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MIRS, April
9, 2008
A lawsuit filed by the Children's Rights advocacy organization
against Michigan's foster care system could cost the state $400
million per year, new Department of Human Services (DHS)
Director Ismael AHMED said today.
But talks aimed at reaching an out-of-court settlement with the
New York group are "going very well," Ahmed said. Speaking with
reporters after an appearance before the House Family and
Children's Services Committee today, Ahmed reported the two
sides are "talking regularly and with a good deal of energy."
And while he cannot discuss the specifics of ongoing litigation,
he says, "I think it's a good possibility" the talks will
produce an agreement on new standards affecting foster care
children.
Ahmed's comments almost a year to the date former DHS Director
Marianne UDOW said the cash-strapped state didn't have the money
to settle with Children's Rights, taking the position that the
department was taking its chances in court (See "DHS Can't
Continue With Settlement," 4/11/07).
With the Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 and 2008 budget messes behind the
state, DHS is looking to cut a deal that would save it hundreds
of millions of dollars it is expecting to be forced to pay as a
result of a suit that claims Michigan severely underfunded its
child welfare programs for years.
Ahmed said today he is concerned that because of the legal suit
against the state, "there is a great deal of exposure in terms
of dollars and cents." He's worried that the courts might
eventually take control of the system and he contends neither
side wants that to happen.
The DHS director inherited this lawsuit and said, "The state is
doing the best job it can with the conditions that it has."
Those conditions include the state's shaky economy, the workload
of caseworkers and the shortage of Child Protective Service
(CPS) employees.
"I don't want to throw all the people who are doing the hard
work under the bus," he said, explaining the department needs
more funding to keep kids safe.
"We can improve," he added.
Rep. John STAHL (R-North Branch) commented that Ahmed had picked
up a "lot of baggage."
"I appreciate that you're not trying to dodge it," Stahl said.
"It's our baggage now," Ahmed replied.
Right now, Michigan's staff-to-child ratio for foster care is 35
to 1 for the public system and 40 to 1 for private providers (60
percent of Michigan's system is privatized). The national
standard is 12 to 1.
Ahmed said DHS is working on standards that will bring Michigan
in line with a 15 to 1 ratio. That's part of the department's
larger plan to reform how it provides services. Ahmed said DHS
was looking at a four-year timeframe for the overhaul, but a lot
depends on the lawsuit.
He said there's "broad disagreement" about privatization with
people having "religious belief for one side or the other." But
he said it's more important to be driven by outcomes.
In the debate over foster care, both sides have been "played off
against each other," Ahmed said.
The department will announce in two weeks a new task force,
composed of legislators, public and private providers,
universities, parents and children. The goal would be to find
best practices. The results would be published in a report in
about a year, Ahmed said.
When asked if the issue has been "task forced to death," he
said, "No, actually not."
Ahmed noted there has not been a "universal agreement" among all
the players on "what the outcomes should be" for these new
policies.
Ahmed said he'd return with the final report of the Children's
Rights case.
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