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| Michigan Representative Lee Chatfield |
Now, there is no excuse, unless everyone is going to ramp up their activities to cloak the Michigan Medicaid Fraud in Child Welfare, again, like they always do.
Just ask Governor Gretchen Whitmore about trafficking tiny humans, or rather ask her about my claims and watch her freak out and say nothing about me.
Absolutely nothing, right, Gretch?
We would not want Gretch to be a whistleblower, now would we?
PHONE: 517-373-2629
EMAIL: LeeChatfield@house.mi.gov
EMAIL: LeeChatfield@house.mi.gov
It is my understanding that it is now your duty to appoint individuals to committes and that the first person you appoint is to be the Chair. I respectfully request that should you choose to keep Representative Hertel on the Oversight Committee, that you do not make him the chairman. In light of the issues raised by the Auditor General on the operation of CPS, the fact that his wife works within the Department and thus his household financially benefits from that income, it would seem a gross conflict of interest.
Also of concern would be the fact that MDHHS is not being very honest with anyone when it comes to problems within the Department; one could call into question if he his head of the Committee how much influence she is having on his participation. It was of concern to me when, during the Department's response, he mentioned more money for the Department. They have an almost $1,000,000,000 budget and cannot get things corrected. As such, more money won't help when the issues don't stem from money.
I also want to inform you that just before the break I reached out to all the (then) committee members outlining what I have seen as problems. I requested to address the committe with more than the standard 3 minute allowance because of the grave and sweeping scope of the information I have gatherd over the last few years and am awaitong a response. I will resend my request after new committees are established.
It is, in my assessment, such a problem that should I not hear back from the Committee, I feel obligated to report the findings to Federal Agencies. Quite frankly, it is my hope that perhaps the Committee will let me present to them or meet with them together and start to tackle the issues so I don't have to do that. I have tried what I believe to be every other avenue prior to the new administration and no one has done anything.
The egregious actions of the Department and its workers include using false or "wordsmithed" information on petitions and in reports, telling parents that they have no rights but the Department does, using coercive tactics for alleged investigation (which is another issue that needs to be addressed as proper investigations seem to be rare) purposes, not providing services as required by state AND Federal law and even illegal termination of parental rights that has yet to be remedied. This is just scratching the surface....there is also reason for concern that the Department may have had children drop from the MiSACWIS system during the switch to it that they may not know were dropped. Nor have they, to the best of my knowledge, looked to see if any were dropped when they were informed of other srious issues that arose after the switch. I feel that Representative Hertel would not be ideal for handling this issue as head of the Committee because of the appearance of possible bias.
I was very impressed with Representative Howrylak's question and basic understanding of the gravity of the Audit results. I suspect the next Audit that is due out early 2019 will be as bad, if not worse and you need someone as head of the Committee who can appropriately handle the mess the state is being handed. I am also more than willing to be part of the solution. I WANT to be. This situation will also require work on the part of thr Judiciary Committee because there are just as many problems with the courts and judges in these cases.
I cringe to do so, but I must say that what is going on could very easily be seen by Federal level personnel as fraud. If requirements are not being met for funding when they have not been and the state is still collecting said funds, then it is fraud. I have done my best to get the State ahead of this to no avail as of yet.
I also believe that Governor Whitmer's order telling employees to report health and safety issues to their Department heads won't be enough. I can explain more in a follow up email, until then I will state that since it likely stems from the Flint water crisis in part, with MDHHS being so dysfunctional and hiding behind claims of "privacy" at ever single attempt to look into problems, there needs to be a Whistleblower Protection law passed.
Amanda DeRight Hernandez, of former Representative Phil Phelps' office, was working on one and I can get you in contact with her should you like to speak with her about it. She also has more information on what may be problems with Flint water and environment and it was actually a call she made that sparked the latest round of public meetings on the issues. She also has considerable knowledge about what is going on within MDHHS that she wasn't able to share with me, and I respect that. She should be someone that would serve one of the Republican Representatives well with her wealth of knowledge and experience about what is going on within the State, and particularly MDHHS. However, I digress; I did so because she could be instrumental in balancing what the legislature knows about and can do versus the incoming administration given the opportunity to continue working within the legislative ranks and could give Republicans an advantage in many ways and she has tried to hard to help me.
I see the tackling of some of these issues head on as a way to give Republicans a leg up before the next elections. I have to say I am less than impressed with Governor Whitmer's cabinet choices and am not holding my breath on AG Nessel doing much better. Especially considering whom she wants to replace Todd Flood with for Fling water prosecutions. Kym Worthy may be persistent, but she doesn't have her priorities in the right places. And there is no one to date to say "Hey, maybe we should look and see what role Mr. Schuette may have had in this." This bothers me because MDHHS policy basically says if you have any questions that may have legality concerns then go to the Attorney General. This leads me to believe that Mr. Lyon and Ms. Wells may have acted under his direction when dealing with Flint.
Speaking of appointments, Governor Whitmer apparently appointed Orlene Hawks to the head of LARA - she could not, and did not, follow the law in her last position and thus needs to be watched closely in her new position. She and her staff should have, by law, stepped in and stopped an illegal Termination of Parental Rights and did not. Who knows what she will do while in charge of the flailing LARA in light of the licensing issues. Basic legal comprehension seems to be a bit of a stretch for her. I would also put on the table that the Office of Children's Ombudsman needs to be called to the table and the possibility of defunding it be put on the table. The reason for this is simple....they are to be a check in the system when it has problems and they haven't done that but in a few cases. What I am hearing from people that have reached out to them is disturbing.
I congratulate you on your new position and I hope that you are able to male the best of it to really turn things around in this state, and I am hoping to work with the Oversight Committee in some capacity to get the light into the corners of MDHHS and to fix the system for the sake of the kids. It will mean being the parent and getting messy and telling MDHHS what their job is and demanding accountability. It has to be done so there is not more trouble for the state.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have. I am also able to meet with you with enough advance notice should you prefer to discuss any of this in person. I will continue to give you information I feel you may find helpful.
Sincerely,
Stephanie Jezowski
Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©
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