Detroit Police & Fire Retirement System New Cover Up Artist, Kevin Kenneally, Does Not Have To Respond To FOIAs

Well, is this not just special.

I guess Kevin does not really care about the ongoing Detroit Police and Fire Retirement System federal investigation.

I went to check on my Detroit Police Pension, but it disappeared, just like my Congressional Credit Union Thrift Savings Account....but, hey, what do I know?

I know privatization is still the latest craze when it comes to circumventing FOIAs.

I also know that the system invested with Detroit Land Bank Authority properties that were stolen.

New contract sweetens deal for Detroit pension official

Kevin Kenneally

Detroit — Members of an investment committee for a city pension fund slammed the terms of an  agreement executed by its chairman that grants a pension executive 75% more in pay and a $60,000 signing bonus for his work as a contractor.

The Dec. 2 contract — amended Monday to boost the incentive package by another $10,000 — was debated during a contentious special meeting held to vote year-end certifications to trigger the release of an $18.3 million infusion for the pension system arranged as part of Detroit's bankruptcy deal.

The investment committee for the Police and Fire Retirement System has battled for nearly a year with the pension fund's board of trustees over a pay hike for system's deputy investment officer Kevin Kenneally.

Under the latest agreement, Kenneally will resign his city position on Dec. 27 and rejoin the system Jan. 6 as a contract worker under his newly created Detroit-based firm, KJK Associates.

Matt Gnatek, an investment committee member and chairman of the police and fire pension board, demanded a legal opinion to show that proper research had been done in drafting the agreement that some worry will conflict with state and federal laws.

"You can change the name of it, but the job duties are still the same thing," Gnatek said. "Let's not try to put lipstick on a pig and call it something else. Let's call it what it is, it's an end-around."

The additional $10,000 in incentive pay, revealed to committee members just ahead of the Tuesday meeting, he added, is another "glaring issue."

"I can tell you as a lay person, this looks very odd," Gnatek said.

The investment committee voted this summer to allow its chairman Bob Smith and the system's Chief Investment Officer Ryan Bigelow to craft a contractor agreement for Kenneally. The three-year deal will pay Kenneally $285,000 annually, up from the current pay of $162,781 that he earns as a city employee.

Smith has said it's important to the health of Detroit's police and fire and General Retirement System pension funds that the investment team has the resources needed to monitor a collective $4 billion-plus in assets.

The investment committee is one of two established under Detroit's debt-cutting plan to make investment policy decisions for the two pension funds.

Smith, during Tuesday's meeting, said the incentive bonus factors in the lag time from when the committee voted this spring to increase Kenneally's pay to $224,000 per year to ensure his earnings were competitive. The raise was supposed to go into effect Jan. 1, 2019.

The revised amount, he said, "is around keeping that commitment."

Smith has said the pay also accounts for costs Kenneally will incur on his own for health care as well as Social Security payments and other benefit obligations.

Kenneally and Bigelow declined to comment on the pay issue after Tuesday's meeting.

During the meeting, Bigelow said officials had worked through concerns raised over potential conflicts with IRS rules and state and federal labor law tied to Kenneally's transition from a city employee to a contract worker.

Kenneally, he said, will be responsible for providing his own office space and covering the cost of his own equipment and resources. But he will be eligible for travel expense reimbursement, if it's approved by the pension system, Bigelow told the committee.

Jeff Pegg, a committee member and pension trustee who opposed a raise for Kenneally all along, said Tuesday he believes he believes the contract is flawed.

The committee, he said, agreed Smith and Bigelow could arrange an agreement but other members were left in the dark about the specifics. The contract also lacks a provision requiring Kenneally to obtain liability insurance.

"Going forward, I think we should execute contracts as a committee, not as the chair," Pegg told Smith. "Things may be missed."

The committee's special counsel, Sean Gallagher, agreed Tuesday to draft a legal opinion in support of the agreement. The contract, as written, he said, "lowers the risk" of issues with the labor department and IRS. Gallagher declined further comment.

Ron King, an attorney for the pension fund's board of trustees, noted all sides agree the investment committee can retain outside contractors. But King said there are "a number of issues with the contract" and it puts the system, board and Kenneally in a "precarious position."

"We want to be careful not to breach the contract, it's already been executed," King told The News. "But we have to look at what options we have that protect the system."

The committee Tuesday unanimously approved its certificates of compliance that had been left in limbo after Smith moved last month to put off the vote as members debated the fate of Kenneally's pay increase.

The oversight board took the position that it had the power to hire support personnel and pay them with assets of the retirement system. But police and fire pension trustees said Kenneally's pay was off-limits because he's classified as a city employee. Detroit's City Council has discretion over salary and compensation ranges for city job classifications.

The pension fund this spring refused to sign off on the raise adopted by the investment committee, deeming it "excessive."

In a confidential memorandum to the committee last month, Gallagher warned that the ongoing pay rift could put the $18 million at risk. The pension trustees' refusal to give Kenneally a raise, he argued, could amount to "potential defaults" in the terms of the so-called "grand bargain" funding commitment crafted in the city's bankruptcy to pump up its pension system.

It would then make it impossible, Gallagher wrote, for the investment committee or its chair to execute the certifications.

The salary proposal for Kenneally, as well as a series of raises for the system's Chief Investment Officer Ryan Bigelow, stemmed from a competitive pay analysis commissioned by the committee that recommended higher pay ranges for the pair.

A provision of the city's bankruptcy plan does give the committee authority to select, remove and set Bigelow's pay.

His compensation increased twice since last winter. The investment committee first adopted a proposal in December 2018 that took his annual $242,000 pay to $264,000. And in March, it voted it up again to $315,000.

Gnatek raised the possibility Tuesday that the pension board, which next meets Jan. 9, might not agree to fund Kenneally's contract.

"It's something I'd be very concerned about. I would hate to see somebody's whole life to be torn up," he said. "Once he resigns and the pension board decides not to make that payment, Kevin is out there in the wind."

But Smith told members that he was comforted by discussions during the committee's last meeting when it was stated the invoices, once submitted, would be approved. 

"I'm relying on that," he said.

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Michigan LARA & Its Secret Societies - Arbeiter Bunds & Detroit Fire Fighters Association

Ah, the joy of the backpack.

Backpacks are always the quickest money hustle cover up one can conjure in the flash of cash.

Yes, there is a network and it runs deep.

These children's fun fests are just that, a few moments of fun to feel all warm and fuzzy for helping a child go to school with some cheap ass backpack, filled with dollar store crayons and pencils, leftover from some other campaign of something or another.

No one cares about the children because if they actually did, we would not be questioning this amazing city leader of the Detroit Fire Department about stealin'.

I really do not know how this investigation is going to unfold, considering the fact that when people are stealin' and not even reporting the stealin' in some fake ass 990, or such signed IRS documents under penalty of law, that they were stealin' like the Detroit Land Bank Authority, but I bet it shall be fun!

I wonder if this is related to the Detroit Fire and Police Pension Fund?

She probably had no clue of what was going on because they give her some shiny trinket and set her up as the chosen spokestoken to get thrown under the bus so they can keep stealin'.

[End of dream sequence flashback with strumming harps].

Former Detroit Woman Firefighter of Year being investigated for stealing money

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Verdine Day was named the Detroit Woman Firefighter of the Year at the Detroit Public Safety Foundation's Women in Blue luncheon last spring. Now Day is accused of misusing union assets while she was the treasurer of the Detroit Fire Fighters Association.

The information was released in an internal bulletin on Wednesday. FOX 2 obtained a copy of the notice on Wednesday night.

Investigation begins into former Detroit Woman Firefighter of the Year
Verdine Day was named the Detroit Woman Firefighter of the Year at the Detroit Public Safety Foundation Women in Blue luncheon last spring

Meanwhile, Day spoke about becoming the first black female firefighter 33 years ago when she was honored in April.

"I took this job as a challenge because I did not know at the time there were women on the job, so I wanted to make a difference," she said at the time.

The Detroit Fire Fighters Association says it doesn't know how much money was misused or exactly when it occurred. The bulletin goes on to say a forensic audit of all the union's books and records is underway.

Day recently retired from the Detroit Fire Department. But prior to her retirement, she talked to FOX 2 on a number of occasions, whether it was at a back-to-school event or in response to then-Attorney General Bill Schuette saying firefighters were breaking the law while standing in the street collecting donations for charity. Day was always forthcoming with the media.

The union president declined to talk to FOX 2 about this, stating that it was an internal investigation that he can't comment to the media about.

FOX 2 also contacted Verdine Day, but she has not yet responded.

ID Number: 800865387    
Summary for:  DETROIT FIRE FIGHTERS ASSOCIATION, LOCAL NO. 344, I.A.F.F.           
The name of the DOMESTIC NONPROFIT CORPORATION:   DETROIT FIRE FIGHTERS ASSOCIATION, LOCAL NO. 344, I.A.F.F.
     
Entity type:   DOMESTIC NONPROFIT CORPORATION
Identification Number: 800865387 Old ID Number: 783008
 
Date of Incorporation in Michigan:   06/10/1935

Purpose:

Term: Perpetual
 
Most Recent Annual Report: 2019 Most Recent Annual Report with Officers & Directors:   2018
         
The name and address of the Resident Agent:
Resident Agent Name: MICHAEL NEVIN
Street Address: 333 WEST FORT STE 1420
Apt/Suite/Other:
City: DETROIT State: MI Zip Code: 48226
Registered Office Mailing address:
P.O. Box or Street Address:
Apt/Suite/Other:
City: State: Zip Code:
 

The Officers and Directors of the Corporation:
Title Name Address
PRESIDENT MICHAEL NEVIN 333 WEST FORT STE 1420 DETROIT, MI 48226 USA
TREASURER VERDINE DAY 333 WEST FORT STE 1420 DETROIT, MI 48226 USA
SECRETARY THOMAS GEHART 333 WEST FORT STE 1420 DETROIT, MI 48226 USA
DIRECTOR WILLIAM HARP 333 WEST FORT STE 1420 DETROIT, MI 48226 USA
DIRECTOR CHRISTOPHER SMITH 333 WEST FORT STE 1420 DETROIT, MI 48226 USA
DIRECTOR DARNELL MCLAURIN 333 WEST FORT STE 1420 DETROIT, MI 48226 USA
DIRECTOR JOHN CANGIALOSI 333 WEST FORT STE 1420 DETROIT, MI 48226 USA
DIRECTOR ANTHONY MCCLOUD 333 WEST FORT STE 1420 DETROIT, MI 48226 USA
DIRECTOR RONALD JONES 333 WEST FORT STE 1420 DETROIT, MI 48226 USA
DIRECTOR ERIK CARRIGTON 333 WEST FORT STE 1420 DETROIT, MI 48226 USA
DIRECTOR LLOYD WATLEY 333 WEST FORT STE 1420 DETROIT, MI 48226 USA
   
Act Formed Under:   145-1885 Societies to Promote Interests of Trade and Labor

Of all the options, I picked this one!

Arbeiter Unterstützungs Verein

Arbeiter Bunds ............................................................................................. Act 42 of 1887

ARBEITER BUNDS (EXCERPT) Act 42 of 1887

454.101 Arbeiter bunds; incorporators.Sec. 1.   That any number, not less than 15, of workingmen's aid societies, otherwise called Arbeiter Unterstuetzungs Vereine, which have been duly incorporated under the laws of Michigan, may unite or form a union or bund, and become incorporated under the provisions of this act.

History: 1887, Act 42, Imd. Eff. Mar. 21, 1887 ;-- How. 3934j ;-- CL 1897, 7441 ;-- CL 1915, 9813 ;-- CL 1929, 10284 ;-- CL 1948, 454.101

The Arbeiter Unterstützungs Verein of Saginaw City was a working man's association and social club that assisted members with sick and death benefits. It was organized on Easter Sunday, April 9, 1871. On December 13, 1875 a hall was constructed on the corner of Adams and Oakley Streets. A woman's auxiliary was organized on July 28, 1898. In 1908 the society had 1,047 members, being the largest of any Arbeiter society in Michigan.

Well, the only thing I see is that LARA allowed the organization to improperly operate because it was incorporated under the wrong Act.

I really do not know what the problem is.

[Dream sequence with strumming harps for the visual transition]

I seem to recall a place called the Michigan Court of Claims where the former Michigan Attorney General, Bill *Smooches* Schuette had his minion Assistant Attorney General orally enter into the record that I was a public nuisance.....

[Shivering with a bout of Post Traumatic Fraud Disorder]

Anyway, *Smooches* filed some crap to dissolve my business, where my counterclaim just up and went poof! so I really do not know why there is such an uproar.

Everyone has a tiny humans trust fund.

Heck, Cox & *Smooches* allowed the Bush Haiti Relief Fund and the Detroit Land Bank Authority to continue to operate long after my business was dissolved, oh, and website taken down just because, where no one contacted me so I could even ask why.

I forgot to archive.

It was a really cool site because I actually had a structured administration you could run and access from your phone and would mesh with everything, but I digress because we are dealing with the Iron Curtain in Child Welfare, or rather, the Residuals of the Peculiar Institution.

Michigan LARA Secret Organizations & Societies by Beverly Tran on Scribd

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Another Michigan Authority Corporate Shape Shifter Stealin' Teachers' Pensions - Michigan Municipal Risk Management Authority

Egads!

I believe I have found another one of those "authorities" which has complete and unfettered access to all your data, with absolutely no one to be accountable.

Yup.

Another Corporate Shape Shifter because they are not incorporated but they are using that Public Private Partnership model to make them look all official and stuff.

Our Members 

https://www.mmrma.org/about-mmrma/

MMRMA began in 1980 when three member entities pooled their resources to secure insurance coverage in 1980. Those founding members were Redford Township, Livingston County, and the City of Ishpeming. Today, MMRMA's membership is comprised of more than 375 local governmental entities across Michigan, including the three founders. 

Our members' contributions, both financial and otherwise, make MMRMA possible. Member employees serve on MMRMA's Board of Directors, standing committees, and risk control advisory committees. Their efforts, in conjunction with the expertise of MMRMA's claims, risk control, and other staff, have made MMRMA an ongoing success story. 

There are three basic types of MMRMA members:
 — These members each maintain a self-insured retention for the first layer of coverage. Individual members account for the majority of general fund contributions.
State Pool Members — Made up of smaller municipalities and public entities, the State Pool functions collectively to maintain a single, combined retention fund. This structure allows smaller communities and departments to participate in MMRMA's programs and services. 

Affiliated Members — The Michigan Community College Risk Management Authority (MCCRMA) contracts with MMRMA for risk-related services and coverage. MMRMA's individual and state pool members include over 200 cities, counties, townships, and special districts combined, as well as dozens of other governmental entities, including libraries, medical care facilities, fire departments, 911/dispatch departments, courts, transportation departments, and cable services.

They are not incorporated in the U.S. which includes the State of Michigan.

So, I am just going to go out there and guess, because there is no citation of legal authority other than their own self proclaimed authority they put on their website, and speculate, for lack of a better word, that another entity is cashing the membership fee checks, and the corporate sponsorship checks, but I could always stand to be corrected.

Yup, looks like I was right.

They have UCC liens which means there is probably some real estate they stole through a land bank, or asset forfeiture, not that I am stating that it was the Detroit Land Bank Authority because I cannot pull the files to verify because the Secretary of State redid the site access and made you redo all your passwords, and there are fake mortgages involved, which I believe is their legal instrument of "authority"...under the laws of the State of Michigan.

I only say that because the Detroit Land Bank Authority used the exact same model.

These people just love them some transposable models.

Now, all we have to do is find out who was cashing their checks for them.

Perhaps, it is the Michigan Community College Risk Management Authority who cashes the checks, but, then I checked, they are not incorporated, either.

But, I did see this:

The Michigan Community College Risk Management Authority (MCCRMA) was organized in 1985 when the first two member colleges, Schoolcraft College and Oakland Community College, entered into a Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement thus officially establishing the Authority. Since then, the Authority has grown to include 20 Michigan Community Colleges located throughout the state.

And Henry Ford Community College and Michigan Public School Employees' Retirement pensions are even up in this.

Mid Michigan Community College Audited Financial Statements 2016 by Beverly Tran on Scribd

So, basically, what we have is an audit of Mid Michigan Community College under the Michigan Community College Risk Management Authority which is under the Michigan Municipal Risk Management Authority which has access to all municipal police information systems, which has a UCC lien and is probably a foreign operation which is why they are stealin'.

I could be wrong, but I doubt it because it is the exact same thing they did in Michigan State University and in Detroit.

Quintessentially, from what I have gathered, the reason why teacher pensions are being sucked dry and tuition keeps increasing is due to another complex financial fraud scheme, ergo, they were stealin'.

I bet this could be considered election interference when we find out what they are doing with those UCC liens, because I found them on the Michigan Chiefs of Police Association which leads me to believe this has something to do with asset forfeiture, like real estate, but hey, what do I know?

I know Plante Moran should know better than to put their names on this audit.

UPDATE: A Little Creature of the Streets whispered in the ear of the Celestial Goddess of the Woodshed to tell her that DEA and CIA were seizing drug houses and handing them out to local law enforcement to run ops. I am quite sure there were are a few bad apples in the barrel, but hey, what do I know?


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Did Michigan Skim Detroit Public Schools Pensions To Hustle TARP & Steal Detroit Properties?

Michigan Legislature legislating schemes to steal teacher
pensions to invest in schemes to steal TARP
to fund their campaigns.

The U.S. Department of Justice has been very busy, even in Michigan.

Oversight.gov, a product of the DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz, has released the U.S. Department of Education Inspector General Final Audit Report on Detroit Public Schools Community District, and, it is not pretty.

Since this report has yet to be reported by Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD), I thought it only considerate to report on it for them.

In a nutshell, it seems Michigan was put on notice to clean up its act.

To begin, the report noted that there was too much stealin;.

There were issues with employees stealin'.

And more issues with employees stealin'.

And even more issues with private contractors and elected officials stealin'.

But wait, there is more.

FUN FACT!  Did you know Michigan passed a law allowing fake corporations, meaning they never incorporated, to levy fake taxes, then capture 50% of Detroit property taxes for schools?

Yes, that is correct.

For fiscal year 2016 (July 1, 2015, through June 30, 2016), Michigan disbursed almost $101 million in Title I funds to Detroit Public Schools. In June 2016, the Michigan State legislature passed a law to restructure the district into two local educational agencies. Effective July 1, 2016, Detroit Public Schools exists only as a revenue-collecting entity that, using additional property tax collections and based on current interest rates, will pay off the district’s debt by 2049. The Michigan State legislature created DPSCD to operate schools using $617 million in new State funds. 

The only problem is, Detroit Land Bank Authority never incorporated and, from what I have seen, there is really no oversight, no audit, and no report on how much was collected and disbursed.

Some of the Detroit properties are assessed through its board as Detroit Land Bank Authority properties when they were never Detroit Land Bank Authority properties.

This is one of the reasons why SIGTARP came into the picture in the first place.

Michigan Special Eligible Tax Reverted Property Specific Tax Disbursment To Detroit Land Bank Authority 201... by Beverly Tran on Scribd

But wait, it gets better.

The City of Detroit is levying taxes for schools on properties the Detroit Land Bank Authority acquired, that had no taxes because the properties went through quiet title proceedings, wiping out the taxes, then refunding the taxes to...well...that has yet to be answered.

The City did not want to talk to me, besides, they never respond to my FOIAs.

But wait, it gets better.

According to the report, Michigan was skimming Title I funding for the pensions.

After we notified DPSCD that it used incorrect pension benefit contribution rates, DPSCD reviewed the rates it used from October 1, 2016, through June 2, 2017, for all employees enrolled in the seven plans included in our sample. 

So, we have the levying of fake property taxes, based upon a fake piece of legislation, by a fake corporation, where we have no idea what they do with the collected taxes.

That is when the idea dawned upon me:  "Did they invest in real estate and was any of that real estate from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, the Michigan Land Bank Fast Track Authority or the Detroit Land Bank Authority, which has no association with the two aforementioned entities?

Michigan Public Schools Employee Pension Report 2017

Quintessentially, I am presenting a poignant question:

"Did Michigan skim Title I Funds from Detroit Public Schools Pension to invest in social impact bonds to hustle TARP and steal Detroit properties?

They do it with the Michigan Children's Trust Fund, so why not Detroit Public Schools Pensions?

Only the U.S .DOE OIG or DOJ can answer this.

U.S. DOE OIG Detroit Public Schools Community District: Status of Corrective Actions on Previously Reported... by Beverly Tran on Scribd

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"Under-With-In-Cahoots": Another Story Of Quasi-Governmental Organizational Fraud In Child Welfare

A fan from the Bluegrass State of Kentucky tapped me on the shoulder to remind me just how jacked up child welfare in Kentucy was.

Like I actually forgot.

Anyway, for those who are not familiar, here is a bit of a backgrounder:

Kentucky Cash Cow Flips Off Inspector Generals

Now, that you are up to speed, allow me to continue with the story.

My Kentucky fan was awestruck when I made the declaration, again, that the Council On Accreditation which accredits child welfare organizations is under/with/in cahoots the U.S. Department of State.

State Department Takes First Step To Stop Human Trafficking & Child Welfare Fraud

Well, the "under/with/in cahoots" thing struck me with awe because I have previously heard of such a relationship.

It is called the Quasi-Governmental Organization.

I know of a Quasi-Governmental Organization called the Detroit Land Bank Authority.

It sucks just like the Council On Accreditation, which has a long and perverted history of covering up domestic and international human trafficking and child welfare fraud.

Then, guess what....

The Council On Accreditation is "under/with/in" cahoots with the same entity as the Detroit Land Bank Authority.

That "under/with/in cahoots" entity is called by many names, but is recognized as the Clinton Foundation and they are all up in Kentucky, just like Michigan, and a lot more states.

So, I continue to read the article, below, and when I get to the last paragraph, I figured it out.

The Quasi-Governmental Entity, defined by "The Elected Ones" of Kentucy, goes like this:

"Quasi-governmental entities (QGEs) are not defined in Kentucky statute, nor is there an agreed-upon definition from the relevant literature. This report adopts a 2011 Program Review definition that states quasi-governmental entities are created by governments to serve public interests but maintain a legally separate status. Board members often are appointed by government officials, and government officials may serve on a governing board. The board usually hires an executive officer who serves at the pleasure of the board.  

QGEs usually have a common vested interest with the state or local governments, such as local health departments’ concern for the general health of the local population. Special districts are considered QGEs for the previous Program Review report and this one because of their quasi-independent status and the typical characteristics of their boards. The US Census classifies special districts as special-purpose governments that “are established to provide only one or a limited number of designated functions” and that have “sufficient administrative and fiscal autonomy to qualify as independent governments.”  

 Kentucky is being infiltrated by the privatization scheme of the QGE/QGO and is funding political campaigns, on both sides of the aisle, to make sure the plan of complete governmental takeover is successfully executed.

As for Commissioner Adria Johnson, seen in the video, below, the jury is still out deciding if she is covering up, or just dumb as dirt.

I wager on the latter.

(UPDATE FROM MY KENTUCKY FAN: Audria Johnson was never qualified for her position. She was an cpa with the Brown Tobacco company and got in tight with Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramsom, who brought her to KY DCBS when he was lt Gov.

The pension is a billion dollars unfunded give or take a million . . . .strong Clinton ties to former AG Jack Conway and current Secretary of State Allison Grimes.

worse funded pension in the country.

Watching the video . . . is "accreditation" really code word for bribes to government entities to keep receiving money . . . and why be accredidated if other states are not?)

Guess who just so happens to be a private equity partner with Kentucky Chamber of Commerce?

KVC Behavioral Health, out of Kansas.

As for the reason why nothing has been done in Kentucky to improve its child welfare system, well, there is too much money to be grabbed "under/with/in cahoots" the privatized NGOs.

Conditions are dire within Kentucky's child welfare system. It was re-accredited anyway

Conditions are dire within Kentucky's child welfare agency, with caseloads soaring beyond acceptable national standards, according to a recent report by a legislative committee.

 Turnover is high among social workers, and their numbers have been outpaced by the surging number of children removed from homes because of abuse or neglect, said the report by the state Legislative Research Commission.

At least half the workers say their caseloads have become "unmanageable," and the agency doesn't have enough money to hire additional staff even as reports of child abuse and neglect have doubled in the past six years. Earlier this year, the federal government found Kentucky failed to meet any of the seven standards it uses to measure basic child protection efforts.

 But on Oct. 9, the state announced that the private Council on Accreditation had renewed the accreditation of the Kentucky Department for Community Based Services, the social service agency that includes child protection.

 That means that the department's "child and adult protective services and foster care and adoption meet the highest national standards and deliver the best quality services to the community," according to a press release from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services.

In a video the cabinet posted on its website announcing the results, Adria Johnson, commissioner of the department, said achieving accreditation for another two years is "a big deal."

"We are very, very proud," she said, "It means we are providing exemplary service to our consumers." 

 She added: "Congratulations, Kentucky!" 

 But others are skeptical, given the recent findings of a yearlong review of the cabinet's child protection system conducted for the legislature's Program Review and Investigation's Committee. 

The report, conducted by the Legislative Research Commission, was released at its Oct. 12 meeting. State Rep. Jim Wayne, a Louisville Democrat and licensed clinical social worker, said the accreditation gives a "false impression" given the extent of the state's long-running problems with its child protection system, which some advocates have described as a crisis. 

 "I can't believe if you've got that LRC report showing all that information, how overworked the staff is, how they could be accredited by any national body," Wayne said. "It makes you wonder if we don't need to inform the accrediting body ... so they see how deficient they are."

Richard Klarberg, president of the New York-based Council on Accreditation, did not immediately respond to a request for comment after asking a reporter to email questions to him. Cabinet spokesman Doug Hogan said the accreditation includes a broad survey of the department. 

 “The accreditation process looks at the whole child welfare and administration process to include items such as buildings, safety, training, ethics, personnel administration and other areas," he said. "We are extremely proud of the fact that Kentucky is one of only four states in the country to earn this distinction from the Council on Accreditation.” But the LRC report noted several instances in which Kentucky appears to be out of compliance with basic standards of the accreditation council, including:

 ► Caseloads. While the council recommends caseloads of no more than 15 cases per worker, Kentucky's numbers have consistently been higher, ranging from 25 to 32 cases per worker — also higher than the state's "target" of 18 cases per worker, the report said. It said that excessive caseloads twice this year triggered a mandatory report social service officials must make to the legislature and governor when average caseloads per worker reach more than 25 cases for 90 consecutive days. The department made such a report in January, when the average number of cases was 29, and again in May, when the average reached 32, the report said. 

 ► Home visits. Personal contact between social workers and children and families they serve is a priority of the accrediting council, but Kentucky was penalized for the past two years for failing to complete the required amount of monthly visits by workers to children in foster care, the report said. The federal government cut 1 percent of the money sent to Kentucky in 2015 and 2016, resulting in additional state costs of $57,926 each year, the report said. 

 ► Lack of workers. The accrediting council recommends enough staffing to keep caseloads at 15 per worker but Kentucky — with about 1,135 workers in December 2016 — has nowhere near enough staff, the report said. At the time, it had 108 vacant positions but even with those filled, the average caseload would be around 23. Meanwhile, demands are rising on social workers. About 8,500 children are in foster care, a 24 percent increase since 2011, while the number of workers increased only 7 percent during that time, the report said.

To get caseloads to 15 per worker, Kentucky would need to hire an additional 731 workers, bringing the workforce to 1,866, the report said. It also said the state needs to consider requesting enough money to hire more staff and increase compensation for social workers, who start at about $33,600 a year. 

 The legislative program review committee, which sought the report last year, has not acted on it. 

Though it received the report Oct. 12, the committee skipped any discussion of it, using the entire meeting to grill Attorney General Andy Beshear about a $24 million settlement reached with a drug company by his predecessor, Jack Conway. 

Some Republicans on the committee told Beshear, a Democrat, they thought the settlement was too low although Beshear told them repeatedly he had nothing to do with it. Rep. Lynn Bechler, committee co-chairman and a Marion Republican, said the report will be the first item on the agenda for the committee's next meeting Nov. 9. 

 Bechler said he's reviewed the report and found no surprises. Some of it mirrors issues he's heard about as a member of the House Adoption Work Group, appointed by Speaker Jeff Hoover to review obstacles to adoption and how to improve Kentucky's system to reduce the number of children in foster care. 

 Bechler, himself a former foster parent, said his impression is that the state's foster and adoption system isn't set up for the "best interests of the child" and believes that should be changed to cut the waiting time for children. 

 As for the report's call for more money for more social workers and better salaries, Bechler said he's not optimistic given the state's funding shortfall and the public pension crisis. 

 "That's probably a long shot," he said.

Kentucky Legislative Pension Report on Quasi Governmental Entities 2015 by Beverly Tran on Scribd

This looks like another project for the #DOJ.

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Conyers Urges Kevyn Orr to Respect Michigan’s Constitution and Protect Public Pensions

(DETROIT) – Earlier this week, speaking from the witness stand on the fifth day of the Detroit bankruptcy trial, Detroit’s Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr said he could force a legally binding settlement plan on the City’s creditors – including its more than 23,000 retirees – that could include cuts to pension benefits. Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) issued the following statement in response to this account:

U.S. Representative
John Conyers, Jr.

“I am deeply disappointed to hear that Kevyn Orr, the unelected Emergency Manager of Detroit, has opened the door to slashing the earned retirement benefits of Detroit’s public employees. I must remind Mr. Orr that putting the pensions of our brave police officers, firefighters, and other city workers on the chopping block violates not only our State law, but our City’s working class history and heritage. Long after Mr. Orr has left Detroit and returned to private practice, we Detroiters will be forced to bear the consequences of any decision to deny our workers their hard earned and constitutionally protected rights,” said Conyers.

“Tellingly, Mr. Orr acknowledged in court this week that he was unaware of any other instances when the bankruptcy law was used to supersede a state’s constitutional protection for pension benefits. I believe the law is clear on this issue. Chapter 9 of the Bankruptcy Code requires a city to abide by all applicable laws, including state laws. Michigan’s constitution specifically provides, ‘The accrued financial benefits of each pension plan and retirement system of the state… shall not be diminished.’

“By spelling out protections for public sector retirees in its constitution, Michigan recognizes the importance of the State’s commitment to its workers. I encourage Mr. Orr to adhere to its laudable principles. As the Motor City continues to reorganize, the overwhelming majority of Detroiters strongly support the protection of the earned pensions of those employees who spent their careers working for Detroit and all of its citizens.”

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The Epidemiology of Public Pensions

With many cities there are financial situations manifesting, dealing with legacy costs in pensions.  Many cities typically address the increase of health care costs with their retirees through investment strategies of the pension fund.  Some cities adopt administrative remedies of reviewing eligibility criteria to qualify for city benefits.  Not the City of Detroit, and neither Wayne County for that matter.

It seems the City of Detroit and Wayne County are now insisting that employees secure copy of their federal tax filings to cross reference with their benefits packages.  For some time these employees were listing anyone and everyone as qualified dependents for health care coverage, even extending to retirees as there was no administrative oversight in place.  What this means is these local governments have been providing unnecessary health care coverage for individuals who were never eligible as dependents.

There is an interesting piece of information that was delivered to me for my analysis.  It seems the City of Hamtramck is in the speculative process of changing the benefits of retired public safety members.  Of course, the unions will bring forth litigation because it is an interference of union collective bargaining contracts and the City is prepared to loose in court.  The City will appeal and loose, again.  By that time the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare) will have been fully implemented and cover any of the coverage the public safety retirees have lost, leaving the City in the clear to fill wholes in its budget.

In assessing this scenarios of a city benefiting in the short and long term from attacking collective bargaining, it seems to put into perspective the activities of many states of in dismantling collective bargaining powers of union contracts because in a few years, the federal government will pick up the unexpected burdens of legacy and health care costs.

Let's look at it this way.  So far the manufacturing unions have been faced with accepting cuts in benefits and so have local and state government employees.  The next in the chain of events seems to be the pensions and benefits of federal employees.

The pay and pensions of federal employees have just recently come up for examination.  For example, the Social Security Administration Commissioner Michael Astrue has put on the table early out deals for some 9,000 employees.  In light of the increase in disability claims and baby boomer applications for Social Security Benefits, it leaves the field office staff short handed.  As one field officer and union stewart told me last month,

"The Administration wants us to do $10,000 worth of work for $100 pay.  That is just not possible and alot of claims are going to be delayed.  Children (SSI cases) who are aging out, turning 18, automatically come up for review.  This means their determinations and payments will be delayed."

In the long run the Administration will be able to invest in streamlining its operations and save on legacy costs.

Congressional staffers can easily make more than a state governor or a mayor, making them uniquely prime to be political volunteer test subjects on how the nation will be moving forward in the rethinking of benefits and pensions.

The starting pay for a Detroit Police Officer is about $12.50 an hour and with a child or two, that officer now qualifies for Supplemental Food Benefits and subsidized daycare.  An FBI agent starts at about $60,000 a year with the cre'me de la cre'me benefits package.  So what makes a federal law enforcement officer so different from a municipal law enforcement officer?  Quite simple, the pension and benefit cut epidemic has yet to fully infect federal discussions.

Simply put, federal employees benefits and pensions are next up on the chopping block.

No matter how loud the opposition soap boxes its ad hominem arguments on the evils of Obamacare,   the Act is on its way to full 2015 implementation and will be the fodder for the epidemiology of pensions, with the help of those who want to get rid of collective bargaining.


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Kids-for-cash accomplice wants part of pension returned

BY MICHAEL P. BUFFER (STAFF WRITER)

Published: October 24, 2011

WILKES-BARRE - Sandra M. Brulo,

A former Luzerne County official on probation for altering a juvenile court file connected to the kids-for-cash scandal, wants $96,359.21 in pension contributions returned.

The county retirement board, which meets today, legally has to return her pension contributions, but the refund will be without interest because of her criminal record, officials said. Commissioner Stephen A. Urban said Brulo will lose more than $50,000 in interest.

After Brulo's arrest in February 2009, she was suspended without pay from her $78,159-a-year job as deputy director of forensic services for juvenile probation. She was able to resign without being fired, and officials approved a final payment of almost $12,000 for unused sick, personal and vacation time. But the retirement board in May 2009 rejected her request for a county pension of $1,733.11 a month.

Last June, a federal judge placed Brulo on probation for two years. Brulo pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice for altering a court record to shield herself from liability in civil rights actions filed by hundreds of former juvenile defendants who claim they were wrongly imprisoned in two judges' scheme to generate kickbacks from a for-profit detention center.

Prosecutors said Brulo altered a record after she was named as a defendant in a class-action civil-rights suit filed by former juvenile defendants who claim they were illegally imprisoned by former judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. Brulo altered the record to indicate she had recommended probation for a juvenile when she had actually recommended detention in that case.

The state Supreme Court subsequently expunged the records of thousands of juveniles after finding that Ciavarella had taken $2.8 million from the builder and co-owner of a for-profit detention center, failed to ensure juveniles' right to counsel and pressured probation officials to recommend detention for juveniles.
Ciavarella was found guilty in February of racketeering and conspiracy in federal court and is serving a prison sentence of 28 years. His co-defendant, former judge Michael T. Conahan, pleaded guilty and is serving 17½ years.