Michigan’s child welfare system makes progress, but flawed data, poor oversight still endanger kids

DETROIT — Michigan has made progress toward fixing its troubled child welfare system but problems with data tracking and poor oversight still endanger foster children, court monitors told a federal judge on Tuesday. 

"There have been important strides made by the new management team even while serious gaps and risks to children’s well-being and safety remain," court monitor Eileen Crummy said. "Those risks certainly grew more pronounced in 2020 as COVID-19 struck Michigan."

Michigan's child welfare system has been under federal court oversight since 2008, when it settled a class-action lawsuit that the New York-based child advocacy group Children's Rights filed on behalf of children in state custody.

Court monitors gave U.S. District Judge Nancy G. Edmunds their 14th monitoring report via Zoom on Tuesday, covering results from the last half of 2019.

In a report, the monitors raised concerns about the failures of oversight that led to the death of 16-year-old Cornelius Frederick, a Black teenager who died in the spring after staff at a Kalamazoo youth facility restrained him. 

They also cited progress the state’s child welfare agency has made in keeping the roughly 12,000 children in its foster system safe.

For example, monitors said caseworkers met with children in new foster placements at least once per month, ensured children weren’t placed in crowded foster homes and effectively helped children in foster care transition to adulthood. Supervisors met regularly with caseworkers to review their caseloads, and the department maintained a unit to oversee placements and review complaints.

But monitors also noted failures that they said leave children vulnerable to abuse or neglect, including: 

• The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services' evaluations of youth institutions and private child placement agencies were “inconsistent, at times ineffective” and in numerous instances didn’t ensure the safety of children. The agency says new rules require multiple reviews of facilities with licensing violations, as well as additional corrective actions.
• More than half the time, caseworkers failed to visit the parents of children in foster care at least once during the first month of placement.
• Only 26.6% of children left state custody within a year of entering the foster care system. The target is 40.5%. 
• The state health department couldn’t provide accurate data on the number of children who are abused or neglected in state custody. Officials say that’s the fault of a flawed technology system, which they plan to replace in the coming years. 

The report also outlined instances of risks to children in group homes, including the improper use of physical restraints, inappropriate sexual conduct and fighting among youth.

Some of those shortcomings, primarily the state’s failure to say how many foster children were abused or neglected, show serious issues with the state’s ability to keep children safe, Children's Rights attorney Elizabeth Pitman Gretter said. 

The nonprofit's attorneys are particularly frustrated with the data issues, which Gretter called "just bedrock stuff" that should be accurately reported.

Replacement of troubled software system delayed

State leaders have blamed many of the ongoing child welfare problems on a software system called the Michigan Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System, or MiSACWIS, which has cost $213 million since it was implemented in 2014.

Department officials promised to scrap MiSACWIS last year but have been delayed by COVID-19 budget challenges. Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Robert Gordon said the department is days away from contracting with a company to create a new software system. He expects to stop using MiSACWIS within three to five years. 

More:Michigan to abandon troubled child welfare software, granted laxer court oversight

Child welfare workers and private agencies are eager for new software, said Janet Reynolds-Snyder, executive director of the Michigan Federation for Children & Families.

"Until we’re able to have a data system that we can depend on, that gives us reliable, accurate data about the safety of children in our care… we’re not going to be completely confident about how we’re doing," she said. "That remains a high priority for concern."

She and Gretter said they were confident in the state's ability to fix its child welfare system but that there are hurdles left to cross.

"We also can't pretend that we don’t stand here holding in our hands a report that tells the story of a child who lost his life as a direct result of these failures of oversight," Gretter said. 

Teenager’s death looms over court hearing 

Gretter was referring to Frederick, who died after staff at Lakeside Academy in Kalamazoo pinned him to the floor for reportedly throwing a sandwich. Frederick had been in the state’s care since his mother died in 2015. 

Lakeside employees placed their body weight on the teen as he yelled that he couldn’t breathe on April 29, according to a lawsuit filed by Frederick’s family.

In their report, court monitors referenced video footage that showed Frederick "motionless" after four minutes. He was restrained for 32 minutes.

More:Michigan bans using dangerous restraints on children at youth centers after teen's death

Frederick died two days later. A medical examiner ruled his death was a homicide caused by asphyxia. Three Lakeside Academy staff members were charged with involuntary manslaughter and child abuse. 

The Department of Health and Human Services conducted 73 investigations into child abuse or neglect at Lakeside Academy in the two years before Frederick’s death. 

"The prevalence of these investigations shockingly averages to a new allegation of child abuse or neglect every ten days at this single facility for two consecutive years," the monitors wrote. 

Gordon said the agency suspended Lakeside Academy's license and no longer contracts with its management company, Sequel Youth and Family Services. 

The agency also has banned the use of prone restraints, or pinning a child face-down, as well as any other restraint that restricts a child's breathing. 

Child welfare workers navigate a new challenge: the coronavirus 

The coronavirus pandemic threatens to complicate Michigan's efforts to strengthen its child welfare system as the state approaches its 13th year of federal oversight. 

Reports of suspected child abuse and neglect to the state’s hotline plummeted by 50% when Michigan's stay-home order took effect in March, said JooYeun Chang, executive director of the health department’s Children's Services Agency. 

That’s a challenge, she said, but it might provide opportunities for new programs that last beyond the pandemic. 

The temporary drop in reporting inspired the agency to partner with the organization Brilliant Detroit, which will send trained peer-mentors — such as people with first-hand experience with the child welfare system — to homes of parents whose children are at risk of entering foster care and connect those parents with services and public benefits. If effective, the program could be replicated in other regions of the state. 

"We're really excited that we can start investing in our communities, in our families, and we think this will pay really large dividends," Chang said.

The next status conference should take place in the spring.

Contact Carol Thompson at ckthompson@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @thompsoncarolk. Angie Jackson covers the challenges of formerly incarcerated citizens as a corps member with Report for America. Her work is supported by The GroundTruth Project and the Hudson-Webber Foundation.