Are Michigan Children's Educational and Medical Programs Joining Forces?

It has been brought to my attention by one of my glorious fans that 800 special needs students of the Detroit Public Schools were being “removed” from special needs programs.  As I do not fully understand the entire situation nor have I verified the information presented, I have formatted a basic approach to clarify the concern and identify the issue utilizing my most successful technique: Follow the money.

Reviewing the agenda of the Special Meeting Education Achievement Authority Executive Committee, March 12, 2013, it was found that reference was made to improve: (1) administration; and, (2) special needs enrollment. As documented, keywords became illuminated which crossover into the lexicology of child welfare.   Here is an excerpt of the MEAA minutes:

Dr. Covington introduced Kevin Magin, Executive Vice President or Futures Education, for an overview of the Special Education Report for Futures Education. Mr. Magin reviewed the Special Education Book that was passed out to Board Members titled ‘Transforming Special Education Practices; A Primer for School Administrator’s and Policy Makers’ by Dr. Peter Bittel. He also discussed the following areas:

 IEP Status

Cognitive Impairment – Enrollment Comparison

Special Education Enrollment Percentages (Elementary and High School)

The Inclusion Process – Recommended/Ineligibility

IEP Team Eligibility Determination

Evaluation Completion

Dr. Covington discussed the dis-proportionate number of special education students enrolled as well as the monitoring process.

Chairperson asked if there were any additional questions. There were none.

Member Pickard went back to the Special Education reimbursement formula concerns that were presented earlier and asked about the qualification entitlements of Special Education. Member Roberts discussed the Special Education percentage requirements in reference to the State of Michigan.

Mr. Winfrey introduced Nicole Stallworth and Dr. Keith Stallworth to present their ‘Navigation to Success’ Behavioral Intervention overview in the following areas:

Life Skills Program – Primarily 9th Grade Students in High School at Ford, Mumford, Denby and Pershing

Murphy Elementary/Middle Has a Program as Well

Instructional Modules – Currently in Week 6

Behavioral Assessments for Each Child

Child Welfare, specifically Child Protective Services, uses terms such as “monitoring”. Currently,

Michigan is still under federal monitoring agreement regarding its child welfare services.

One mandate of the federal settlement agreement was to hire 300 more child welfare workers. This severely strained Michigan's DHS budget. DHS went further to put a program called “Pathways to Potential” in Detroit Public Schools. This was a CPS funded program.

Michigan was approved for its SSA Title IV-E waivers and SSA 1915 (Medicaid funding for home-based/community-based services). This funding is uncapped and outside the typical block grant concept, meaning it is a “pay-as-you-go”, or rather, “bill-as-you-go-program”.

Due to budget cuts, DHS had to cut almost 300 of the new CPS workers who are to work in DPS “Pathways” program. Here is a list of plausible reasons 800 DPS students were taken from IEP special needs programs:

• The youth may be foster children. (It should be noted most foster children do not get IEP tested.)

• Youth are to be removed from Special Needs classification to be placed under Child Protective Services to access an uncapped, direct federal funding streams of Medicaid TCM and child welfare waivers.

• CPS workers would not need to be cut with administration funded under SSA Title-IV-B, whereby not violating federal agreement with Children's Rights.

• Autism rates are highest in the world in DPS geographic region. Department of Community Health has released funding for creation and expansion of special cognitive services.

• Michigan has submitted its application under Part B of IDEA. In order to meet the new IDEA requirements, Michigan used Child Welfare language.

If these assumptions are not completely ruled out, it can safely be stated that an inter-departmental partnership has been formed between DCH, DHS and DOE, under the MEAA to maximize revenue in order to provide services to children in the wake of possible financial federal penalties for the state's failure to comply with grant program goals and the state's failure of sub-receipient monitoring of DPS and Wayne County RESA. Further investigation is necessary.

I do not see a problem with this scenario.  It looks like a major step to reform child welfare.  It actually makes sense.

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