South Kent News

State Representatives Angela Rigas and Luke Meerman pressed the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services during a Child Welfare Subcommittee hearing this week. The session focused on an Office of the Auditor General (OAG) report regarding the Children’s Protective Services (CPS) and the agency's effectiveness in handling investigations into child abuse and neglect. The report identified failures in performing necessary criminal and child protective history checks due to policy changes.

“These are pretty serious deficiencies there,” Angela Rigas stated during the testimony. She questioned how a less restrictive policy could better protect children suspected of being abused or neglected. Rigas also highlighted the discrepancy between state law requiring investigations to begin within 24 hours of a report and MDHHS's policy of making contact with alleged victims within 72 hours. Department representatives noted that state law does not define what constitutes the start of an investigation.

“That’s alarming,” Rigas responded. The OAG audit found that even within the 72-hour window, MDHHS missed deadlines 11% of the time. “When it comes to the lives of vulnerable, innocent children who are being abused, every minute counts,” Rigas said after the hearing. She asserted that the issue needs immediate resolution.

The recent audit followed a critical 2018 report that uncovered serious issues in CPS operations. Last year's update found incomplete compliance with recommended corrective actions. Subcommittee Chair Luke Meerman described the compliance shortfall as alarming. “The job of CPS is to protect children from abuse and neglect, and there are few, if any, responsibilities that government has that are more important,” he stated.

During the meeting, the Auditor General’s office shared a summary of unresolved CPS issues, detailing persistent and troubling incidents where children remained in risky households and investigations were delayed. "Arguably no other public body in Michigan has received worse audit results than CPS, and arguably with no other government service are the consequences of failure more severe," Meerman commented. He emphasized the need for legislative oversight and described the session as a significant step towards addressing the problems.

Both the Auditor General’s office and CPS are expected to return for further testimony at next week’s subcommittee meeting.