Reps. Andrea Schroeder and Matt Hall recently introduced a plan that will allow Michigan Children’s Ombudsman investigators to dedicate more resources to cases where child abuse is suspected while improving transparency and accountability.

The legislation is sparked in part by an April 2019 audit which found the Children’s Ombudsman office was not investigating a large percentage of child abuse cases because mandates related to child fatality cases were eating up too many of the agency’s resources. Schroeder and Hall’s solution to this problem would reclassify some child death cases so the agency can devote more resources to protecting Michigan’s children.

The legislation also allows the ombudsman’s office to publicly release findings and suggestions related to a child abuse or death investigation – when appropriate and with confidential information redacted. Increased transparency will foster accountability while revealing trends and other information that could prompt other important reforms, Hall and Schroeder said.

“Part of doing what’s right for our children and our families is continually monitoring and improving the state departments they rely upon,” said Schroeder, of Oakland County’s Independence Township. “This plan will help vulnerable children across Michigan get the help they need and the justice they deserve.”

Schroeder is a member of the House Oversight Committee, which Hall chairs. The committee has worked on several reforms after audits from 2018 and 2019 raised concerns about the state’s child welfare systems.

“As a state, we have an obligation to protect our most vulnerable children,” said Hall, of Marshall. “In many cases, these kids have nobody else to stand up and fight for them. That’s why I continue to push for reforms that will do a better job for the children depending on us.”

The latest reform proposals are contained in House Bills 5248 and 5249. The bills await further consideration by the House Families, Children and Seniors Committee.

The legislation will allow a preliminary investigation into cases when a child dies while in foster care, recently left foster care, or was involved in a child protective services case. The ombudsman’s office will determine whether a full investigation is required after the mandatory preliminary investigation is concluded on a case-by-case basis – allowing cases where a child has died from natural causes, for example, to be closed after the preliminary investigation. The change will allow the ombudsman’s office to complete mandated investigations efficiently, focusing resources on cases where abuse is suspected more quickly, and sparing families from lengthy investigations in cases where a child has died of natural causes.

The legislation would allow the ombudsman’s office to publicly release its findings and recommendations in all of its child death investigations. The 2018 annual report from the agency makes a similar recommendation, saying greater transparency and an informed public “may lead to needed changes in law and practice to lessen the number of children who die after contact with child welfare agencies.”

The Children’s Ombudsman is the state agency people count on for impartial examination of child welfare complaints regarding Child Protective Services, foster care and adoption services, and the juvenile justice system.

Hall and Schroeder introduced other reforms earlier this year – also with the goal of better protecting Michigan’s children. The proposals would require CPS investigators to confirm the safety of all children in a home within 24 hours of receiving a child abuse complaint, help the state confirm that children and families in abuse cases receive the community-based services they need, and make other important changes.

####