The case is about a mother about to have her rights terminated to her ninth child.
The man judge said, "she should know how this works since she lost her eight previous kids."
So, I guess the case is about the attorney and, I shall assume the court, that the mother was not advised of her civil rights in the course of her Child Protective Services case.
{this is the point where I am going to walk away for a few moments to ground myself in that glorious chi, so I do not say anything too disparigning about these "Legal Geniuses" (trademark pending).
Each and everyone one of these individuals need to fall from the heavens.
These people refuse to accept that Michigan lies, promulgates lies through child welfare propaganda for the purposes of selling tiny human chattel.
When a mother has a child snatched and sold by the State, they typically will have another child to fill that void.
In Michigan, a previous termination of parental rights is automatic grounds for termination to all posterity of the mother, and sometimes the father, for all eternity.
This case is about a mother who was poor and in need of help she never received because someone checked that "reasonable efforts" box.
If these "Legal Geniuses" (trademark pending) cannot even mention fraud upon the court in the generation of false claims to be published in the public record, then how the hell can the mother understand.
Why do these parents take pleas?
Because it ends the suffering of her children's hopes of going home so they can move on to a life of being drugged, raped, tortured, and lab rated.
Vivek Sankaran is grooming an army to continue cloaking the Michigan industry of trafficking tiny humans because he refuses to mention the fraud and corruption.
Interestingly, the next case is being adjudicated under the same transposable model in the termination of parental rights, in SNAP licensing.
As she gave an oral tour of the world's hot spots for a capacity crowd at the University of Michigan, Hillary Clinton had a suggestion for what needs to be done.
"There are ways of working on thorny problems, but they take thought and planning and diplomacy," said the former Democratic presidential nominee, secretary of state, U.S. senator and first lady. And not just normal diplomacy — "intelligent diplomacy."
Then she paused for a long second for the crowd to read between the lines — that's not what the Trump administration is doing.
Later, she was more direct. Asked how America can better engage on the world stage, she said, "Our current president can have an epiphany," she said.
"We are losing our credibility. If you fight for America and then you are betrayed, what does that mean? We've got a lot of repair work to do.
"A lot of the voices who constrained the president are gone. I was lucky to work for a president who encouraged dissent."
During the 90-minute session, which started with U-M's Ford School Dean Michael Barr asking questions in a conversation and concluded with Clinton answering questions submitted by the audience, she touched on the hot topics of the day, including:
Ukraine: "The Ukrainian scandal should have triggered impeachment, but let's not forget the broader picture. The Ukrainian president is under pressure from Putin. He's under pressure from the American president. Ukraine (in Putin's view) belongs to Russia. Not to the Ukrainian people." She also pointed out that Trump recently withdrew the United States from the Open Skies treaty, which allowed satellites to take pictures of what was happening on the ground. She wondered aloud if that was done to let Putin move troops into the Ukraine without anyone noticing.
On pro-democracy rallies in Hong Kong: "When it comes to Hong Kong, I don't think Chinese would have a problem if we said we support democracy. I think it's a shame we've retreated so far. When America is silent about these fundamental human rights, no one else is going to speak."
On Turkey's invasion into Syria, and President Donald Trump's withdrawal of American troops: "I can't give you hopeful answer (to path forward in Syria). I fear it will give ISIS a revival. (Syrian President Bashar al-) Assad has become a tool of the Iranian and Russian interests." She said Trump gave Turkey "a green light" to invade Syria, adding everyone knew that's what was going to happen as soon as Trump announced the troop withdrawal.
On foreign influence in her election run against Trump and future elections: "First, acknowledge it happened. There seems to be very little appetite in our federal government to do anything about (foreign interference in elections). Here's what I tell Democrat candidates currently running for president who talk to me. You could lose for four reasons not under your control: Voter suppression; having information stolen from your campaign and weaponized against you; having a stream of outrageous stories fed to people's Facebook feeds; and the actual foreign interference with the election."
The event was part of the launch of the Weiser Diplomacy Center at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, which is funded Ron Weiser, the current U-M board chairman and prominent Michigan Republican. Last week, former Republican Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke as part of the same series.
More than 1,000 tickets were distributed for the event. But how many showed up?
So, for almost 15 years, Nancy Edmunds has just allowed Michigan to continuously dump millions into privately contracted failures, UNISYS, having to dump more money to improve the system to improve performance.
When there is a need to improve performance, that means there are errors in the system.
Errors in a child welfare system are called kidnapping, human trafficking, drugging, rape, torture, beating, attempted and successful suicide.
Errors in a child welfare system are also called Medicaid fraud, but whatever you do, do not tell Nancy that.
Once again, Michigan has successfully slithered through the court, again, to continue another year of trying to figure out how to do more stealin' of the children, the land and the votes because JooYeun Chang has saved the day and is now running Michigan's Children's Services Agency!
Detroit — Michigan’s child-welfare agency will phase out a troubled computer system that has cost the state $231 million over the past five years, officials told a federal judge Thursday.
State child welfare officials announced the decision while briefing U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds on how the state is caring for children who were removed from homes due to abuse and neglect.
Edmunds heard from attorneys and the state welfare officials on improvements and progressas part of a court-oversight update in connection with a lawsuit brought by the New York-based Children's Rights child welfare rights organization 13 years ago.
Computers that caseworkers use to document cases and log intake of children as were highlighted as a major concern at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. The computer system, which went online in 2014, has cost the state $231 million,
JooYeun Chang, the executive director of the state Children's Services Agency, told the judge the old computer system will be phased out and will be replaced by a newer one.
"We're going to build a new system one area at a time so that they make sure the new system works," Chang told Edmunds.
The judge told Chang: "I hope that can be accomplished quickly. This has been a hindrance (to the state's child welfare system)."
Chang told reporters following the hearing she expects a new system will be in place within five years.
Robert Gordon, director for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, said he will seek funding for the new system from the Michigan Legislature. He said half of the cost for the computer system is paid for by the federal government.
"We need to perform better as a department in the way we manage technology," Gordon said after the hearing. "We're focused on improving our performance."
Simple glitches such as having to input data multiple times are among the problems plaguing the system, said Gordon.
Replacing the troubled computer system is among the reforms MDHHS is pursuing to resolve the lawsuit, which was filed in August 2006 by Children's Rights to address concerns about the state's foster care system.
The lawsuit alleges that children's constitutional rights were being violated because the state failed to move them quickly into safe, stable permanent homes, provide them with medical services, and prepare youths who age out of foster care.
in addition, the state's child welfare system was poorly managed, underfunded and lacked sufficient staff, which further put children at risk of harm, according to the suit.
Chang told Edmunds the children's welfare agency is making changes that include helping relatives of children in the foster care system get licensed and become providers for the youths.
Other changes in the works: eliminating the state’s compliance reviews of cases up to two years old, focusing efforts to prevent child maltreatment on the activities most directly related to stopping it, and getting youth into effective programs, such as the Young Adult Voluntary Foster Care program.
Samantha Bartosz, the deputy director of litigation strategy for Children's Rights, told the judge she feels the group and the state have reached a "sound resolution" in moving forward on the issues that prompted the lawsuit.
"The modified approach will deliver sounds results for children," Bartosz said.
After the proceedings, she said the reforms reflected a more than decade-long struggle to have the system regulated to better serve children and protect them.
"There are safety regulations in the agreement now," Bartosz said. "They are committed to staying on top of important safety measures."
JooYeun Chang, a veteran of child welfare policy and practice, is now the senior deputy director in charge of the Children’s Services Agency at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Chang joined the agency, which is led by Robert Gordon, in late May.
“With JooYeun’s deep knowledge of what works, her diverse experiences, and her passionate commitment, we can help many more children achieve safety, gain permanency, and ultimately realize their potential,” Gordon said, in a statement announcing her hiring.
Chang got her start in child welfare policy as a staff attorney at the Children’s Defense Fund, a Washington, D.C.-based organization founded in the 1970s by Marian Wright Edelman. Chang was then brought on by the Seattle-based grant maker Casey Family Programs, which is focused on reducing the number of youth in America who come into foster care, as its senior director of public policy.
In 2013, Chang left Casey to join the Obama administration as its associate commission for the Children’s Bureau, the agency within the Department of Health and Human Services that administers most federal funds for child welfare. The bureau oversees Title IV-E, the central entitlement program for federal funds to support foster care payments and adoption subsidies, as well as federal spending on family preservation and independent living programs.
Chang left in the final year of the administration, and resumed her role with Casey Family Programs.
“JooYeun Chang is an incredibly talented and committed leader and change agent. I have had the opportunity to work with her in a variety of ways since 2007, and over those 12 years, her commitment to the well-being of all children and families has remained her focus and has never wavered,” said Casey CEO William Bell, in the statement announcing Chang’s new position. “Michigan will benefit greatly from her leadership.”
In Michigan, Chang inherits a state that has been under a court-monitored settlement agreement since 2008, the result of a class-action lawsuit filed against it by Children’s Rights. Last September, an audit of the agency she now leads found it had often failed to complete background checks or conduct proper interviews in the course of investigating maltreatment claims.
Unlike many of its Midwest brethren, Michigan has not seen its foster care totals skyrocket in recent years as the opioid crisis fueled a spike in removals. In fact, according to federal data, Michigan’s foster care total declined from 14,522 to 11,918 between 2012 and 2017.
JooYeun Chang, testifying at a 2014 Senate hearing about child trafficking and re-homing. Photo: Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
The state has indicated its intention to delay implementation on a federal law aimed at keeping more youth out of foster care. The Family First Prevention Services Act, signed into law in February of 2018, enables states to use the Title IV-E entitlement for certain substance abuse, mental health and parenting services to avoid the removal of children from their parents. The law also puts limits on the use of IV-E funds for the placement of youth in group homes and other congregate care environments.
States have the option of delaying implementation of the law until 2021. As of June, 27 states including Michigan had formally notified the Children’s Bureau of an intention to delay.
Casey Family Programs was a key player in fomenting support for the law, and continues to support efforts to help states move toward implementation of it. Chang was front and center in those efforts, so it will be interesting to see if Michigan now moves more quickly on Family First.
One day, we will end the multi-trillion dollar industry of trafficking of tiny humans of Medicaid fraud in child welfare, funding the States foreign children's trust funds and all their complex, financial fraud schemes.
A few days before Christmas, the federal government extended an invitation to state child welfare agencies that has the potential to completely transform the system.
The invitation did not arrive with great publicity.
Nor was it lengthy. Instead, it was announced in a few ordinary-looking sentences, in a very ordinary-looking email.
But looks can be deceiving. The change announced by the federal government could lead to far fewer children being placed in foster care. It could expedite the reunification of those children in care. It could increase visitation between children in care and their parents. And it could get children into permanent homes more quickly, even when they can’t return home.
So what is this change that could bring about these dramatic results? The federal government announced that it would permit uncapped, matching federal child welfare funds under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act to support the representation of parents and children in the child welfare system.
No federal statute requires states to provide attorneys to parents and children involved in the proceedings. And the federal government has never required states to provide legal advocacy for families in order to receive federal child welfare funding. To the contrary, for decades the federal government explicitly prohibited child welfare funds under Title IV-E from being used to support legal advocacy for families.
Without federal support, states have struggled to provide families – the overwhelming majority of whom cannot afford a lawyer – with the advocacy they need to navigate the foster care system. In some states, a parent can have their child removed without ever having received the help of a lawyer.
Others are worse, even allowing courts to terminate parental rights without giving parents an attorney.
And in pretty much every state, lawyers for indigent parents are underpaid, overworked and lack important supports – like a social worker or investigator – to effectively represent clients. The reality in most jurisdictions is that families will not receive the type of legal advocacy that they deserve. But without an infusion of funding, little hope existed that the situation would change.
Until now.
The new availability of federal funding to support legal representation for parents and children allows states to remake their child welfare systems to produce the outcome that all stakeholders want – more children residing safely with families, increased contact between children and parents, and expedited legal proceedings. Study after study supports the conclusion that strong legal advocacy improves the outcomes of the child welfare system.
But while this opportunity is within our grasp, it will require significant action by the child welfare community to take advantage of it. Since federal funding under Title IV-E only flows to child welfare agencies and only matches state expenditures by that agency, states must now rework their payment structures for legal representation so that the current state funds supporting representation are being spent by the agency. Unless the state agency is the entity spending the money, the state cannot receive matching federal funds.
In a second part to this column on Monday, I’ll share my thoughts on how states should think through and plan to seize this momentous opportunity.
Vivek Sankaran is the director of the Child Advocacy Law Clinic and the Child Welfare Appellate Clinic at the University Michigan Law School. Follow him on Twitter at @vivekssankaran.
So the Oversight Committee had their second hearing and I have taken away that CPS is claiming more policies have allegedly been implemented and that legislators don't understand how a lack of training for workers is affecting families. They are also offering possible budget increases that won't fix a thing because the root causes are not being addressed. They also cited "rules" and cut off a parent who took the time to be there and who was nervous about sharing their horror story. Last week they looked poised to show they cared, this week they showed this was nothing but a show. I should have expected nothing less but I thought that because they had preliminary evidence that there were major problems that they may actually do something. Time to regroup and get them on track to take this far more seriously. Election season is going to make that tough.
Stephanie JezowskiI did just get clarification that the legislators had their last regular session day and had to go check in to be able to vote by 10:10 so that is likely why they pulled the rules card. However, I take issue with parents in this situation only getting 3 minutes to talk. Rep. Graves did invite the mother to meet with him and continue what she had to share with him sometime soon. I believe there need to be longer, and more extensive hearings on this matter because that is the ONLY way they will see the true scope of the problem. Stephanie JezowskiAlso of note, I think it was Hertel who proffered the funding and staffing. His wife works where? In the MDHHS executive offices if memory serves. I want to go back when the archive is up and make sure but pretty sure that was Hertel. Good little UAW puppet who should be watching this one from the sidelines if you ask me. Maybe if I get in front of the committee I should call that out on the record? Hehehe That would be fun!
BACKGROUND:
Michigan Oversight Hears Auditor General Report On Why CPS Sucks
Standing ovations to the State Bar of Michigan for finally getting off their arse and confronting the Artificial Dictator of Fraud,Michigan Children's Institute Superintendent Bill Johnson.
Vivek, I hope you destroy Danny's masterful-Medicaid-fraud-scheme-cover-up-acumen. Just remember, Bill Johnson has another attorney, the Fourth Fraudketeer, representing him in this matter.
