Michigan Child Welfare System Shall Honor Ricky Holland & The Two Boys

Michigan will honor the life of Ricky Holland and the two little boys.

The Michigan State Auditor General has reopened the investigation into the Legally Kidnapped, trafficking and murder of Ricky Holland...and the two little boys.

The following video was inspired by the Michigan Office of Children's Ombudsman. 

 

For each cause, there is a reaction.  This is my journey through the political process of the United States to end Medicaid fraud in child welfare;

Qui tam pro domino rege quam pro se ipso in hac parte sequitur;

On a mission...

Hold on to that reaffirmation for a minute.

The question I really have is..."Why would Orlene Hawks come out in such a bold fashion to introduce the OCO into the public like this?

I believe she has awoken.

Michigan treats that office like dirt because it is all about the maximization of revenues, privatization.

I want to world to know about that secret cabal up there in the Michigan Children's Institute and their "saving the savages" human trafficking operations.

Stay tuned, oh, and by the way...has anyone seen The Madame Maura Corrigan, (in a high British accent) lately?

If you do, send her my love.  I am worried about her, being so silent, as opposed to her previous vociferousness about Michigan child welfare, and all.

Michigan's children's ombudsman shares concerns about DHHS

Orlene Hawks, Michigan's children's ombudsman, says she and her agency remain concerned about the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services' ability to follow the laws and policies meant to keep children safe.

Michigan OCO Ricky Holland Investigative Report by Beverly Tran on Scribd

Michigan Peremptory Mandamus Petition by Beverly Tran on Scribd

Attorney General Opinion of Authority for Office of Children's Ombudsman to Investigate Decisions of Michig... by Beverly Tran on Scribd

Michigan Quo Warranto Petition by Beverly Tran on Scribd

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Michigan Senate Committee Might Discuss Medicaid Fraud In Child Welfare

Michigan Senator
Jim Marleau

Do my eyes deceive me?

It seems we have a brave soul in the Michigan Senate who is willing to throw on the public discussion table, the issue with audits and reporting violations in child welfare.

Slow, my beating heart.  I believe I am in love with Senator Jim Marleau.

The Gentleman has recently introduced legislation to allow, and I quote:

 A FEDERAL OR STATE GOVERNMENTAL AGENCY THAT MAY, BY LAW CONDUCT AN AUDIT OR SIMILAR REVIEW OF THE DEPARTMENT'S ACTIVITIES UNDER THIS ACT.

The Act is the Michigan Child Protection Act.

This is historic and this is going to be messy.  Here is why:

Child welfare administration and policy in Michigan sucks.

Even if there are found violations of law and policy does not necessarily mean that these questionable actions and inactions will be referred to the Attorney General, state or federal, for sanction, contractual disbarment, license revocation, prosecution or recovery.

The operations of a state child welfare program are so secretive that even if there are found, substantial material violations in under GAGAS and OMB Circular A-133 guidelines, there are no mechanisms to go after Medicaid fraud in child welfare for the State Medicaid Fraud Control Unit or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The reason is that child welfare is protected under the exclusions and exemptions of child welfare privacy law and policy.

Federal may financially penalize, but the state is left with its hands tied as the matter will only be addressed behind closed doors of the backrooms of administrative meetings and super special child welfare committees, not privy to the Open Meetings Act.

Then, there is that rather pesky factor of the Office of Children's Ombudsman never referring found, or even questionable violations of law and policy to the Attorney General for investigation, even though there was an official opinion stating the Office did have the authority.

For your viewing pleasure, and a bit of constructed history on the lack of addressing Medicaid fraud in child welfare, I present a couple of my art projects to inspire a spirited discussion in the Michigan Senate Committee of Families, Seniors and Human Services.

Notice how "children" are excluded from the original purview of the committee.

Michigan Peremptory Mandamus Petition by Beverly Tran

Just as a side note, this writ went no where because there was an error is the court rules for the Court of Appeals and I just wanted to put it on front street.

You cannot file ex-parte in the Michigan Court of Appeals, which is one of the most crucial components of the mandamus, to have the court issue a show cause or its alternative.


Even the Auditor General is limited in reporting and referring found violations in child welfare programs.

Beverly Tran's State of Michigan proposed bill to amend 2003 PA 1, entitled "AUDITS AND EXAMINATIONS" (MCL... by Beverly Tran

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Michigan Audit of Children's Ombudsman Politically Problematic.

The Michigan Auditor General released its findings on the investigative operations of the Office of Children's Ombudsman.  The general tone of the report was that the Ombudsman's investigations were partially effective due to the lack of technological access to the Department of Human Services databases and files.

Due to the fact that the Auditor General has locked all reports since I started publishing them for general accessibility, I have been reduced, for lack of resources, to posting a personally created, direct link to the final report.  Here it is.

There are other reasons why the Ombudsman investigations into abuses of children under the auspices of the state are, in my words, perfunctory.  It is because of:

(1) a lack of necessary resources and staff; and,

(2) a status quo culture.

A lack of necessary resources and staff:
The office has about 13 investigators to take on the entire State of Michigan child welfare system, far more than 39,000 children and youth.  That equates to a responsibility of investigation of about 3,000 children per staff.   The child welfare system includes cps, foster care, its child placing agencies, adoption services, juvenile justice, and mental/medical health, and education.

Typically, on any given day, there is only one person to man the phones for intake.  Within a few minutes of the conversation with the concernedly distraught person, the "screener" can determine if there is a violation by, and I quote directly from a House Hearing a few years back when a representative from the office testified that she screened by, "thinking fast on my feet".

"Think fast on her feet" caused one kid to be murdered and a few others to be raped and tortured.

Out of about 1,000 calls a year, there are less than 10% that are investigated.  Out of that number, many are designated into the category of "Valid, not open".  This means that violations of law and policy were found but the office will not act upon it.

Acting upon a valid violation would mean that there is mandate for referral to the counties prosecutor or Attorney General for further investigation and prosecution but the office does not have the authoritative resources for this because the Ombudsman, Verlie Ruffin, takes the helm as the perfunctory prissy lil missy who has successfully made sure that the public and elected officials have no idea of who she is or what she does or what she has been doing throughout her tenure.

I am not one for scurrilous attacks, I just present the facts.  Not one single referral has been made the counties prosecutors or Attorney General for violations of law or policy.  See reference statute below:

Per the Children's Ombudsman Act 204 of 1994, MCL 722.927 §7(4) in relevant part:

If the ombudsman finds in the course of an investigation that an individual's action is in violation of state or federal criminal law, the ombudsman shall immediately report that fact to the county prosecutor or the attorney general.  If the complaint is against a child placing agency the ombudsman shall refer the matter to the department for further action with respect to licensing.

Michigan Peremptory Mandamus Petition by Beverly Tran

A status quo culture:

The Office of Children's Ombudsman, under the failed leadership of Verlie Ruffin, has powers beyond getting hair and nails done once a week.  The ombudsman has the blessing of Michigan's greatest Attorney General Frank Kelley, to investigate the Michigan Children's Institute (MCI).  Not only has the ombudsman denied authority to investigate MCI, to date, it has never done so.

Attorney General Opinion of Authority for Office of Children's Ombudsman to Investigate Decisions of Michig... by Beverly Tran

It is my opinion, therefore in answer to your second question, that the Children's Ombudsman Act gives children's ombudsman the authority to investigate adoption decisions of the Michigan Children's Institute and to obtain adoption records of the Michigan Children's Institute.

Michigan Attorney General Frank Kelley, 1996 

The reason I mention MCI is not because the Auditor General has never, ever audited this secret operation which warehouses the guardianship for more than 7,000 children of the state under the legal authority of one, omnipotent Superintendent, Bill Johnson, it has never been investigated for the deaths, abuses and neglects of children who were subject to a class action settlement agreement.  Not one time during the course of the entire lawsuit was MCI ever mentioned.

The status quo of OCO is to remain inconspicuous and do nothing to change operations.  The more people know about the duties of the office, the more work must be done but in a culture of administrative stagnation in child welfare, the longer the administrative keystone cops can ride out a paycheck until they can safely retire, the greater the job security.

To prove my point that the Director, Verlie Ruffin has not done shit for the office, here is the direct link to the site.  http://www.michigan.gov/oco

• The site has not been updated, revamped, edited since it was originally built.  
• There are no social networks.  
• There are no community networks.  
• There is no history of the office.
• There is no referral policy for public or private agencies to give out its contact information. 
• There is no appeal process when denied, in that quick on your feet telephone interview.  
• There is no legislative action to ask for more funding and resources. 
• There is no initiative to even privately subcontract.  
• There is no complaint process against an investigation.  
• There are no press releases on current statewide activities.  
• There are no public speaking engagements.  
• There are no guest appearances.  
• There is no annual agenda of priorities.  
• There is not even a logical explanation why only a selected few are granted a limited investigation.  
• There is no reason why there are no referrals for criminal activities to the counties prosecutors or attorney general.  
• There is not even a picture of Verlie Ruffin, the Ombudsman.  
• Hell, the ombudsman is not even gender neutral considering the ombudsman is a woman.   
• There are no community partnerships.  
• There are no public awareness campaigns.  
• There is no recordkeeping for suicides in foster care.
• There is no recordkeeping for sexual assaults in foster care.
• There is no recordkeeping for drug ovedoses in foster care (prescription or street)
• Five will get you ten there is no letter of appointment of the Governor, with advice and consent of the Senate, on file with the office of the Great Seal of the State Department.

I want to see a public database of the number of referrals, and other more detailed variables of investigative findings.  It can be done on an excel spreadsheet by some interns without compromising confidential information.  I even know where to find funding for these initiatives.

I want an audit of MCI and a separate division for investigations of complaints.

I know for a fact that DHS has refused to respond to investigative inquiries of the office since 2005.  It is now 2013 and Ruffin has not done a damn thing to ensure her staff has full access to the databases and files of DHS.  She knew about it and made sure to sweep the problem under the rug, just like she did over at Luthern Family Services.

All in all, the investigative staff of the OCO are wonderful people who engage in grueling work under pressure, in a politically constrained environment with limited resources.  The ombudsman is lazy and refuses to participate in change.  She lets people get away with murder and condones the filing of millions in false claims by these contracted child placing agencies.  She covers up for her cronies like Steve Yager and Bill Johnson.

She needs to resign, yesterday.  Bitch needs to go, now.  I dare someone to challenge me on this.


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Ending Fraud Is Job Killing

Oh dear, it looks as if the child abuse propaganda machine has to kick it up a notch because emotional tear-jerking will no longer be acceptable as program performance.  These child welfare programs are must finally be ... oh my, dare I say that term of taboo...

MANDATORY COMPLIANCY

No more excuses for fraud like "but you said the rules were suspended" or "well, we have no false claims act so the fraud is not illegal" or even this classic bit "ending fraud is job-killing". 

Get ready, the war to keep the fraud funding stream flowing to create jobs is on and Child Abuse Propaganda Month is around the corner.

The Easy Cuts Are Behind Us

IN a little over a week, President Obama will send Congress his budget for the 2012 fiscal year. The budget is not just a collection of numbers, but an expression of our values and aspirations. As the president said in his State of the Union address, now that the country is back from the brink of a potential economic collapse, our goal is to win the future by out-educating, out-building and out-innovating our rivals so that we can return to robust economic and job growth. But to make room for the investments we need to foster growth, we have to cut what we cannot afford. We have to reduce the burden placed on our economy by years of deficits and debt.

When I left the Office of Management and Budget in January 2001, the country had a projected surplus of $5.6 trillion over the next decade. When I returned last November, decisions to make two large tax cuts without offsetting them and to create a Medicare prescription drug benefit without paying for it, combined with the effects of the recession, meant that the nation faced projected deficits of $10.4 trillion over the next decade.

We cannot win the future, expand the economy and spur job creation if we are saddled with increasingly growing deficits. That is why the president’s budget is a comprehensive and responsible plan that will put us on a path toward fiscal sustainability in the next few years — a down payment toward tackling our challenges in the long term.

This starts with doing what families and businesses have been doing during this downturn: tightening our belts. In the budget, the president will call for a five-year freeze on discretionary spending other than for national security. This will reduce the deficit by more than $400 billion over the next decade and bring this category of spending to the lowest share of our economy since Dwight Eisenhower was president.

Make no mistake: this will not be easy. It will require tough choices since every decision to invest in one program will necessitate a cut somewhere else. In each of the past two years, the administration has put forward about $20 billion in savings from ending some programs and reducing funds for others. This entailed finding programs that were duplicative, outdated and ineffective. But to achieve the deeper cuts needed to support this spending freeze, we have had to look beyond the obvious and cut spending for purposes we support. We had to choose programs that, absent the fiscal situation, we would not cut.

Since they were instituted, community service block grants have helped to support community action organizations in cities and towns across the country. These are grassroots groups working in poor communities, dedicated to empowering those living there and helping them with some of life’s basic necessities. These are the kinds of programs that President Obama worked with when he was a community organizer, so this cut is not easy for him.

Yet for the past 30 years, these grants have been allocated using a formula that does not consider how good a job the recipients are doing. The president is proposing to cut financing for this grant program in half, saving $350 million, and to reform the remaining half into a competitive grant program, so that funds are spent to give communities the most effective help.

Another difficult cut is a reduction of $125 million, or about a quarter of current financing, to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which supports environmental cleanup and protection. And a third is a reduction in the Community Development Block Grant program. These flexible grants help cities and counties across the nation finance projects in areas like housing, sewers and streets, and economic development in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods.

While we know from mayors and county leaders how important these grants are for their communities, and are very aware of the financial difficulties many of them face, the sacrifices needed to begin putting our fiscal house in order must be broadly shared, and we are proposing to cut this program by 7.5 percent, or $300 million.

These three examples alone, of course, represent only a small fraction of the scores of cuts the president had to choose, but they reflect the tough calls he had to make. And as he made them, his administration tried to make sure that there was no undue burden on any one program or area. We also asked agencies outside the freeze to do their part as well. The Department of Defense, for instance, will have its financing plan cut by $78 billion over the next five years, bringing spending down to zero real growth after a decade of healthy increases, and we are eliminating programs like the C-17 transport plane that have broad support but that we do not need and cannot afford.

Discretionary spending not related to security represents just a little more than one-tenth of the entire federal budget, so cutting solely in this area will never be enough to address our long-term fiscal challenges. That is why President Obama made clear in the State of the Union that he wants to work with Congress to reform and simplify our tax code. He also called for serious bipartisan cooperation to strengthen and protect Social Security as we face the retirement of the baby boom generation.

We must take care to avoid indiscriminate cuts in areas critical to long-term growth like education, innovation and infrastructure — cuts that would stifle the economy just as it begins to recover. That, in turn, would deprive us of one of the most powerful drivers of deficit reduction, a growing economy.

Next week, a debate will begin in Washington and throughout our country about the best way forward. The Obama administration will come to these discussions with a responsible, sensible and achievable plan to put the country on a fiscally sustainable path. The plan will incorporate many tough choices and deep cuts — as well as smart investments — to broaden our recovery, spur job creation and prepare the United States to win in the world economy.

Jacob Lew is the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget.

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

Ontario Ombudsman now has the power to investigate Huron-Perth Children’s Aid Society

Keep it strong, John!  We love you!

Ontario Ombudsman now has the power to investigate   Huron-Perth Children’s Aid Society

Colorado Children Ombudsman Referrals For Medicaid Fraud?

The following is an email I sent to Governor Bill Ritters. If his office responds, I shall share.

Now that there is legislation to create a children's ombudsman, will there be subsequent provisions to refer to the Office Attorney General Medicaid Fraud Control Unit when it is found, or even suspected, federal and/or state violations of material provisions of law?

Please let me know what is being done to end Medicaid fraud in child welfare.

It makes you wonder why it took so long to get a Children's Ombudsman.

He Is Omnipotent

The siblings in the Ricky Holland case were under the legal guardianship of a man. His name is Bill Johnson, Superintendent of the Michigan Children's Institute.

He was the man who approved the homeschooling of the children.

He was the man who approved the adoption while there was an ongoing murder investigation.

He is a man who is the legal guardian of more than 7,000 children.

He is a man who represents the State of Michigan without election or appointment.
This is the continuance of my comment to The Detroit News article on Homeschooling:

He is a man who possesses more power than the Governor.

He is a man who makes federal decisions.

He is a man who is omnipotent.

He is protected by the court yet not accountable to law.

Beverly Tran

Isn't It Better?

This is a comment I posted on the Detroit News article: Lax home-school laws put kids at risk

Michigan must understand that it must begin to distance itself from its current child welfare system, for it has proven to the public that it is fully dysfunctional.

Instead of perpetuating a mindset of injecting more power and authority in a system that is devoid of any regulation, itself, let's look at alternative solutions:

In order to even begin to open discussion to address the issues with homeschooling, the state must stand up and admit that these anomalies of the most extreme and horrific situations of malice to children happen under the auspices of the state.

Even though the Office of Children's Ombudsman advocates for children, it possess relatively little authority to effectuate any advocacy for children.

Not all complaints filed with the Office of Children's Ombudsman are accepted as they must make it past the intake officer, one singular individual makes "on her feet" decisions whether to accept a complaint.

Next, if, by chance, a complaint makes it to the decision process whether or not to initiate investigation, the Ombudsman can, with arbitrary and capricious decision making powers, deem the complaint "Valid-Not-Opened". This means there were violations substantiated, but the Ombudsman will not take any action.

Then, when the Ombudsman finds violations of federal and/or state law during the course of an investigation, the Ombudsman, being mandated by law is suppose to refer to the counties prosecutor or the Attorney General.

Not one referral has ever been made in the history of the state.

Assumptions can only be made that if, referrals were made to the Attorney General, as he is the proper venue in dealing with Wayne County as the Attorney General prosecutes all child welfare juvenile cases, the Attorney General would have to animate its Medicaid Fraud Control Unit to proceed with the investigations of violations, prosecution and recoveries of Medicaid fraud.

The Attorney General Medicaid Fraud Control Unit does not and will not touch Medicaid Fraud in Child Welfare. The largest component of funding in child welfare is what is called Targeted Case Management, a Medicaid funded activity. It should also be noted that Michigan is the only state that does not separate its Medicaid expenditures when reporting the amounts spent on children and those amounts on adults.

Another area of Medicaid in child welfare with service providers. It is impossible to validate whether the services were actually provided to children in foster care, adoption, or juvenile justice or if the services were provided by phantom organizations.

With the few examples that have been provided, it is quite evident that the policy recommendations of the Office of Children's Ombudsman should be scrutinized.

Home Schooling Regulation Alternatives

Cyber Schools: The factory school model has been in decay, as evident in the career opportunities in the state. The focus needs to be in technology .

Michigan has already demonstrated its ability to accept innovation in its educational system. This can be seen in the surge of online schools. If a child is not able, for whatever reason, to attend a traditional classroom setting, the child may then be enrolled in the school district in its cyber school program.

The child can then be provided computers, equipment and internet access, all at the expense of the school. The child can then be provided in-home services through visits with mentors, teachers, case managers, and any other professional that can assist the child with their learning objective.

This type of schooling opens multiple federal funding opportunities that can provide resources to encourage the successful progress of the child's education without the intrusive and dysfunctional operations of child protective services.

The child, enrolled in the cyber school, can then be included in the school district student counts, allowing an increase in funding. That increase in funding is coupled with the fact that schools do not have to maintain physical buildings and fixed costs of operations.

Simply put, it is cheaper to buy a child a computer than to maintain a building.

The child's grades and progress is then monitored and recorded.

The child then possesses a tool to go forth in his or her future.

Is it not better to give a man a fishing pole and teach him how to fish?

Is it not better to give the Department of Education the opportunity to protect the future of our children, because before you are a man, you are a child.