(The Center Square) – A recent report on Michigan’s Child Protection Agency shows organizational issues that have been going on for at least six years.
An audit completed in 2018 revealed a failure to conduct background checks, major delays in abuse investigations, failure to meet with some victims, and a lack of safety plans for identified victims. The updated report, conducted by the nonpartisan Office of the Auditor General, reveals these issues have not been addressed.
In 5% of cases, agents never met with the suspected abused children. The report found some guardians had prior felony convictions, including crimes like sexual assault, domestic violence and drug charges. While state laws mandates abuse investigations within 24 hours of a report, many cases were delayed by 72 hours.
Numerous Michigan legislators have expressed concerns over the delays, including state Rep. Jamie Thompson, a member of the House Families, Children and Seniors Committee.
“It is gut-wrenching to read this report and realize that for many years, many other children were likely failed by shoddy practices and procedures that were allowed to continue,” Thompson said. “The question now is – will the failure to keep our children safe continue or will there be impactful accountability? How many more vulnerable children must be failed before the Legislature and the governor’s administration act? It’s time to stop these failures and protect these kids.”
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ director Elizabeth Hertel issued a response, claiming the report focuses too much on regulations, and less on the safety of the children.
“The audit dwells more on process and paperwork issues than the efforts of MDHHS staff to make kids safer and families stronger. For example, your definition of ‘commencing’ a child welfare investigation is an opaque and bureaucratic roadblock that distracts from practices at MDHHS that are making children safer,” Hertel wrote. “You repeatedly suggest that MDHHS changed its policies to no real effect, and yet you ignored or buried our evidence of progress.”
According to the updated report, the department now partially complies with nine of 17 audit areas, substantially complies with one, complies with five, and does not comply at all with two. The auditor general now required the MDHHS to create a plan to fit its own state requirements.
