State Rep. John Roth is demanding immediate accountability from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) following a new state audit that identified serious deficiencies in the Michigan Children’s Institute’s (MCI) oversight of children under state guardianship.

Over the last few weeks, numerous reports have been released from the nonpartisan Michigan Office of the Auditor General detailing serious failures in practice and oversight within MDHHS. Some of the most concerning findings include:

• MDHHS frequently could not document information it reviewed when approving project budgets, financial reports, and work plans.
• Nearly 70% of the financial status reports reviewed lacked supporting cost documentation.
• MDHHS paid approximately $108 million before receiving or reviewing documentation validating the work performed.
• Serious problems with child-welfare caseload tracking remain unresolved five years after they were first identified.
• Approximately 31% of 87 private child-welfare agencies reviewed had at least one case without a primary worker listed.
• Nearly half of workers with primary cases also had secondary or courtesy assignments that were not included in primary caseload calculations.

The latest performance audit from the Auditor General found that MCI needs significant improvements to its oversight and monitoring practices. Among the most troubling findings, more than half of the approximately 5,000 children under MCI’s guardianship were not identified or recorded in a database that exists to ensure their cases are monitored by staff. 

“MDHHS has a fundamental responsibility to ensure that the safeguards established for Michigan’s children actually work,” said Roth (R-Interlochen). “That should obviously include knowing which children are under state guardianship. The fact that the department could not accurately account for the children under its care is both astonishing and horrifying. This is a core responsibility that affects the safety of children.”

Auditors also identified failures involving adoption consent procedures, delays in processing adoption requests, and inadequate monitoring of actions affecting children under state guardianship.

“These are vulnerable children who depend on state agencies to protect their interests,” Roth said. “Audits have repeatedly revealed that MDHHS is not fulfilling its legal responsibilities. We cannot simply accept assurances from the department that everything is under control. Something is clearly wrong, and MDHHS cannot be allowed to continue evading responsibility for its multitude of severe failures.”

The new report further raised concerns that significant actions taken by caseworkers were not consistently monitored. These deficiencies included gaps in oversight related to investigative reports for foster and adoptive placements, consent for non-emergency medical procedures, and monitoring case closures to ensure they were not completed without the required consent.

Roth said that the findings warrant an immediate explanation from MDHHS regarding how these problems developed and how the department intends to protect the children under its care.

“An explanation of how the system is supposed to work is not enough,” Roth said. “Michigan families are counting on this taxpayer-funded department to protect vulnerable children and make sure their needs are taken care of. MDHHS must explain how it will close the gaps identified by the auditor general and establish reliable oversight to ensure these problems do not happen again in the future. We cannot afford to wait for another audit to find out whether meaningful progress has been made.”

Roth continued by emphasizing the need for legislative action to ensure that MDHHS is governed by the legal framework necessary to best provide for the children under its care.

“The Michigan Children’s Institute is governed by legislation that is more than 70 years old, and it does not properly reflect the way our system currently operates,” Roth said. “We need to update our laws to clearly define roles and responsibilities. We must eliminate ambiguity around guardianship requirements and ensure that our statutes support effective, accountable decision-making that puts the best interests of children first.”