Auditor finds fault with state oversight of child welfare program

Democrats in the Michigan Legislature have called for a homeschool registry, saying it would help ensure kids are safe. But the state is failing some children under its own supervision, its own data reveals.

The registry would apply to families who are not even suspected of child abuse or neglect. Meanwhile, 437 children were harmed while in the custody of the state during the 2023 fiscal year. The number was mentioned in a report produced by a court-appointed third party, which said it could not verify the performance of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

A July report released by the Michigan Office of the Auditor General, meanwhile, concluded that some child safety workers failed to follow state law. The state must investigate reports of abuse or neglect within 24 hours of a complaint, but this did not always happen, according to the report.

Elizabeth Hertel, the director of the human services department, wrote a letter in response, calling the auditor’s report “unethical and biased.” She said the report created its own standards by which to evaluate the department rather than using statutes or departmental policies. Hertel called the auditor’s standards arbitrary and unpredictable.

Before the state removes a child and places him in a different residence for reasons of safety, it must run background checks on the adults residing in the new home. But workers sometimes did not follow this protocol. The auditor found dozens of instances where adults in the new home had felony and misdemeanor convictions, including some for domestic violence and drugs.

The July report was a follow-up of a 2018 auditor’s report that revealed 17 “material conditions” of failure in the health and human services department. A ”material condition” is reserved for the most serious failures, with ”reportable condition” applying to less serious ones. The department had fully complied with five findings of the 2018 report, the July audit revealed, but it did not comply with two findings from 2018. It had “substantially complied” with one other finding and ”partially complied” with nine others.

Departmental director Elizabeth Hertel wrote a letter to the auditor general July 8, criticizing the audit by saying it had created standards outside of statute and health department policies.

While Hertel also accused the auditor of bias, it is not clear why she said that. Lynn Sutfin, departmental spokesperson, didn’t respond to an email asking for clarification.

State Rep. Ann Bollin, R-Brighton has called for an increase in the auditor general’s budget to catch agency mistakes. Bollin, who sits on the House Appropriations Committee, did not respond to an email seeking comment.

The auditor general’s office did not officially respond to the letter, Kelly Miller, state relations officer for the office, told CapCon in an email. She did, however, summarize the July audit for CapCon:

“It states that material conditions still exist, indicating room for improvement, and that (the department) complied or partially complied with 15 of the 17 prior audit’s material findings, showing progress. This is a complex and sensitive topic and please know that we use our professionalism, experience, and auditing standards to produce factual and independent information for the agencies and legislators to use as they make decisions how best to provide government services to the public. We have extensive due process steps where we fact check every detail within our projects and provide multiple opportunities for the auditee to provide feedback on any verbiage they believe needs clarification.”