FUN FACT! DEATH IN FOSTER CARE IS CALLED A STATISTICAL ERROR!
The Office of Children's Ombudsman is a poorly constructed cover up operation that is powerless, to the point that their reports are not allowed to be entered into a court of record, they do not refer anything for suspected, alleged, violations of law or policy, and absolutely will not refer to the State Attorney General for Medicaid fraud in child welfare.
These people allowed the murderers of Ricky Holland to adopt his siblings, during a murder investigation, and not a damn thing has been done.
The Office of Children's Ombudsman used to have a category called "Valid-Not-Open" meaning, a complain of a child being tortured and trafficked in foster care is valid, but due to budget constraints and personal self-interests, there will be no investigation.
If there were investigations, there would be found billions upon billions in Medicaid fraud in child welfare, and as we all know, the system is too big to fail, for it is nothing but the residuals of the peculiar institution, maximizing revenue for foreign corporations, in the name of the tax exempt god.
These people make you pray as your child is being drugged as a lab rat and being raped, nightly.
in Michigan’s child death reporting system, a state audit is demanding a fix.
A report released Tuesday by Michigan’s Auditor General found Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services failed to notify a watchdog promptly of 206 child deaths from 2014 through 2017.
That watchdog, the Office of Children’s Ombudsman, is an independent agency mandated by state law to review the deaths of children who have had recent contact with Michigan’s foster care, child welfare or child protection system. The goal is to identify if Children's Protective Services caseworkers failed to follow policy or could have done things differently to better protect the child.
But the ombudsman can’t conduct those reviews if MDHHS fails to notify the watchdog of qualifying deaths.
"It’s certainly a huge concern that these child death alerts were missed because it’s important that we’re the oversight for (CPS within MDHHS)," said Lisa McCormick, the recently appointed head off the Office of Children’s Ombudsman.
McCormick stressed the OCO ultimately did receive and review all of the unreported death cases.
"There were 206 cases that we went back and reviewed, but the important thing to note is that we did review them, and that MDHHS came to the table and they worked with us to make sure we were getting all the cases," she said.
In recent years, on average, the ombudsman received 267 child death alerts annually.
The 206 missed alerts comprised 20% of the total death cases reported over a four-year period.
The audit also urged the ombudsman to find ways to independently identify child deaths that require OCO reviews.
"The auditors made a valid point, which is why we have auditors to improve our procedures, to tell us this is a deficit, this is a hole that’s missing, let’s address it and move forward," McCormick said.
If St. Vincent and Bethany Christian can sue Michigan over new gay adoption rules, well, by golly, Michigan can sue St. Vincent and Bethany Christian, and all the other Foster Care & Adoption Agencies for Trafficking Tiny Humans.
It is only logical considering the fact that they are the ones who are trafficking tiny humans.
I wonder if the Michigan GiGi Interlopers, DHHS Robert Gordon and Garlin Gilchrist, will show up, or at least publicly admit that child trafficking is foster care and adoption.
Oh, wait.
I forgot.
Nancy Edmunds is supposed to decide if Michigan is all better when it comes to its child welfare system.
Michigan DHHS Director Robert Gordon,
& Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist - Clueless in Michigan
An adoptive mother, a former foster child, and a Michigan faith-based adoption agency are challenging a recent state settlement that bans state contracts with foster and adoption agencies that refuse to work with gay couples.
St. Vincent Catholic Charities, former foster child Shamber Flore, and Melissa Buck, a mother of five special needs kids adopted through St. Vincent, filed a federal lawsuit Monday alleging the new rules violated the group’s First Amendment rights. The agency is represented by religious liberty group, Becket Law.
The lawsuit is filed against Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Robert Gordon, Children's Services Agency Director Herman McCall, Attorney General Dana Nessel, the federal Health and Human Services department and its secretary, Alex Azar.
The lawsuit asks the court to issue an injunction on the settlement's provisions that would require the state to stop contracting with agencies that, because of their religious beliefs, refuse to work with same-sex couples.
Nessel's office declined to comment until officials had a chance to review the lawsuit.
In a Monday statement announcing the lawsuit, Buck, of Holt, said her family still relies on the support of St. Vincent “in every step of our journey together as a family" and could have problems should the family look to adopt siblings of their adopted children through St. Vincent in the future.
“We are hopeful that the courts will step in, do the right thing and allow faith-based agencies to continue to help vulnerable families like mine,” Buck said.
In March, Nessel reached a settlement with the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan and two gay couples who had sued the state when they were rejected by agencies with religious objections to same-sex couples. The agencies were St. Vincent Catholic Charities and Bethany Christian Services.
The settlement required the state Department of Health and Human Services to maintain non-discriminatory provisions in foster care and adoption agency contracts by ending state contracts with agencies if they discriminate against same-sex couples.
Because the settlement was between the state attorney general's department and the ACLU, St. Vincent as an intervenor in the lawsuit had no option but to file a separate action, said Nick Reaves, a lawyer for Becket.
Without the state contract, St. Vincent would be forced to close its doors and the settlement could have a similar effect on "any other organization that shares their religious beliefs," Reaves said. He added that he is not aware of any contracts being dropped so far in light of the March settlement.
“Faith-based agencies like St. Vincent consistently do the best work because of their faith, and we need more agencies like them helping children — not fewer,” Becket President Mark Rienzi said in a statement.
Catholic agencies make up a small portion of the 58 private agencies that contract with the state for adoption and foster care services, proving "there really isn't any access problem" for gay couples seeking an agency through which they can adopt, Reaves said.
For example, in Ingham County, 17 other adoption agencies besides St. Vincent are available to parents seeking to adopt, he said.
Agencies already can refer couples to different adoption agencies for various reasons, including geography, wait lists or a family's search for a specific type of child.
Further, a same-sex couple still can adopt a child within St. Vincent after receiving a home study and becoming a certified pre-adoptive home through a different agency, St. Vincent said in its lawsuit.
Nessel’s office maintained a 2015 law passed by the Republican-led Legislature only protected faith-based agencies that declined to provide services based on religion when it came to “private action.” The protection did not carry over into state-contracted services, she argued.
Such a conclusion is in "serious tension" with previous interpretations of the law and the language of the law itself, Reaves said.
Republican former Attorney General Bill Schuette had defended the state against the ACLU lawsuit when it was filed in 2017. But even before taking office Jan. 1, Nessel had signaled she would not continue to support Schuette's position on the lawsuit.
As of mid-February, St. Vincent and Bethany were responsible for nearly 10% of the more than 13,000 children under state supervision.
Nancy Edmunds, the judge presiding over the decade lingering Children's Rights case, Dwayne B. v. Granholm, has yet to figure out that nothing has changed.
Every time Kevin Ryan submits another court monitored report on the progress of Michigan's child welfare system, he only reports on microcosmic duct taped repairs to the conditions of its operations, or, rather, in more realistic terms not reported to the court, the drugging, rapes, beatings, torture, suicides, unsuccessful or successful, oh, and that pesky issue of child trafficking.
Now, mind you, Derrick is only a teen.
He is not a lawyer.
He is not a judge.
He is not an accountant.
What he is, is a young man with a keen eye and a quick response for a brave solution, skills necessary to preside over the Michigan federal case on conditions of foster care and adoption.
So, riddle me this.
How come foster kids get passed around to lots of different places, with their worldly possessions in a plastic bag, with no shoes?
The last time I checked there was federal funding appropriated to the States to provide for the necessary needs of the child.
FUN FACT! CPS CAN REMOVE YOUR CHILD AND PLACE THEM IN FOSTER CARE BECAUSE FAILURE TO PROVIDE FOR THE NECESSARY NEEDS OF THE CHILD IS CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT
It seems we have two issues here, the first being an instance of some form of defalcation in funding, because I would really like to know why a young man has to step up and shed light upon the fact that these kids have no shoes.
The second being that Michigan is abusing and neglecting the children in its care and no one cares but this young man.
Rock on, Derrick, I see a very bright future for you.
I wonder if Nancy Edmunds can finally see that the Michigan Child Welfare System Sucks?
(FOX 2) - Seeing the need for foster children in our area, a Holly teen decided to do something about it.
He doesn't know what it's like to walk in their shoes, but he is trying to make sure they have a new pair of their own.
"I just thought helping the community would be a good thing to do," said Derrick Newman.
"Once he kids an idea, it is forward ho!" said his dad Steven Newman.
His dad isn't exaggerating. You first met Derrick Newman in August of 2017 when he began collecting patches from police and fire departments all over the world
.
After FOX 2's story aired. his collection grew from 1,000 to almost 5,000 - with people sending them to him from as far away as Australia. His patches were sewn onto blue banners paying tribute to the officers and firefighters who put their lives on the line every day.
Now at 14, Derrick has a new mission - his dad and step-mother are in the process of adopting a foster child which got Derrick thinking.
"Most people will give them tooth brushes, toothpaste, shirts stuff like that," Derrick said. "Not shoes."
Learning about the tough times foster kids experience like often moving from home to home, Derrick decided he wanted to help.
He started a shoe drive on Facebook called "Going Somewhere (Shoes for Children in Foster Care). He is asking people to donate new pairs of money so they can purchase footwear for kids in need.
"I think that kids that are going to need a little more time to be adopted, should be able to have new pair of shoes when they need it," he said.
"A lot of foster kids - they are kids - they grow out of shoes quick, just like any kid," Steven said. "But they don't have the support to get new shoes all the time. Hopefully this will help."
Slowly the shoes are trickling in - but with the help of his dad, Derrick refuses to give up. He visits stores, posting videos and hoping people will find it in their hearts to help.
"I think it is awesome that we have gotten so much donated to us, to be able to get shoes," Derrick said.
The foster care agency connected to the disappearance and drowning of a severely autistic boy has closed under an agreement with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
Alternatives Services for Children and Families voluntarily surrendered its license and closed on Monday, July 1, 2016, according to an agreement with MDHHS Executive Director Steve Yager.
A state investigation into 9-year-old Omarion Humphrey's death recommended the license surrender. Investigators found that Alternative Services for Children and Families' license should be revoked because of licensing violations at multiple foster homes, MDHHS Spokesman Bob Wheaton said.
Humphrey was visiting Lake Callis in Davison Township with his foster family on July 4, 2015, when he disappeared. Six days later, following a massive search, his body was found in the lake. He apparently drowned.
Body in lake believed to be missing autistic boy, police said.
DAVISON TWP, MI - A body found today in Lake Callis is believed to be that of missing 9-year-old boy with autism, Omarion Humphrey, police said. Rescue crews have found a child's body in the water in Lake Callis in Davison Township....
Last year, the state verified that the 95 children under Alternative Services for Children and Families were safe and began transferring those cases to other private agencies and to MDHHS foster care workers.
Alternative Services for Children and Families still had about 40 children under its care as of June, but all cases were transferred by July 1, Wheaton said.
"Protecting vulnerable children is our top priority," Yager said. "We kept that in mind in recommending revocation of the license and in handling the closing. We took numerous steps to make sure that all children and foster families received appropriate services during this transition."
Revocation of a foster care agency license is rare and occurs when there are serious licensing violations that make closure necessary to protect children, the state said. Alternatives worked collaboratively with the department in reaching an agreement to surrender its license, according to a statement.
The Flint Journal-MLive.com could not reach a representative for Alternatives for Children and Families for comment.
An August report from the MDHHS initially recommended the license revocation saying Alternatives for Children and Families had placed a child, presumably Omarion, in a foster home that had several previous infractions, many for lack of supervision.
Agency that placed autistic boy who drowned should lose license, state says
The state says the foster agency that placed 9-year-old Omarion Humphrey, the severely autistic boy who went missing and drowned in a Davison Township park, should lose its license.
The special investigation report, carried out in response to Omarion's disappearance and death, didn't identify Omarion's foster home or refer to Omarion by name. It refers to a "Foster Child A" who went missing.
The report also refers to a Foster Parent A who did not receive training on autism. The same Foster Parent A, according to the report, took in a child on the same day court documents show Omarion was removed from his biological home in Oakland County.
Missing autistic boy pulled from home squalor just months ago, court says
Investigators said Omarion was sleeping on the floor in a trash-ridden home without adult supervision, wore dirty clothes that didn't fit and had poor hygiene, the court documents say.
"Per the rule, Foster Parent A should have been provided training that related to Foster Child A's needs," the August report said. "At the very least, Foster Parent A should have been trained on how to handle issues dealing with Foster Child A's communication skills, physical safety and self-care."
In an Oakland County court hearing last July, a representative of Alternatives testified that Omarion's foster mother was licensed to foster special needs children, but did not have formal training for managing children with autism.
The foster mother used Internet research to educate herself on caring for autistic children, the Alternatives representative said.
Omarion and 10 of his siblings were removed from their biological parents' home and placed in foster care in 2015. Investigators said Omarion was sleeping on the floor in a trash-ridden home without adult supervision, wore dirty clothes that didn't fit and had poor hygiene, the court documents say.
A lawsuit that Omarion's estate has filed against Alternatives and foster mother Lulu Richardson is pending in Genesee Circuit Court.
I wonder if the Court will address the Michigan Children's Trust Fund, Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children, which is what DACA and the border children issues are about since Congress is clueless, but then again, we are dealing with UCC and Corporate Shape Shifters, so I have no idea.
Perhaps, the Court should have someone ask Orlene to explain about the Corporate Shape Shifters and the fake billing in Michigan Child Welfare, considering the fact that she really, really wants that job as LARA Director.
Lansing — The director of a sprawling state department said Wednesday she has agreed to take extra precautions to avoid potential conflicts of interest related to the regulation or licensing of businesses her lobbyist husband may represent.
“I pride myself on honesty and integrity,” Orlene Hawks, director of the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, told lawmakers who are considering her appointment by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Hawks’ husband, Michael Hawks, is a registered lobbyist and an owner of Governmental Consultant Services, Inc., one of Lansing's largest lobbyist firms.
GCSI represents companies and associations for industries overseen by the department his wife now leads, including businesses entering Michigan’s burgeoning marijuana industry that must obtain state licenses to operate.
Hawks said she does not anticipate significant ethical complications in her role but has adopted a conflict "avoidance" plan and would delegate authority to deputies should issues arise.
“When I make a decision as director, it will be based on the interest of the public and not any private interest,” she said.
The 10-page compliance plan, signed by Hawks on Tuesday and provided to The Detroit News, specifies that she will not hold any financial interest in her husband's lobbying firm and will not personally participate in contract negotiations or permit decisions for any business that employs GCSI. The agreement includes other general conflict-of-interest provisions.
Whitmer last week issued an executive order that will abolish a politically appointed medical marijuana licensing board and create a new Marijuana Regulatory Agency within the department to regulate both medical and recreational marijuana.
Because it will be a “type 1” agency, the new licensing authority will operate autonomously from the department, aside from budgeting and administrative services, Hawks said.
“Everything else, decision making and otherwise, will be with the executive director that is appointed by the governor,” she told reporters after the hearing.
Michael Hawks was named the second most effective multi-client lobbyist in the state by a 2017 MIRS/EPIC-MRA Insider Survey.
Clients at his lobbying firm include the Michigan Cannabis Development Association, Cannarbor, Medifarm and PSI Labs. Other GCSI clients include the Michigan Beer and Wine Wholesalers and Consumers Energy, which are regulated by other type 1 department subsidiaries, the Liquor Control Commission and the Public Service Commission.
Director Hawks testified before the Senate and Advice Committee, which is considering most of Whitmer’s cabinet-level appointments. The Republican-led Legislature has not yet challenged any of the Democratic governor’s picks.
Chairman Pete Lucido, R-Shelby Township, asked Hawks about the potential conflict of interest, citing speculation on “the streets of Lansing” and said he was satisfied with her avoidance plan and commitment to her oath of office.
“That’s all we have to go on up here,” Lucido said. “There’s no law that permits or discriminates against her taking the position.”
Hawks described herself as a dedicated public servant who has worked in various state government roles for two decades, including as the director of Children’s Ombudsman under former Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican.
Sen. Curtis Hertel Jr., D-East Lansing, praised Hawks and noted he worked for her 17 years ago in what was then known as the state Department of Community Health.
“Having known Orlene for as long as I’ve known her, I don’t think she would ever let anyone influence from the outside. I think she’s a confident public servant. I’m satisfied with (the conflict policy) they put into place, and I’m sure they have to do that for some reasons, but I wouldn’t be concerned either way.”
"The Gretch", Michigan's Pseudo-Governor Elect, has done it again, but this time, she has appointed a tag team of child welfare ragamuffins who are probably, romatically popping champagne bottles to celebrate the pilfering of Medicaid in child welfare when it comes to those private child placing agency contract that I like to refer to as the industry of trafficking tiny humans.
Yes, that is correct.
The incompetent Orlene Hawks, former Children's Ombudsman that Snyder 'politley' asked her to step down, is back and she brought her hubby, who just so happens to get some of those privatized child welfare contracts.
"These kids have no clue what they are in for" said former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder
LANSING — The official who Gov. Gretchen Whitmer named to head one of the largest and most far-reaching state government departments is married to an owner of one of Lansing's biggest lobbying firms — raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest related to industries such as marijuana, where both spouses have responsibilities or client interests.
Whitmer, a Democrat who took office Jan. 1, named Orlene Hawks director of the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) — a $518-million agency with responsibilities ranging from oversight of Michigan's lucrative new marijuana industry to liquor licensing, regulation of utilities, and licensing of doctors, hospitals and physical therapy providers.
Hawks, of Okemos, is married to Michael Hawks, an owner and principal of Government Consultant Services, Inc. (GCSI). The firm's clients include marijuana interests such as the Michigan Cannabis Development Association, CannArbor Inc., MedFarm of Michigan LLC, and PSI Labs, state records show.
GCSI also represents many other clients affected by the policies and rulings of LARA and its sub-agencies, such as the Liquor Control Commission, which handles liquor licensing, and the Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities. While state records don't show which GCSI accounts are specifically handled by Michael Hawks, those clients includethe Michigan Beer and Wine Wholesalers Association, Consumers Energy Co., the Michigan Physical Therapy Association, and Blue Cross, Blue Shield of Michigan, to name a few.
It's not the first time in recent years that similar concerns have been raised. Marriages with lobbyists involving a former governor's chief of staff and a former state senator have also been questioned.
While not questioning the integrity of Hawks or her husband, a state government ethics expert said the potential conflicts raised by the situation underline a need for stronger financial disclosure and conflict-of-interest laws in Michigan. A state senator who has the power to hold hearings on Orlene Hawks' appointment said it raises questions about how she will handle conflicts with her husband's firm, if they arise.
"On its face, it is concerning," said Craig Mauger, executive director of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network and an expert on ethics and disclosure rules for state officials.
"LARA is a very important department that has its hands in a lot of different industries," and "lobbyists work with all types of industries to try to advance their interests," Mauger said.
"If you were someone who wants something from LARA, do you think you would be more likely to go to the lobbying firm that is connected to the director of LARA?"
Sen. Peter Lucido, R-Shelby Township, chairman of the Senate Advice and Consent Committee,which can hold confirmation hearings on Whitmer's cabinet selections but is not required to do so,said Monday that areas of potential conflict and how they would be handled would be examined if his committee convenes a hearing on Hawk's confirmation.
"These are things that you've got to look at," Lucido said.
"If there's an appearance of impropriety or a conflict of interest, then I think she has a duty to make it known."
Lucido said one of the issues he wants to explore is "how does a potential conflict get resolved in an administrative agency" such as LARA.
Orlene Hawks, who will be paid $165,000 a year in her new role, formerly served as director of the Office of Children’s Ombudsman, which deals with the state's child welfare system, and before that worked for the state health department. She holds a bachelor's degree from Michigan State University.
“Throughout my entire career in state government, I have served the people of Michigan with the utmost honesty and integrity, and will continue to do so as LARA director,” Hawks said in a statement emailed to the Free Press by an aide on Monday.
Hawks did not respond in detail to an emailed question about how specifically she would respond to a conflict with her husband's firm, but said: “I will rely on all civil service rules and protocols to ensure that the laws under my department’s oversight are administered fairly, efficiently, consistently and transparently.”
Michael Hawks has been voted among the top two lobbyists in the state by Capitol insiders, according to his biography on the website of Eastern Michigan University. Snyder appointed Hawks to the EMU board in 2011. Before joining GCSI around 1990, Hawks worked for Democratic leaders in the state House. Hawks, who did not return a phone message Monday, holds a bachelor's degree from EMU and a master's degree from MSU.
Whitmer spokeswoman Tiffany Brown said the governor is confidentOrlene Hawks and the other cabinet members she selected "will be ethically conscious, serve with integrity and are committed to putting Michigan residents first."
Brown said Whitmer's expectations of her cabinet are clear, pointing to an executive directive Whitmer signed Thursday that points to state law governing conflicts of interest, none of which would prohibit the LARA director from being married to a lobbyist with interests before LARA, and adds other directives, such as that officials "not engage in outside employment or activities conflicting with their official government duties."
Whitmer "has set a high bar and has full faith in her cabinet," Brown said.
Mauger said Michigan is one of only two states that doesn't require some form of personal financial disclosure for top state officials, and the situation with the Hawks demonstrates the need for laws requiring such disclosure.
"This one is kind of obvious, but there could be many more of these situations that we don't know about," he said.
Lucido noted that potential conflicts involving top state officials and lobbyists are not new in Lansing, citing the example of Dennis Muchmore, who was chief of staff to former Republican Gov. Rick Snyder while his spouse, Deb Muchmore, worked as a Lansing lobbyist. She had served as a spokeswoman for Nestle, the company that obtained a controversial state permit to increase its pumping of Michigan groundwater, obtained at a nominal fee, after Dennis Muchmore left Snyder's employ.
State Sen. Joe Hune, R-Fowlerville, who left the Senate at the end of 2018 because of term limits, is married to Lansing lobbyist Marcia Hune. That relationship became an issue in a federal lawsuit involving electric car manufacturer Tesla, because Joe Hune introduced legislative language that Tesla alleges banned the insurgent company's sales model in Michigan, while the firm Marcia Hune worked for counted the established Michigan auto dealers among its clients.
Chuck Perricone, a former Republican House speaker who has worked as a lobbyist in the cannabis industry since 2011, said it's valuable to raise questions and concerns about such relationships because the approval process for various types of marijuana licensing "is just so subjective."
"I appreciate the scrutiny," Perricone said. However, "in my personal experience over the years and in this space, Mike Hawks is a straight shooter and I have no reason to believe that the new director won't operate the same way."
Lansing — The Republican senator responsible for reviewing Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s appointments is unsure whether he’ll hold a hearing regarding a potential conflict of interest for the state's new licensing director.
A conflict of interest, when it arises, should be handled according to department policy and procedure, said Sen. Peter Lucido, not necessarily in a committee hearing to confirm the appointee.
“I don’t think it’s an appointment that needs to be questioned just yet,” said Lucido, the Shelby Township Republican who chairs the Senate’s Advice and Consent Committee.
Lucido’s comments come as Whitmer voiced support Tuesday for her cabinet members, including Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs appointee Orlene Hawks, whose husband, Michael Hawks, is a Lansing lobbyist.
Michael Hawks’ company, Governmental Consultant Services Inc., assists clients in several areas overseen by his wife’s department, including licensing approval, liquor control and regulatory items, according to the GCSI website.
He was named the second most effective multi-client lobbyist in the state by a 2017 MIRS/EPIC-MRA Insider Survey.
Licensing and Regulatory Affairs houses more than a dozen bureaus including the Michigan Occupational and Safety Health Administration (MiOSHA); the Michigan Public Service Commission; Corporations, Securities & Commercial Licensing; the Liquor Control Commission; Community and Health Systems; Professional Licensing; and Marijuana Regulation.
The former director of the Office of Children’s Ombudsman, Orlene Hawks said she is not a shareholder of GCSI and would comply with civil service rules and protocols to ensure the department’s laws were “administered fairly, efficiently, consistently and transparently.”
“Throughout my entire career in state government, I have served the people of Michigan with the utmost honesty and integrity, and will continue to do so as LARA director,” Hawks said in a statement issued by a LARA spokesman.
Michael Hawks did not return a phone call and email seeking comment.
Orlene Hawks will comply with all LARA rules, which enforce civil service rules, agency spokesman Jason Moon said. That includes rules that require LARA employees to submit forms within 14 days of hire that disclose potential conflicts of interest.
Department rules also specifically prohibit employees from exercising "any decision-making authority of the state regarding any regulation, enforcement, auditing, licensing, or purchasing with respect to any business or entity in which the employee or a member of the employee’s immediate family has any financial interest or management authority."
Whitmer has confidence that her cabinet members “will be ethically conscious, serve with integrity and are committed to putting Michigan residents first," according to a statement from her spokeswoman Tiffany Brown
“The governor's expectations for her administration and state employees are clear, as witnessed by the executive directive she signed just days after taking office, focused on assuring a good, ethical state government,” Brown said.
Advice and Consent Committee meetings, when needed for an appointee, would instead focus on experience, background and what makes the appointees “uniquely qualified to do the work for the people,” Lucido said.
All evidence so far indicates Orlene Hawks matches that description, he said.
"She has an impeccable background for public service," Lucido said
The Hawks dilemma is not the first in state government, nor will it be the last, he said. Lucido noted that another lobbyist, Deb Muchmore, helped Nestle during its fight to gain water withdrawal permits from state government after her husband, Dennis Muchmore, served as Snyder’s chief of staff.
Likewise, last week, former Lt. Gov. Brian Calley registered as a lobbyist with the Small Business Association of Michigan, where he will be able to lobby his own wife, Rep. Julie Calley of Portland.
This was the response for the State Child Welfare Licensing Division:
Good Afternoon A youth, a mandated reporter, an interested citizen, frankly anyone can file a complaint against a licensed foster home. You say home provider so I assume you are talking about a foster home. If there is a suspicion of abuse or neglect the complaint should be made to Children Protective Services Central Intake. If you have a complaint against a child placing agency or a child caring institution, it is handled through the Division of Child Welfare Licensing under the Department of Health and Human Services. DCWL investigates child placing agencies and child caring institutions around compliance with specific rules. You can make a complaint using the website if it is against a child placing agency or a child caring institution, or you can give me the information. I hope this helps. I am not aware of who investigates Protective Services. I would suggest contact with a supervisor or the District Manager of the local office involved.
As you can read in the response, Michigan Child Welfare Administrators do not have a clue to what is going on in the system, or even how the system actually works, or even a personal passion to actually respond to the questions regarding the reporting of fraud or if foster kids have civil rights.
You can tell she has yet to read the Auditor General's Report on CPS.
Governor Rick Snyder is now calling for changes after the Michigan Office of the Auditor General released a scathing report last week detailing several faults in the state’s Child Protective Services program.
The audit found a number of glaring issues in the state’s CPS program, including failing to launch and complete investigations within the required timeframe and not referring investigations to prosecutors.
The governor has tapped Orlene Hawks to lead a review and improvement process of CPS.
Hawks is currently the director of the Office of the Children’s Ombudsman, though she will leave that post during the review.
Snyder hopes Hawks will be able to find ways to rapidly improve Michigan’s CPS program, having called the audit’s findings “unacceptable.”
In the spirit of fuchsia... Snyder's hopes shall soon be dashed because Orlene Hawks has been put on notice, from the first day she took her Oath of Office, that the entire system sucks and has sucked since it was first conceived. (NOTE TO SELF: Check to see if her Oaths of Office are filed in the Great Repository of the Seal) Orlene Hawks has not done a damn thing to improve the system, as the Office of the Children's Ombudsman functions as a strawman of oversight, on a shoestring budget, with no cooperation from the Attorney General or the Department of Health and Human Services. Did you know DHHS has the power to refuse to cooperate with an OCO investigation? I can prove it, you know. Did you know the OCO does not possess powers of subpoena? By the time OCO can review and present finding to the Legislature for the rulemaking process to commence, there is a term limit and another election cycle. No one communicates with anyone up in Lansing. The last time Snyder called for a special commission review, they lied to him, like they always do. The Attorney General will not partner in investigations with OCO. OCO does not have to refer any criminal activities to the Attorney General. The Attorney General will not even appoint a Special Prosecutor. The Attorney General refuses to investigate DHHS. The Attorney General will not even investigation the Legislators on all their special interests child welfare legislation foreign dark money campaign contributions or those lucrative, privatized contracts these elected officials end up getting through their corporations.
As a matter of fact, the entire Michigan Child Welfare System has been under the federal monitor for over 10 years, yet Children's Rights continues to generate billing, without even advocating for the civil rights of these foster kids...because they cannot....because they are a private corporation and have not had the grant authority transferred, or rather parental rights...because these foster kids are under the jurisdiction of the state's legal guardian, Michigan Children's Institute. To believe Children's Rights is advocating for anyone other than themselves makes a strong case to go to a drug rehab, because there is no other logical explanation to think otherwise.
Children's Rights received the largest attorney fees payment in the history of the state and not one penny went to the children. The Court was going to put Michigan Child Welfare under Federal Receivership, but the "Legal Geniuses" (trademark pending) talked Edmunds into letting them privatize the oversight where Kevin Ryan at his "neutral" Public Catalyst is doing nothing but expanding the operations to maximize his revenue.
There is no need to call for the OCO to review because all she has to do is read my work.
I have all the Auditor General reports, congressional hearings and reports, and international reports, lawsuits, original sources, and everything else you ever wanted to know about child welfare, right here.
I would like to take this time to memorialize the work of the Lansing State Journal and the reporting of Justin Hinkley on illuminating the Michigan's Child Welfare System.
You can research the history of Michigan on this blog because it all started here.
On a side note, as I wish not to tarnish this report with in the spirit of fuchsia, but I will say this.
The Michigan Office of Children's Ombudsman has this category called "Valid Not Opened" when it came to requests for investigations.
The intake investigator, being quick on her feet, would make a determination as to the validity of a case, not on anything dealing with the well being of the child, or the original guardians, but on the financial merits of being able to afford the investigation, or if there were political interests, or if there was fraud...
This one particular year, I had decided to skew its reporting statistics.
I went around the state with a friend where we created, printed and distributed fliers at the court houses and child placing agencies with direct information on how to report to the Office of Children's Ombudsman.
I drastically skewed the annual report.
You know you love me, every one of you, including The Madame Maura Corrigan (said in a high British accent).
More Michigan kids are dying from abuse or neglect a decade after a
federal lawsuit forced the state to spend millions of dollars on
improvements.
LANSING — Shortly after Gov. Rick Snyder's child welfare agency argued to a federal judge it had improved enough to escape court oversight, one of the state’s foster children drowned in a lake near Flint.
Omarion Humphrey, 9, was autistic. On July 4, 2015, he wandered away from a foster mother who had no specialized training to care for him.
"We
had him for nine years and nothing even close to that happened to him,"
his sister, 21-year-old Cyrria Mims, said in a recent interview. "They
had him for four months and he ended up dead."
More
Michigan kids are dying from abuse or neglect than a decade ago, when
the state settled a federal lawsuit and vowed to improve its child
welfare system, a Lansing State Journal investigation found.
Deaths
increased despite the hundreds of millions Michigan spent on reforms,
including doubling its child welfare budget and nearly doubling the
child welfare staff.
In 2008, the year Michigan
settled the lawsuit, the state reported 59 deaths from abuse or neglect.
In 2016, the most recent year data is available, Michigan reported 85 such deaths and became one of the five worst states in the nation.
Also in 2016, the Michigan Office of the Children's Ombudsman opened a record number of investigations into the deaths of foster children or kids whose families had recently received child welfare services.
The ombudsman
says the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services did
everything right in 6% of the hundreds of cases it reviewed between
February 2016 and March 2018.
Those reviews included child deaths and
other cases involving Children's Protective Services investigations,
foster care and adoption.
Records show state
employees and contractors frequently violate the laws and policies meant
to protect kids from harm and often fail to intervene when they
should. The ombudsman has written more than 500 suggested improvements
to the child welfare system over the last decade, including 155 related
to child deaths.
While Michigan has
made reforms it should be proud of, "we remain deeply concerned about
the ability of the state to keep kids safe when they're in foster care,"
said Elizabeth Pitman Gretter, an attorney for Children's Rights. That's the New York advocacy group that sued Michigan after several high-profile child deaths, including the 2005 killing of Williamston’s Ricky Holland by his adoptive parents.
Omarion Humphrey’s death 10 years later illustrates
the ongoing flaws. DHHS had removed Humphrey and 10 of his siblings from
their parents over living conditions officials said were unsafe. But
the state placed Humphrey with a foster mother who had a history of
complaints and no training on how to handle autistic children.
"I
don't think anyone that had him there that day actually was sorry,"
Mims said. "My son will never have met his uncle, ever. My baby brothers
don't even know who he is.
And my younger brothers don't remember who
he is."
DHHS can't comment on specific cases, but spokesman Bob Wheaton pointed to state policies requiring the
department to place kids in the most appropriate home and minimize "the
trauma experienced by the child and family."
The
DHHS contractor that placed Humphrey lost its license; Humphrey's
siblings were returned to their parents in December 2016.
Herman McCall,
executive director of Michigan’s child welfare programs, refused to be
interviewed or answer written questions for this article, citing the
ongoing federal lawsuit. Instead, he issued a written statement pointing to numerous new programs launched over the last decade.
"Since
coming under federal court oversight in 2008," the statement says,
"MDHHS has taken numerous measures designed to increase safety and
well-being … and deliver effective services to achieve positive outcomes
for children and families."
Mistakes
like what happened to Humphrey will continue to happen, current and
former DHHS employees said, because of excessive turnover that leaves
kids' lives in the hands of inexperienced caseworkers.
State
civil service records suggest only about 18% of child welfare employees
have at least 10 years on the job. The average worker has about 7
years' experience.
That
can be a serious shortcoming. Child welfare workers need a deep
understanding of state and federal law, the court system, and community
resources available to families.
"You just don't get that without time in the trenches," said David Berns, who ran child welfare agencies in several states, including Michigan in the 1990s.
Turnover
is a common problem in the high-stress, high-stakes world of child
welfare, especially given that the pay is relatively low. DHHS' child
welfare workers make between $19.41 and $33.32 an hour.
But
current and former DHHS employees who spoke with the State Journal said
the problem is exacerbated in Michigan. Employees often quit out of
frustration with supervisors who they believe are more concerned about
escaping court oversight than giving kids what they really need.
Supervisors
often tolerate — or even subtly encourage — shortcuts while harassing
workers who take too long to close cases, workers said.
"The
State of Michigan doesn't care," said Adre Brown, a former CPS
investigator in Ingham County. "As long as you get your cases done in 30
days, you're a rock star."
The federal court, state lawmakers and the Michigan Auditor General are investigating allegations — first uncovered by the State Journal last year
— that supervisors frequently assign cases to employees who are on
leave for medical or other reasons. That makes the state appear to be in
compliance with court-ordered caseload limits but may delay crucial
interventions in kids' lives.
Researchers found turnover among
foster care workers was more than 16%, compared to less than 10%
across all state government jobs. DHHS spends $1.5 million a year hiring
and training new foster care caseworkers, researchers from the National
Council on Crime & Delinquency said in that report.
The
report concluded DHHS should hire enough foster care employees so none
were responsible for more than 13 cases, to give employees adequate time
for kids. Yet, DHHS has repeatedly missed the 15-cases-per-worker
requirement spelled out in the federal lawsuit, including in the most recent monitoring report.
The
department also exceeded caseload limits for supervisors and CPS
workers. The department was within caseload limits for licensing staff
and employees who run the statewide hotline where suspected abuse is
reported.
'There's no leadership'
McCall,
the state's child welfare chief, told lawmakers in March that DHHS has
used the results of employee surveys to make the department a more
attractive place to work.
In his written statement
to the State Journal, he said officials have focused on hiring
qualified staff, providing quality training, and helping employees deal
with the secondary trauma they might experience through the horrors they
witness in their work.
"Recognizing that a
healthy workforce is a significant asset to successful improvement and
sustainability of Michigan’s child welfare system, MDHHS continues to
develop and implement efforts focused on addressing workforce barriers,"
McCall said in the statement.
But it isn't clear that's really happening. Last year's surveys
revealed skepticism among employees at the Children's Services Agency,
the umbrella organization McCall runs that covers child welfare
programs, juvenile justice and more.
Just more
than a quarter of those employees said they'd seen meaningful change
come from engagement survey results. Most said DHHS leadership
is untrustworthy and that employees cannot share their opinions without
fear of retaliation.
So turnover remains a problem. And families feel the effects.
For
about two years, White Lake's Brendan and Erika Bedini have had legal
guardianship of their 5-year-old niece, Addisyn Lantto, because the
girl's mother struggled with alcoholism.
The Bedinis say
they feared for their niece's safety because DHHS allowed Addisyn to
visit her mother even as the mother had relapse after relapse.
The Bedinis said they struggled to get Children's Protective Services to
respond to their concerns.
Wheaton, the DHHS spokesman, pointed to policies that
encourage parental visitation plans that are "in the best interest of
the child and … develop or enhance attachment with the child's family."
Brendan
Bedini said the state repeatedly made the wrong decision in Addisyn's
case. He blamed that, in part, on the fact that they dealt with a dozen
different caseworkers over less than three years.
"I
don't know what the problem is" at DHHS, he said, "except there's no
leadership. There's no direction. There's no one to go to."
Each
state's problems are unique, but "Michigan did seem to get off to a
slower start," said Pitman Gretter, the Children's Rights attorney. "We
are frustrated that we aren't further down the road."
Michigan has changed its system in the decade since then-Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed the first settlement with Children's Rights.
Granholm's administration in 2009 created a specialized unit to investigate allegations of abuse or neglect in foster care.
The timeline below shows the history of child welfare reforms in Michigan. Story continues below.
In
2012, Snyder's administration opened a centralized intake hotline where
all allegations of child abuse or neglect are reported and assigned for
investigation.
In 2015, the administration
launched a massive, $61 million computer system meant to improve data
collection and analysis — though that program has been glitch-ridden
since it went online.
Those and other efforts
have helped the state improve upon some key statistics. The state has
sharply reduced the number of kids in foster care. At a hearing in
the federal lawsuit last summer, U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds praised the state for more quickly finding kids permanent homes.
"It is a happy event, and everyone involved should feel proud of what's been accomplished," Edmunds said.
But much remains to be done.
In
their latest report, court-appointed consultants tracking Michigan's
progress in the federal lawsuit said DHHS had accomplished less than 25%
of the goals laid out for it.
Among the missed
targets: Several abuse investigations took longer than allowed by state
law. Nearly a third of the allegations of abuse in foster care that
should have been assigned for investigation never were. And the
department failed to run background checks on some of the relatives with
whom children were placed, meaning some kids were placed in homes with
unsecured firearms or where drugs were abused.
And
monitors still can't measure the state's progress on many metrics.
Partly because of the still-glitchy computer system launched in 2015,
monitors said in their last report they couldn't gauge the state's
progress on 28% of the requirements.
"How does
management know, day to day, what decisions to make?" Sara Bartosz,
another Children's Rights attorney, told Edmunds at the 2017 hearing.
"You're driving a bus in the blind."
Orlene Hawks
Meanwhile, Children's Ombudsman Orlene Hawks said DHHS continues to show "a very concerning pattern of not following those rules and policies" in investigations.
As
long as there is poverty, substance abuse, domestic violence and other
family strife that puts kids at risk, bad things will happen, Pitman
Gretter told the State Journal.
But she said kids shouldn't get hurt because the government agency meant to protect them messed up.
"You
look for a system in place that protects against those human errors,"
she said. "Child welfare is a messy world, but it is not a standard-less
world."
In
2016, the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services reported
263 child deaths — many during or shortly after state intervention — to
the Michigan Office of the Children's Ombudsman. Here's how those deaths
happened:
47.5%: Unknown/unspecified
16%: Unsafe sleep practices
12%: Natural causes/health issues
6.5%: Accident
18%: Miscellaneous, including drowning, suicide and fire.
Source: Michigan Office of the Children's Ombudsman
Michigan child welfare: By the numbers
13,439: Number of Michigan foster children as of Dec. 31, 2017, compared to more than 18,000 in 2008.
76: The number of Michigan children who were abused or neglected in foster care in 2016, compared to 203 in 2011.
85: The number of child deaths from abuse or neglect reported in 2016, compared to 59 in 2008.
144: The
number of child death investigations opened by the Michigan Office of
the Children's Ombudsman in 2016, compared to 74 in 2009.
$1.2 billion: Michigan
Children's Services Agency budget for the 2018 fiscal
year, including $25 million on legal fees and monitoring costs in the
federal lawsuit.
Sources: Michigan
Department of Health & Human Services, Michigan Office of the
Children's Ombudsman, U.S. Administration for Children & Families
Child welfare federal oversight: A timeline
Aug. 8, 2006: Children's
Rights, a New York advocacy group, sues Michigan following highly
publicized government errors in several child deaths, including the 2005
killing of Williamston's Ricky Holland by his adoptive parents.
Oct. 24, 2008: Michigan
settles with Children's Rights. The state agrees to several reforms,
promising to reduce caseloads, hire more qualified employees, and do
more to protect children in foster care.
July 18, 2011: Gov. Rick Snyder signs a new settlement with Children's Rights about seven months after taking office.
Dec. 2, 2014: 28
days after Snyder wins reelection, his administration files a motion to
dismiss the federal lawsuit, starting a third round of negotiations
with Children's Rights.
Feb. 2, 2016: The
Snyder administration signs a new agreement with Children's Rights.
Under the new Exit & Sustainability Plan, requirements end when the
administration proves it can accomplish them.
What's next
The
Michigan Department of Health & Human Services and Children's
Rights will appear in U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds' courtroom at 10
a.m. Thursday. Officials from Public Catalyst, the New Jersey firm
appointed by Edmunds to monitor DHHS' progress in the federal lawsuit,
are expected to present their latest report.
