Snyder swears in hundreds of child welfare workers to help Michigan kids

By Mike Householder Associated Press MADISON HEIGHTS (AP) -- Close to 300 child welfare workers were sworn in to their new jobs on Monday by Gov. Rick Snyder, who thanked them for what he said was the courageous and crucial work they're about to undertake. "To have the ability to impact even one individual child's life is so meaningful," the first-term Republican governor told those who will work in the children's protective, foster care, adoption, juvenile and home licensing services under the auspices of the state Department of Human Services. After the swearing-in ceremony, which was conducted in a jam-packed room in Madison Heights, Snyder put his signature on a series of bills aimed at streamlining the adoption process for children in foster care. The hundreds of DHS workers sworn in are less than half of the 720 who have been hired by the state since February, part of what agency Director Maura Corrigan called a "huge push" to improve the welfare of children in the state. "This is more than a job. It's a mission," said Corrigan, a former state Supreme Court justice whose agency is working with six colleges and universities across the state to recruit recent graduates to fill the positions. The aggressive hiring reflects what the Snyder administration says is its commitment to comply with a 2008 consent decree aimed at improving child welfare programs. A court-appointed monitor gave the state poor marks under former Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm. The New York-based group Children's Rights filed a lawsuit that led to the agreement to improve the state's foster care system. In 2008, the state settled the lawsuit filed on behalf of nearly 20,000 children. Michigan officials agreed to several changes, including hiring hundreds of people to reduce the caseloads of workers who oversee children in foster care or protective services. A court-appointed watchdog said late last year Michigan had failed to achieve "by a wide margin" appropriate caseload numbers for workers who investigate allegations of child abuse and neglect. The watchdog's report also concluded it is taking the state more than six months, instead of a 90-day target, to grant licenses to people who want to take care of children who are relatives. In December, the ratio of DHS caseworkers to cases was about 40-to-1, Corrigan said. It's now about 20- or 25-to-1, and she said the goal is to get it to 15-to-1 by the fall. One of the child welfare workers sworn in Monday, Dee Foster, is a recent Grand Valley State University graduate who attended a DHS recruitment event this past winter. The 32-year-old Belding resident now will have nine weeks of training, starting Monday, and work with foster care parents and children. "If our kids don't get it together, if we forget about them, they're going to multiply their existing problems," said Foster, who earned a degree in social work. "We can't leave kids behind." Corrigan said the legislation Snyder signed will reduce by months wait times for adoptions. Currently, there are 14,700 children in Michigan's foster care system, and 3,200 are available for adoption. To complicate matters, before the legislation Snyder signed, the only person authorized to approve adoptions for children in foster care is the Michigan Children's Institute superintendent. Since April 2010, the MCI superintendent has received more than 1,300 such cases for approval. Under the bills, the superintendent will be able to authorize designees to provide written consent to the adoption and guardianship of MCI wards. Effective Monday, five child welfare directors will be designated to make approvals. Still, state officials insist the expedited process won't sacrifice due diligence in the examination of potential adoptive families. Monday's swearing-in and bill-signing ceremonies had the feel of a celebration. They were held in a banquet hall, a choir performed and the new child welfare workers by the dozens stepped on to risers and had group pictures taken. "The impact of your work will not be measured in dollars or in production," Corrigan told them. "It's going to be measured in the number of children that you help." Published: Wed, May 25, 2011