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 State,
Failing Child Welfare Standards, Acts to Avoid Fines
Gongwer News Service, April 26, 2004
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Michigan, one of
16 states that failed to meet any of the set of federal
standards to protect children from abuse and neglect, has
received preliminary approval of an improvement plan and now has
two years to get changes in place or face a fine of $2.5
million.
The state's poor showing was detailed in a recent report by the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that delved into
state compliance with 14 broad standards to protect children and
to find safe, permanent homes for those who have been abused and
neglected.
The performance improvement plan outlines steps that must be
taken by the Department of Human Services, the court system, the
Department of Education and Department of Community Health.
FIA spokesperson Maureen Sorbet said the plan covers adoption,
foster care, juvenile justice and a variety of services to
abused and neglected children. "It's a systems review," she said
of the multiple agencies involved in the effort, adding
officials are in the process of following through on the changes
needed.
Among the items in the plan:
-
A better focus
on child safety and home permanency, in part by recruiting
foster homes for larger groups of siblings and working with the
State Court Administrators Office on changes in law to make sure
a move to permanency can be accomplished more quickly. (The HHS
report said no state met the standard for permanency and
stability in the living arrangements for the children).
-
Increasing the
involvement of families in placement decision-making.
-
Increasing the
involvement of birth mothers in abuse/neglect cases.
-
More complete
and thorough documentation by staff of child abuse/neglect
cases.
Ms. Sorbet said
the plan, which has a verbal approval from HHS officials with a
formal approval expected within weeks, is not expected to mean
additional costs to the state. "Most of the things we are doing
can be done with staff and resources of the agencies involved,"
she said.
Michigan was the fourth largest of the 16 states failing to meet
any of the standards in a review that covered the last three
years, following California, Illinois and Ohio.
Half of the standards deal with safety and well-being of
children such the time spent in foster care and repeated
incidence of abuse and neglect. The HHS report said 900,000
children nationwide were victims of abuse or neglect in 2002,
resulting in death to 1,400.
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