On the heels of more concerning information regarding the viability of Michigan’s child welfare system, state Rep. Jamie Thompson today said immediate improvements are needed to protect children and that continuing to do nothing only endangers them further.

Michigan’s nonpartisan Office of the Auditor General recently issued a follow-up report that detailed continued procedural shortcomings within the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ Child Protective Services (CPS) division after a 2018 audit originally revealed problems. The 2018 audit uncovered a failure to conduct required background checks, extended delays in beginning abuse investigations, a lack of proper safety plans for victims, and a failure to meet with victims in some cases.

The new report disclosed these issues have not been fixed by MDHHS.

“I have been clear for the duration of this term – it’s the state’s responsibility to ensure children who are in the care of the state are protected and safe,” said Thompson, of Brownstown. “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. 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.”

In cases the Auditor General reviewed, investigators still found that individuals directly involved in the care of children had prior felony convictions, including a first-degree sexual assault, domestic violence, assault, and drug charges. The report indicates that MDHHS still has not created adequate safety plans or consistently conducted in-person interviews, and the department remains out of compliance with state law regarding how quickly an investigation must be initiated after an allegation of child abuse is made. State law requires investigations into abuse or neglect to begin with 24 hours, but MDHHS policies allow for up to a 72-hour delay.

“This is in direct contrast to state law,” Thompson said. “When we allow these types of things to fall through the cracks, the safety of children falls through the cracks – and that’s completely unacceptable.”

Thompson has spearheaded calls for action on child welfare in the Legislature. After meeting with victims and impacted families last year, Thompson requested an official OAG performance review of the Hawthorn Center in Northville Township to further examine patient care and opinions of staff about patient treatment, the effectiveness of patient treatment complaints, clinical decisions, reporting, and more.

As a member of the House Families, Children, and Seniors Committee, the House Health Policy Committee and the House Health Policy Subcommittee on Behavioral Health, Thompson has also called on relevant Democrat committee chairs to hold hearings on Michigan’s child welfare failures to provide impacted individuals with a platform and pursue needed solutions.

“As a mother, I have been shocked by these consistent failures,” Thompson said. “This report and countless investigations that have been uncovered by the media into how the state looks after children in its care are clear. This is a problem that isn’t going away, and the state needs a more pressing strategy for this inconvenient truth.”