MINUTES OF THE MARCH 25, 2008 MEETING
MCSSA CHILD
MCSSA OFFICE
Those Participating County District
In Person:
Jim Turner Huron/Tuscola V
By Phone:
I. Meeting
Called to Order at
II. Disposition
of Minutes of
Correct the spelling for Kathryne O’Grady.
A. Agenda Updated.
III. Reports
A. DHS – Mary Mehren was not in attendance.
IV. Unfinished
Business
A. Legislation
SBs 543, 666, and HB 4818 are not moving in the legislature. No update.
B. February Legislative Committee Action on HB 5418
Jay reported on his
recommendation. It is his understanding that the
Jay drafted a memo to the
There was further discussion about the age of the child. The committee felt that if the child is young enough, or small enough, to be bound by the car seat or booster seat requirement, then the automobile in which the child is riding must be smoke free.
Jay Bortz moved to resubmit our recommendation to the Legislative Committee with the age of the child being increased to 18. Seconded. Motion carried.
Steve urged committee members to
attend the Legislative Committee meeting, or at least phone in, on April 8 at
V. New Business
A. Board of Director Referral
The
Jay researched the issue and got a lot of background information on the Office of Child and Adult Licensing. Apparently DHS licenses the homes under state regulations. There is some subjectivity however. With family-to-family being the focus there is an increased urging to utilize family members for the provision of “foster care” services.
The licensing of DHS county offices is in some instances in jeopardy as there is an insufficient number of staff in some counties to meet the requirements. This committee, and ultimately the association, recommended that each county office have a dedicated licensing staff member.
Jim Turner noted that his county has a dedicated licensing specialist in his office by way of creating a dedicated position from 4/10 of one position, 2/10 of another, etc. Even if this dedicated person had to take care of two or three counties it would be better than the way the system works now.
Jay expressed concern about the times that a child is placed with a relative and there may have been previous investigations of the family member with whom the child is being placed, but without a preponderance of evidence. On the flip side, there are many cases where the child has thrived when placed with a family member, but the home would never have been approved as a foster care home.
The decision was made to invite
Jim Gale from OCAL, as suggested by the
We need the homes of the past where the goal is reunification. The reason Sue raised the issue of foster care licensing is because of the legislation being proposed and the lack of sufficient staff to do the job now, let alone with new rules.
Mel will sort out the issue and provide information to committee members before meeting with Mr. Gale.
B. Legislation
1. HB 5828 – Provides
for retroactivity for posthumous adoptions and medical assistance payments;
allows an adoption of a deceased individual in a specific case in
2. HBs
5836 and 5837 – Prohibits state from paying for services to a public ward placed in child
placing agency or child care institution that is not accredited. Prohibits state funds to cover cost of court
entering a disposition to place juvenile who is a public ward in a public or
private institution that is not accredited. Sue reviewed the bills and she provided
her recommendation in writing after a thorough review. The statutes would only
apply to state wards who are the kids with serious juvenile delinquency issues.
One concern is that the sponsor of HB 5836 is the House Democrat who has been
espousing privatization, and this bill requires that the child placing agency
must be accredited. None of the counties are accredited as child placing
agencies. This accreditation is a very expensive, lengthy process.
3. HB 5930 –
4. HB 5931 – Jim reviewed this bill as well, which would prohibit immunity for certain human services employees. Our staff is asked to do God-like things and make God-like decisions, and do the best they can. The agency policy is that if you knowingly ignore or violate policy you will be held responsible and are liable. This bill is reactionary, does not include the term “knowingly” and the timing couldn’t be worse. You could put a protective services specialist in a home 24/7 and if the desire of an individual is to harm a child, the harm will occur. Sue Hart moved to oppose. Seconded. Motion carried.
C. Draft Letter to Representative Jim McDermott
D.
Jim circulated this article throughout his office and their response was, “Are they kidding?”
More than anything, this is an interesting FYI.
E. Back-to-School Clothing Allowance
Sue mentioned that the back-to-school
clothing allowance only goes to children in families receiving cash assistance.
Mel has three surveys from past years that show that families do use the money for children’s clothing. There is an effort underway to mandate that the families/department show how the money is spent or that vouchers be provided for retailers. We need to help our lawmakers understand that our clients shop at garage sales, thrift stores, etc. and the vouchers would not be acceptable in these circumstances.
VII. Meeting Adjourned. Next meeting is April 22.
Respectfully submitted,
CHILD
MEETING OF
AGENDA
I. Call
to order at
II. Disposition
of the minutes of
A. Agenda update
III. Reports
A. DHS –
IV. Unfinished Business
A. Legislation
1. SB 543 –
2. SB 666 –
3. HB 4818 –
B. Report on
C. Foster Care Licensing – Inviting Jim Gale to Attend Meeting
V. New Business
A. Legislation
1. HB 5910
2. HB 5984
3.
VI. Adjournment