It Should Be Raining Cats and Dogs In Michigan

Murder of foster child leads to state investigation

Then become a foster parent!*

GAINES TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WZZM) - Five-year-old Emily Meno and her twin Tiffany were placed in the care of 30-year-old Joy Heaven several months ago. The placement was arranged by Bethany Christian Services, a private organization licensed by the Department of Human Services for foster care training and placement.

"There is an investigation going on with both the state and some of the licensing process," said Senator Mark Jansen, (R) Gaines Township. Jansen is a member of the Department of Human Services Committees.

DHS and Bethany Christian Services both say they cannot answer any questions regarding the case because of child protection laws, which are in place to ensure the child's privacy.

"Myself as a Senator can't ask to see really all of the files," Jansen said.

Here ya go, precious.

MICHIGAN BUREAU OF CHILDREN AND ADULT LICENSING INVESTIGATIVE REPORTS ON BETHANY CHRISTIAN SERVICES

• May 14, 2010
VIOLATION ESTABLISHED

• January 7, 2008
VIOLATION ESTABLISHED

• March 9, 2010
VIOLATION ESTABLISHED

• March 30, 2009
VIOLATION ESTABLISHED

• June 6, 2009
VIOLATION ESTABLISHED

• September 25, 2009
VIOLATION ESTABLISHED

• February 21, 2010
VIOLATION ESTABLISHED

• March 18, 2009
VIOLATION ESTABLISHED

Michigan Department of Human Services Statewide Detail for Child Welfare License Facilities

License Information
License #	Status	License Effective Date	License Expiration Date	Facility Type	Capacity
CB410200976	REGULAR	9/29/2008	9/28/2010	Child Placing Agency-Private	N/A

Jansen says he will review what is made available from the DHS investigation. Jansen also says an oversight committee will also look into the case...more

 [Enters "The Fixer" and "The Eliminator".]

 The worst part of this entire scenario is Bethany Christian will be put on First Provisional Licensing.

"What's that?", you ask.  Well, allow me to tell you the story of Michigan's contractual non-debarment policies.

See, Michigan does not have open bidding for child placing agency contractual services, but there is a good reason why.

There are only so many child placing agencies who pay their dues to the State created, state funded, independent, quasi-governmental-lobbying organization/partnership which gives them their seal of approval with accreditation to operate in Michigan.

"Did you just say that I am contradicting myself?  Well, of course I am, that is the way Michigan has structured its child welfare operations, silly!"

If Michigan was actually federally compliant to funding mandates, it would not be operational.  Imagine the entire state being shut down by ending child welfare fraud.

If the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Justice were really executing its statutory duties, Michigan's entire child welfare system would be under federal administrative receivership. But whose going to stop a racket when everything is shrouded in secrecy.

In the end, Bethany Christian will get its license renewal and there is nothing we can do about it because that is just how it is in Michigan.  Right,
Bethany Christian Services license was renewed.


Mark?

* Note that the number of deaths in foster care was omitted from the fact sheet. 


UPDATE:  Bethany Christian will have its license renewed. 

Michigan Realities of Relative Placement

There is a reason why relative placement in Michigan has stagnated in the Senate.

Re: 2007 House Bill 4735 (Give preference to relatives over foster care )

"...If a parent or relative within the third degree of consanguinity or affinity of a child who is a ward of the institute establishes a suitable home and is capable and willing to support the child, the department may restore the child to his or her parent or relative. The institute may assist the parent or relative with the support of the child if the aid is less than the cost of care the institute would otherwise provide."

It seems, in part, there is already legislation on the books to reinstate parental rights. Unfortunately, there, also, exists a desperate need to clean up all the statutes pertaining to child welfare, for they are extremely antiquated and incoherent.

(3) Before determining placement of a child in its care, a supervising agency shall give special consideration and preference to the child's relatives. If a supervising agency determines that a child's relative is willing to care for the child, [ ] is fit to do so,[and would meet the child's developmental, emotional, and physical needs,] the child shall be placed in that relative's home unless that placement is determined to be [ ] not in the child's best interests.

There are two terms which have also hindered the passage of this bill. The first being "shall". The supervising agency "shall give special consideration" to relative care givers but is not mandated to do so. There is no State oversight to even enforce the matter.

The second term is "fit". A caregiver is determined to be "unfit" if they are not able to provide for the needs of the child, meaning, poverty or a reliance upon social support systems deems the relative who is impoverished not eligible for relative placement.

Poverty is not a crime, but it is in Michigan's child welfare system.

Michigan entered the Children's Rights settlement agreement because it was unable to come into federal compliance in other substantial areas of its child welfare system.

The Legislature needs look no further for legislative analysis as this is my area of expertise.

Beverly Tran

An Original Source

From The Detroit News: http://apps.detnews.com/apps/forums/writeus.php#ixzz0t7OLxkQn

The Three Fraudketeers

Well, well, well, what do we have here?  It's the Three Fraudketeers.

We have over here, Mr. Senate Bill 891 (a.k.a. Mark Jansen.)

Public Act 220 of 1935 authorizes the MCI superintendent to consent to the adoption, marriage, or emancipation of any child who has been committed to the MCI, according to applicable law. Under the bill, the superintendent's designee would have the same authority. In addition, the superintendent or his or her designee would be authorized to consent to the guardianship of any child committed to the MCI, as provided in Section 19c of the juvenile code (the section that Senate Bill 893 would amend). A child for whom a guardian was appointed under Section 19c would cease to be a ward of the State.

Over here we have Mr. Senate Bill 892 (a.k.a. Bill Hardiman)

The Adoption Code requires each parent to give consent to the adoption of a child, unless the rights of the parent have been terminated, the child has been released for the purpose of adoption to a child placing agency or the DHS, or other circumstances exist.

Consent must be given by the authorized representative of the DHS or of a child placing agency to whom the child has been released or permanently committed by an order of the family court.

Under the bill, consent could be given by the authorized representative of the DHS or his or her designee.

And last, but not least is Mr. Senate Bill 893 (a.k.a. Jim Barcia.)

Under Section 19c of the juvenile code, if a child remains in placement following the termination of parental rights to the child, the family court must conduct review hearings and permanency planning hearings. The court may appoint a guardian for the child, if it determines that doing so is in the child's best interest. The court may not appoint a guardian without the MCI superintendent's written consent. Under the bill, the court could not appoint a guardian without the written consent of the superintendent or his or her designee.

The code requires the MCI superintendent to consult with the child's lawyer guardian ad litem when considering whether to grant consent. Under the bill, that requirement also would apply to the superintendent's designee.

These are the three primary sponsors of a package of bills that would glorify legislating from the bench, but would crazy glue the lid on Medicaid fraud in Michigan's Child Welfare.

With amazing speed the Three Fraudketeers fast tracked these bills through the Senate in 56 days.  There were no announcements that the bills were even to be on the agenda of the Committee on Families and Human Services because the day they were introduced, they were referred.

In 28 days, the Committee summaries were completed by a fiscal analysts: David Fosdick who found the bills to have no fiscal impact on State or local government.  This finding alone should automatically set off the fraud alarm system because the entire purpose of these bills is to get the state to become eligible for increases in federal recovery funding.  Obviously, David Fosdick has not climbed very high on the intelligence food ladder because the Three Fraudketeers made him their prey to publish such blatant lies.

The purpose of the bills is to get the kids out of the custody of the state and into permanent placements.  The feds want this and so do we.  Since the state is very slowly, I mean at a squamulose, slithering, laggering pace, the state is..., hell, the only reform in child welfare is to make sure it does not change, so I guess fraud reform can be considered as legitimate in child welfare reform.

So, instead of providing services to reduce the rate by which children must enter care, or instead of designing legislation to regulate child welfare to end fraud, the Three Fraudketeers came up with a solution to convince the obtuse Senatorial leadership that it is impossible for the state to come into federal grant compliance, in no way, shape or form. 

Of course, one may ask: "Why have these Three Fraudketeers come together, now?"Let me tell you:

I filed the Quo Warranto.  In the State Court of Appeals, an action regarding a public official may be filed there, so I did.  I found that the State Court Rules were written with a significant procedural error when it was propped up in the 1980's; there is no ex-parte procedure.  If there is no ex-parte procedure, then it becomes impossible to execute an application in the nature of information for quo warranto.  I knew this but the Court did not, so I began my litmus test to see how far the Courts would go to cover up Medicaid fraud in child welfare and filed the action.

The Michigan Judiciary blew me away with the lengths it would go to cover up Medicaid fraud in child welfare.  Presiding Judge Michael J. Kelly, let's just say he knows me pretty well, decided, without finding of fact and conclusion of law, it would not be in his personal best interests to allow a gal her due process...again.

But, right before that  I was honored with a wonderful birthday present.   The Michigan Supreme Court Adopted amended Court Rules and a new Court Rule, all due to my lil' ol' quo warranto.  See, there is a Fourth Fraudketeer, and she goes by the name of Maura Corrigan.

The Fourth Fraudketeer

Maura D. Corrigan

Madame Fraudketeer was a party to the quo warranto, so, it also would not be in her best interest to remove Bill Johnson from the position of Superintendent of Michigan Children's Institute because she, with the greatest of frequency, advocates for Bill Johnson while cases are pending before her Court.

Basically, the Michigan Supreme Court came up with a federal revenue-maximization scheme to expedite adoptions of child wards of the state and to exterminate all evidence of Medicaid fraud in child welfare.  Superintendent Bill Johnson, according to the Court Rules, is no longer the legal guardian of over 7,000 children who decides to grant consent to adoption, he now "approves of the appointment of a guardian."

The state continues to refuse to contractual debarment, license revocation, fines, sanctions, refer violations of law to the Attorney General and continues to allow double-billing, false billing, phantom billing, kiddy kickbacks, etc.  Even though the Federal Funding Percentage for the state is 50%, when it could be 70%, it is still fiscally beneficial to state and local governments to continue its practice of fraud in child welfare. Accountability and transparency will remain strangers to the child welfare system as Bill Johnson and his newly crowned accomplice in fraud, Bruce Hoffman, will be cranking out adoptions, because once a child is adopted, there is no way to go back and find the evidence of fraud in the service files.

And that is how the Three Fraudketeers and Corrigan, got together to ram these bills down the throats of Michigan's unsagacious senate.