DHS Director Maura Corrigan is finally leaving Michigan children

A bit late, but better than never.

Michigan DHS Director Maura Corrigan to retire at end of 2014

LANSING, MI — Michigan Department of Human Services Director Maura Corrigan, a former state Supreme Court Chief Justice, will resign her post at the end of the year.

That's right.  Madame Maura Corrigan, is leaving the public sector of policy making.

DHS spokesperson Bob Wheaton confirmed Corrigan’s pending retirement, saying it was always her plan to run the welfare agency for just four years after Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder appointed her in 2011.

She came into the position as Director of the Department of Human Services because she is a brilliant liar.  

She saved Michigan from federal slashing of funding.

She saved Michigan from being exposed of Medicaid Fraud in Child Welfare.... and from being busted on a few more program fraudulent billing schemes.

Corrigan wants to spend more time with her children and grand children, Wheaton said. She will continue “working 120 percent” for the remainder of the year.

Spending time with children is always a good thing, unless you are poor and live in Michigan.

“It’s an honor to work for Governor Snyder,” Corrigan said in a statement. “Rick Snyder’s leadership has meant so much for the state of Michigan and its kids and families. We’ve accomplished so much, but we will accomplish even more in the coming months.”

More will be accomplished?  Praytell.  Will it be more cuts to SNAP?  

Will it be more cover ups with Michigan Children's Institute?

Will it be more judicial lobbying?  Wait, I forgot, she will be playing with the grandkids.  

Corrigan served on the Michigan Supreme Court from 1999 until taking over DHS in 2011. She served as chief justice from 2001 to 2005.

Corrigan legislated from the bench.  Corrigan also ran judicial campaigns with dark money from child welfare.  Never forget Ricky Holland.  I will not.

She is the second Snyder administration official to announce retirement plans in the past month. Department of Community Health Director Jim Haveman stepped down last week after suffering a mild stroke earlier in the year.

It’s not clear who will replace Corrigan. Snyder would make the pick if he wins re-election on November 4 in his matchup with Democratic challenger Mark Schauer.

Corrigan inherited an embattled agency that has operated under a federal consent decree since 2008, when the state was accused of failing to protect children from abuse.  These children were wards of the state, under the Michigan Children Institute which was never mentioned in litigation or negotiations.  She negotiated a modified settlement that saw the state hire in-state graduates to improve the program.

She also was the one who had the new hire workers take sworn oaths of office which had never been done before.  That, I shall give her credit but still no oversight.

She’s also overseen some controversial reforms of food stamp and cash assistance programs.

Coming up with new reasons to cut food stamps for poor families and the disabled was her way of saving the state's general fund.

 A July auditor general report was critical of DHS work to protect vulnerable adults, but Corrigan said she was working to correct identified problems.

Still, nothing was done to report, let alone report, rapes, suicides and other abuses of children in the system.

Thank you for covering up the fraud, waste and abuse of child welfare in Michigan.  If it was not for you, your buddies would not be able to maximize revenue for the state and themselves.

Thank you for making the lives of the desperate even more dismal.

Whether or not she will remain to whisper in the ear of Governor Snyder, we shall see.  Let us pray she stays out of national public policy because her Michigan experiment has not gone very well.

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