. Cases of abuse and neglect go unchallenged without repercussions," Runestad said in the press conference.
Runestad also pushed for passage of Senate Bill 605, which would amend the 1975 "Child Protection Law" and allow legislators and credentialed media members to request CPS files. The Republican-sponsored bill was introduced in October 2025, but has not moved forward.
"It's a complete censorship of information, and the public has the right to know. We, legislators, and you, the media, have a right to know what is going on in CPS," Runestad said.
CBS News Detroit contacted the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees Child Protective Services, for comment and is waiting to hear back.
Ethan's mother, Valerie Hamilton, and stepfather, Shane Shelton, were charged with one count of felony murder, two counts of first-degree child abuse, one count of torture and one count of conspiracy to commit torture. Records show that Shelton and Hamilton were convicted in September 2024 and October 2024, respectively, and were sentenced to life.
Police responded to a home on Spring Garden Street in Detroit in January 2023. Ethan was taken to a hospital, where he died. The couple was accused of abusing Ethan and their 3-year-old son.
Ethan's family told CBS News Detroit in February 2023 that CPS investigated, but the children remained at the home with Shelton and Hamilton.
"It makes me very angry, it's very frustrating, he's just a baby, and I was his only voice at that time," Ethan's aunt, Ashley Belcher, told CBS-affiliate WWMT in Kalamazoo on Thursday. "To see him slip through the cracks, it's just like all the deaths that you hear about, about these babies every year."
At the time of the child's death, MDHHS told CBS News Detroit that it would "continue to work daily with law enforcement, community partners and others on prevention services."
CBS News Detroit reached out to some Democratic lawmakers, including Sens. Paul Wonjo, D-Warren, whose district includes the area where Ethan and his family lived, and Jeremy Moss, D-Southfield, and is waiting to hear back.
Note: The video above originally aired on Feb 1, 2023.
