Michigan Child Welfare $3.5 Million Cover Up

The following press release is what you call spin propaganda.  Others prefer to call it bullshit.


Michigan will be coming out with lots of these wonderful little announcements of how great its child welfare system is.  This is the forte' of the Ish.


Why were so many children adopted out last year?  Well, allow me to bust on its scheme.


First, it is a money making enterprise.  Agencies snatch kids. Put up marketing campaigns and adopt them out, all the while someone is making money.

Then there are the bonuses, $3,511,033.00


But, I am betting the race to adopt these kids was not fear of federal court oversight, it was fear of going to prison for committing such blatantly egregious criminal activities of fraud.  Once you adopt a child out,  the files are shredded, hiding all evidence of the fraud.


I will admit, there have been drastic changes, for the better in foster care, but, in reality, these people need to be terminated and prosecuted.


These administrators are suppose to be appointed by the Governor.  Snyder better not allow these buffoons to continue to operate the state's child welfare system.

Michigan Department of Human Services highlights child welfare improvements Contact:  Edward Woods III, Office of Communications director 517-373-7394

Dec. 7, 2010 Reforms in Michigan's child welfare system have meant more children were adopted from foster care, are receiving better mental health services and have better outcomes overall, Michigan Department of Human Services Director Ismael Ahmed said today. "DHS, in partnership with private agencies and the courts, have made significant strides in the past two years to ensure we're doing our part to help children find safe, loving and stable homes," Ahmed said. In fact, 3,030 children were adopted from foster care in 2009, more than in any other year, he said. Those reforms earned the department praise from Wayne County Juvenile Court Presiding Judge Leslie Smith. "DHS has done remarkably in terms of effecting significant change in a very short amount of time," Smith said. "I've seen improvement in addressing the mental health of children in foster care, and moving children to permanency, including adoption. The agency, and its leadership, should be commended for improving the welfare of children in Michigan." The comments come as DHS returns to court today to discuss progress made in child welfare reforms under an October 2008 consent decree. Under the agreement, DHS reports every six months on its progress; the Public Catalyst Group of Newark, N.J., monitors progress and makes recommendations for additional improvements. As of the third reporting period, which ended March 31, 2010, DHS had made significant reforms. DHS' accomplishments include a program that provides in-home services and supports to families with children who have serious emotional disturbances. Established by the Michigan Department of Community Health in 2005, the serious emotional disturbances waiver program originally was a way to use federal Medicaid funds to help children. In 2009, DHS worked with DCH to apply the waiver to 266 children in foster care in Ingham, Macomb, Saginaw, Kalamazoo and Oakland counties. The project has since expanded to also include Genesee Wayne and Kent counties. Services are used to keep children in a home in their local communities with intensive wraparound and community-based mental health services. Using the fund-matching aspect of the program, DHS dedicated less than $2 million of state money that turned into almost $6 million of service. "The waiver has reversed a trend of institutionalizing children with serious emotional disturbances, and is one example of innovation and partnership between DHS and DCH to serve the state's vulnerable children and families," said Kathryne O'Grady, DHS Children's Services Administration director. "These services mean more stability for the children and their families." Other DHS child welfare accomplishments include: Reducing the number of children in foster care from 16,545 in June 2009 to 15,023 in October 2010. In 2008, DHS and private agencies completed 2,638 adoptions and received $875,000 in federal funds for the accomplishment. In 2009, DHS and private agencies completed 3,030 adoptions - more than ever before - and were awarded a $3.5 million federal adoption incentive award for the accomplishment. In 2010, with 30 counties participating and 150 adoptions finalized, Michigan Adoption Day 2010 was the nation's largest Adoption Day event for the eighth year in a row. In 2008, there were 6,315 foster children residing with unlicensed relatives. The agreement required Michigan to move the children to licensed settings or relative homes approved for a waiver. As of October 2010, the state is in 99 percent compliance. In September 2008, there were 5,178 children awaiting reunification for more than 12 months. This group was called the "permanency backlog cohort." As of September 2010, DHS had closed more than 78 percent of the cases. In September 2008, there were 4,396 children awaiting adoption longer than 12 months. As of September 2010, DHS had closed more than 63 percent of those cases.

Will Snyder Stop Medicaid Fraud In Michigan?

Hey Rick, 


Congrats on the election but I send my condolences to you, in advance, for the inherited mess of DHS for which you are about to receive.  This wonkette is here for you.


Here is a list of administrators you need to immediately boot:

Bill Johnson, Michigan Children's Institute Superintendent


Bruce Hoffman, Michigan Children's Institute Assistant Superintendent


Mary Rossman, Michigan Children's Institute Assistant.... who knows her title.


Shut down Michigan Children's Institute (Supreme Court has been playing the hiding game on this one.)


Kate Hanley,  Her title keeps changing on the micro-org charts, she is adoption czar

and, last, on my top ten list of the status quo keepers of Michigan's Dark Secret...

Verlie Ruffin,  Ombudsman of Michigan's Children

Deal averts request for fed control of Mich. child welfare system

Catherine Jun / The Detroit News

  Detroit — A child advocacy group backed away from plans to seek a federal takeover of Michigan's child welfare system after a federal judge said she received assurances from Gov.-elect Rick Snyder that his incoming administration will make fixing the Department of Human Services a top priority.

Children's Rights, a New York-based agency, had announced earlier today that it planned to file a motion of contempt Wednesday in federal court in Detroit and ask the judge to appoint a receiver for Human Services, the agency that oversees foster care and adoption. The agency cited a progress report publicized today that showed the state was failing to comply with court-mandated reforms.

Instead, after a meeting in chambers this afternoon with U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Edmunds, attorneys for Children's Rights agreed to meet again with DHS officials in late January — after Snyder takes office — to devise a plan to get reforms on track.

"We have every confidence that they see how urgent this is," said Sara Bartosz, senior staff attorney for Children's Rights. She added, though, that she has not ruled out seeking federal intervention in the future, if necessary. "That option is out there if the system doesn't improve."

This is the latest development in the department's court-ordered overhaul of its foster care system. The department has been under court watch since the settlement of a lawsuit in July 2008 filed by the New York group, which alleged the state's system was endangering the lives of children.

Before the scheduled 2 p.m. court hearing, the New York agency had issued a statement saying it planned to seek receivership for the department, citing a court-appointed monitor's report that showed the department failed to adequately reduce high caseloads for caseworkers as well as recruit and retain enough foster homes.

The 200-page report, covering Oct. 1, 2009, to March 31, 2010, charges that DHS failed to: Ensure that new caseworkers were adequately trained before they became responsible for children and families.

Ensure that adequate staff was assigned to conduct timely and thorough child abuse and neglect investigations.

Recruit, retain and license enough foster homes and those of relative care providers.

Court-appointed monitor Kevin Ryan, of the New Jersey-based Public Catalyst Group, submitted the report to Judge Edmunds at the hearing.

According to the report, Ryan also found data-keeping and mathematical errors in state records, including how the state counts the number of children in its care. The state delayed the recording of adoption finalizations in some cases by as much as 225 days.

"Child welfare managers and staff across Michigan, in both the private and public sector, are working very hard, but their best efforts are often undone by poor planning and a lack of adequate coordination," the report stated.

This is the third update since the settlement, and comes 1½ years after reforms began. The settlement contained a five-year plan the state agreed to enact.

This is the final report before Rick Snyder takes over as governor next month. It's possible that new management will be tapped at DHS.

Anticipating the court hearing, the Michigan Department of Human Services issued a news release this morning highlighting what it says are improvements within the department.

More children have been adopted from foster care, are receiving better mental health services and have better outcomes overall, DHS Director Ismael Ahmed said in a written statement.

"DHS, in partnership with private agencies and the courts, have made significant strides in the past two years to ensure we're doing our part to help children find safe, loving and stable homes," Ahmed said.

In fact, 3,030 children were adopted from foster care in 2009, more than in any other year, he said.

Other accomplishments include reducing the number of children in foster care and expanding a program that provides in-home services and support to families with children who have serious emotional problems.

The previous report issued in March showed the state was missing significant targets, like sufficiently reducing the number of children aging out of foster care and documenting adequate responses to allegations of abuse or neglect of foster children.

At the time, the human services department was placed on a 30-day watch to get reforms on track.

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20101207/METRO/12070385/Deal-averts-request-for-fed-control-of-Mich.-child-welfare-system#ixzz17T4XMO3Z

Artificial Dictator of Fraud

Now, what is wrong with this picture? Michigan Senate has introduced Bills 891, 892, and 893 to cover up the fraudulent activities of Michigan Children's Institute in dealing with adoption and state wards.

The Social Welfare Commission was comprised of citizens, appointed by the Governor with advise and consent of Legislature. The Social Welfare Commission would then, recommend a candidate for the public office of Superintendent of Michigan Children's Institute. The recommendation would go to the Governor to go to the Legislature for advice and consent to the appointment of the Superintendent. Once the Superintendent was appointed, the final process was to take an Oath of Office to uphold the State Constitution, which was filed in the Repository of the Great Seal.

The Social Welfare Commission was abolished in 1965 and its powers were transferred to the Department of Human Services Director.

The Superintendent, William J. Johnson, has never been appointed. As a matter of fact, he answers to no one.

The purpose of this bill is to play clean up because the Superintendent, functioning in the executive branch, was making judicial decisions in granting or denying consent to adoptions.

The Superintendent represents the State of Michigan without being elected or appointed in being the legal guardian to over 7,000 children who are wards of the state.

The Superintendent, also, can overrule decisions of other states. He is not the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children administrator, yet he assumes the duties.

The Superintendent is omnipotent because there exists no accountability nor transparency in his activities. He is held accountable to no one, not the public, not the law, and most certainly, not to the Constitution of the United States.

The bill needs to be be revised to simply eliminate and abolish the entire Michigan Children's Institute: William J. Johnson, Mary E. Rossman and Bruce Hoffman. The only useful function of MCI is to add another layer to cover up Medicaid fraud, and various other types of federal funding fraud.

Below, is an in depth examination of just one of Michigan's revenue maximizing schemes called Michigan Children's Institute.

Amended Petition


SENATE BILL No. 891

October 13, 2009, Introduced by Senators JANSEN, HARDIMAN, GARCIA, VAN WOERKOM, BIRKHOLZ, ALLEN, PAPPAGEORGE, KAHN and GILBERT and referred to the Committee on Families and Human Services.

A bill to amend 1935 PA 220, entitled

"An act to provide family home care for children committed to the

care of the state, to create the Michigan children's institute

under the control of the Michigan social welfare commission, to

prescribe the powers and duties thereof, and to provide penalties

for violations of certain provisions of this act,"

by amending section 9 (MCL 400.209), as amended by 2004 PA 470.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

Sec. 9. (1) The superintendent of the institute OR HIS OR HER DESIGNEE

is authorized to consent to the adoption, marriage,

GUARDIANSHIP, or emancipation of any child who may have been

committed to the institute, according to the laws for the adoption,

marriage, GUARDIANSHIP AS PROVIDED IN SECTION 19C OF CHAPTER XIIA OF THE PROBATE CODE

OF 1939, 1939 PA 288, MCL 712A.19c, or emancipation of minors. On such

adoption, marriage, GUARDIANSHIP, or

emancipation, the child so adopted, married, or emancipated OR WHO HAS HAD A GUARDIAN

APPOINTED UNDER SECTION 19C OF CHAPTER XIIA OF THE PROBATE CODE OF 1939, 1939 PA 288,

MCL 712A.19c, shall cease to be a ward of the state.

(2) The DEPARTMENT

shall discontinue the Michigan children's institute preliminary consent denial review

process.

THIS BILL IS ILLEGITIMATE AND A BREATHTAKINGLY INFERIOR ATTEMPT AT RULEMAKING.