Дефицит кадров и неравномерное финансирование создают кризис в системе защиты детей Мичигана

LANSING, Mich. (News 10) - Members of the Michigan Association for Family Court Administration testified Tuesday that thin staffing and uneven funding have put strain on the state’s child welfare system. MAFCA Vice President Thom Lattig and President Dave Pelon testified that uneven funding has pushed more at-risk children into institutions instead of foster homes. “Our residential programs, when they need more, they get more. But our foster homes do not have that same voice,” Lattig said. “I think it’s become, probably more cumbersome or more restrictive in the last few years with DHHS than it was. I think they have a lot of layers of policy and procedure before they can sometimes move,” Lattig told lawmakers on the House Oversight Subcommittee on Child Welfare. Past investigation News 10 Investigates covered gaps in Michigan’s child welfare system in a series called “Through the Cracks” last year. The series examined whether the state was living up to reforms promised nearly 20 years ago, following the case of 7-year-old Ricky Holland, who was murdered by his foster mother in Ingham County in 2005. The first installment detailed how Ricky’s disappearance in July 2005 exposed warning signs that were missed, including doors in the Holland foster home fitted with locks on the outside, and Ricky going unenrolled in school for months before his death. His foster mother turned adoptive parent, Lisa Holland, was later convicted of killing him; his foster father, Tim Holland, was convicted for his role in concealing the death. Both remain in Michigan prisons. Follow-up coverage reported that Michigan’s Auditor General found the state’s Office of Family Advocate failed to review 150 child deaths for systemic patterns, and that a federal court had recently ended special court oversight of Child Protective Services — a decision advocates, including Ingham County Judge Rosemarie Aquilina, said came too soon. News 10 Investigates has continued to follow developments in this story since that series aired. RELATED COVERAGE: Through the Cracks: How a broken system led to tragedy for an Ingham County child Through the Cracks: Advocates call for child welfare improvements Michigan’s top health official questioned by lawmakers over ‘system failures’ Advocates call for local input Lattig and Pelon told state lawmakers they want local voices back in the room when child abuse cases are screened. They said decisions made from a single, centralized call center, far from the community, are letting cases slip through. “There’s a disconnect. Cases are screened out of the phone center and not making it to the local level,” Lattig said. Lattig said that if local caseworkers had more access to information gathered by the state’s centralized intake system, they would be better equipped to catch cases that need attention. “If at the centralized level, they’re just gathering the information and pushing it to the local workers, they would better know — have we had this family before? Are we aware of any siblings, any other familiar connections?” Lattig said. Legislative response Lattig and Pelon’s testimony Tuesday echoes a legislative package already introduced in the state House. Rep. Luke Meerman (R-Coopersville) who chairs the House Oversight Subcommittee on the Child Welfare System, and Rep. Jennifer Conlin (D-Ann Arbor Charter Twp.) introduced three bipartisan bills in late August built around the same concerns raised by the association’s work group. House Bill 6296 would establish a new Youth and Family Justice Bureau and a statewide juvenile justice and child welfare training institute. House Bill 6297 would require counties to immediately screen reports of suspected child abuse or neglect and determine whether an investigation is warranted. House Bill 6298 is a supplemental appropriations bill that would fund the new bureau. According to Meerman’s office, the package would redirect $150 million in existing Department of Health and Human Services funding rather than increase the state budget — a point Lattig echoed in his testimony. “We are not asking you to increase the state’s budget. We would be asking of anything we do, that it would be reappropriated,” Lattig said. All three bills are currently in the House Committee on Judiciary for further review. Stream News 10 Lansing on your favorite devices! Here’s how to download the News 10+ app on Roku, Fire TV or Apple TV. Be the first to see the Mid-Michigan headlines you care about – download the News 10+ app and subscribe to our News 10 newsletter and YouTube page to receive the latest local news and weather.