Meet Jaicobi Freeman and Kaliyah Chism, loving parents to their three beautiful children.

In April 2024, their oldest son, Kylen, was voluntarily taken to the hospital after concerns about a possible leg injury arose during a routine diaper change.
Like many parents caught in Georgia’s family policing system that You Are The Power advocates for, Jaicobi and Kaliyah’s story begins at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA). It continues with the involvement of a Child Abuse Pediatrician (CAP) and the premature diagnosis of non-accidental trauma or abuse.

At CHOA, Kylen had X-rays that showed a possible leg injury and multiple rib fractures at different healing stages. According to a 2023 NCBI report, asymptomatic infant rib fractures are mostly unrelated to abuse and shouldn’t be used to diagnose child abuse. Yet, repeatedly, through flawed circular reasoning and without considering all relevant facts, medical records, and family medical history, that is exactly what CAPs at CHOA do. Jaicobi and Kaliyah were accused of abusing Kylen, which led to involvement with the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS).

The couple raised their concern with the CAP, who noted that Kylen had several abnormal lab results, including an extremely low Vitamin D level. However, the CAP dismissed these findings as unrelated to the fractures. Instead of addressing Jaicobi and Kaliyah’s worries about their son’s health—such as the possible connection between Kaliyah’s low Vitamin D and her son’s poor bone health-Kylen was diagnosed with non-accidental trauma or abuse. This CAP is part of a team of doctors at CHOA known for falsely accusing innocent families across Georgia, causing unnecessary harm to the very children they were supposed to protect.

While the parents were with their son, DFCS was removing their daughter, Kamyrn, from her maternal grandmother’s care. Jaicobi and Kaliyah were escorted out of CHOA; both children were taken into state custody, awaiting foster care placement.

Soon after sharing their story on their personal social media accounts, Jaicobi and Kaliyah were arrested and charged with multiple felonies. They received a bond, but it came with strict conditions that banned them from seeing their children and having contact with any child under 16. The parents were even prohibited from receiving medical updates about Kylen and Kamyrn, potentially violating their parental rights.

Recently, Kaliyah gave birth and transferred guardianship of the baby to her mother to keep him out of Georgia’s foster care system. Kylen and Kamyrn remain in state custody with strangers, separated from their baby brother, even though the CAP testified at a court proceeding that Kylen’s bones were not optimal, an opinion supported by two independent defense expert witnesses.

Jaicobi and Kaliyah need our help. Together, we can reunite this family as we have many others before.

Donate to the family’s legal fund

Email Those Involved

An email template is below for your use if you wish to, respectfully, add your comments.

You can also simply click or tap on the email addresses to generate a pre-filled and addressed email, simply add your name to the end.

• Candice Broce, GA DHS Commissioner and DFCS Director – candice.broce@dhs.ga.gov
• Randy Smith, DFCS Caseworker Supervisor – randy.smith@dhs.ga.gov
• DeDe Artis, Douglas County DFCS Director – dede.artis@dhs.ga.gov

Email Template

Dear, [Name]

I am concerned about how DFCS has handled the case of Jaicobi Freeman and his wife, Kaliyah Chism.

Across the state, there have been many instances where CHOA and DFCS acted too quickly without thoroughly investigating, unnecessarily fracturing innocent families. Recently, this was demonstrated by the acquittals of Matt and Tuckey Hernandez in Forsyth County and Brady and Carrie Timms in Gordon County, as well as the passage of SB 259 (Ridge’s Law).

I urge you to thoroughly examine this case, considering all the evidence: the inconsistent testimony from the accusing doctor regarding whether some of the son’s injuries were non-accidental, the complete medical history of the mother and son, the son’s abnormal lab reports, and the findings and statements of two expert defense witnesses.

Respectfully submitted,

[YOUR NAME]