Judge trims back federal oversight of Michigan's child welfare system

Lansing — A federal judge has eased some of the mandates Michigan's child welfare system must meet as part of a more than 15-year period of federal oversight of the state's troubled program.

In a consent decree issued Thursday, Detroit U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Edmunds made changes to the oversight program that eliminates 31 of 74 provisions in the agreement, reduces the number of provisions being monitored to 23 and retains 20 provisions that aren't actively monitored.

Some of the provisions eliminated from oversight were timelines by which Children's Protective Services must begin investigations after a complaint and mandates regarding supervisor oversight of service plans — a signal, the agency said, that the state has shown sufficient compliance on those fronts.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services celebrated the order as proof that the department is making progress after more than 15 years of federal oversight.

“We are closer to exiting federal court oversight of our child welfare system,” department director Elizabeth Hertel said in a Thursday statement. “More importantly, we are closer to our goal of keeping all Michigan children safe. There is still more work to be done, but I am confident that our continued commitment to achieving the nation’s highest standards for child welfare will make Michigan’s child protection system a national leader.”

The decision came after a report found the department was still struggling to meet many of the goals set for it under a 2008 consent decree. Federal monitors found during the last six months of 2022 that the state didn't have enough foster homes for children, had issues with property investigating abuse and neglect in foster care and struggled to keep siblings together after they'd been removed from homes.

Hertel noted a full year has passed since the end of that reported period, during which time the department has improved its performance.

"Some of those areas we will still be focusing on," Hertel said Friday. "The number of foster homes, making sure we have timely placement, making sure that kids are going into an appropriate placement that’s stable.”

The state's federal oversight stems from a 2006 class action lawsuit filed on behalf of children alleged to have been mistreated while in the state of Michigan's care. The state reached a 2008 settlement in the case that included certain mandates and monitoring steps Michigan would have to meet to ensure proper child welfare services.

The agreement was updated in 2019 with the relaxation of some oversight measures.

The state has argued it has made significant improvements since 2008, including a decrease in the number of children needing foster care from 19,000 in 2008 to 9,300 this year. Michigan also has decreased the number of kids placed in congregate care from 1,200 in 2008 to 350 in 2024 and increase the number of children ages 18 or older who leave foster care with a high school diploma or GED.

The state has "leaned in" to the concept of kinship care, placing foster children with extended family whenever possible to foster stability, said Demetrius Starling, senior deputy director of Michigan's Children’s Services Administration.

"Also, we’ve really had this multi-facet approach to plan to recruit families," Starling said Friday. The state two years ago increased foster care parent pay 20% and then 8% last year, some of the largest increases since 2013.

"From a fiscal perspective, we’ve really provided a lot of support in a lot of key areas," Starling said.

Staff writer Kara Berg contributed.

eleblanc@detroitnews.com