Legislator has been consistent advocate for child welfare review, reform

State Rep. Jamie Thompson today said new legislative committees will ensure state government is operating effectively and responsibly for people it represents, while ensuring vulnerable populations are protected.

The House is greatly expanding its oversight role for the 2025-26 legislative term with six planned Oversight subcommittees that will look at issues regarding the weaponization of state government, child welfare, corporate subsidies and state investments, public health, foreign influence, and more. The panels will have both Republican and Democrat representation.

“A government that works responsibly and in the best interest of the people has not been a priority in Lansing,” Thompson said. “We’ve seen hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars going to projects with ties to China. We’ve seen taxpayer money used for severance agreements with state employees when departments have missteps. As all of this happens, there’s very little transparency or accountability guardrails for the people. These committees will provide that transparency and work to establish a system of state government that people can trust and know is working in their best interest.

“This will be a comprehensive audit state government and its processes have needed for a long time.”

Thompson underscored the new Oversight subcommittee devoted to child welfare, given her extensive work on the issue during the previous legislative term.

After meeting with victims and impacted families in 2023, she signed onto a letter to the state Auditor General’s office requesting a performance review of the Hawthorn Center in Northville Township to further examine patient care and opinions of staff about patient treatment, the effectiveness of patient treatment complaints, clinical decisions, reporting, and more. Following the letter, the OAG later announced it would look into allegations at the facility as well as other state-run psychiatric hospitals.

Thompson also worked with Jami Vaughn, whose son was captured being assaulted on surveillance video at the state-run Walter P. Reuther Psychiatric Hospital in Westland, to bring further awareness to child welfare problems in Michigan. On multiple occasions, Thompson called for the Democrat-led House Health Policy Committee and the House Health Policy Subcommittee on Behavioral Health to hold hearings on how the state can curb repeated and widely reported child welfare incidents, improve state policies and cultivate more transparency for families. But those hearings never came to fruition, even as additional accusations of mistreatment and abuse came to light.

“I have been sickened by report after report showing we are cutting corners or falling short when it comes to looking out for children who are in the care of the state,” Thompson said. “These kids deserve better. They deserve to be safe, and their families should have confidence that their loved ones are going to be safe in these facilities. This committee is going to help get into the “why” as these failures have continued to happen, examine ways to improve our state’s child welfare system, and engage in dialogue with state officials to confirm procedures and laws are working as intended so that the health and well-being of our future generations is respected and protected. It will be a dedicated panel with a specific goal, which is what’s been lacking.”