The state of Michigan has launched a pilot program it hopes will lead to better outcomes for families involved with Child Protective Services.
The MiFamily Together Program has two basic, connected goals, according to Greg Pordon, who’s with the Prevention and Family Preservation Division of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Pordon said families brought into the system through CPS have traditionally had to change programs and case workers as their needs change. But with MiFamily Together, families will stay within a single, seamless program with one case worker as their case progresses.
“To go from program to program can be traumatic for families. They're experiencing a lot and having to tell their stories over and over again and build rapport with new workers and build trust. That's a lot for them,” Pordon said.
“What our hope is [that] from having one program with one consistent person working with that family, is that as the pilot goes on, we'll see better outcomes for families.”
MiFamily Together launched October 1 in 25 Michigan counties. It’s a two-year pilot, and Pordon said that University of Michigan researchers will evaluate it as it goes on to determine whether or not it should eventually be rolled out statewide.
Pordon said MiFamily Together also aims to address any health, education, or other basic needs of both caregivers and children in the CPS system in a way the system traditionally has not done.
“So it's a much more holistic approach than in the past where we were just going in and addressing the abuse and neglect concerns,” he said. “And the hope is that with this model, families will avoid the need to be involved in child welfare in the future for up to two generations.”
Michigan’s child welfare system has long been plagued by problems. It’s been under federal monitoring for more than 15 years, though earlier this year it came closer to exiting that status after a judge removed some oversight requirements, something MDHHS director Elizabeth Hertel said signaled “tremendous progress” for the larger system.
However, a Michigan Auditor General’s report in July found that Child Protective Services case workers in the state are too slow to respond to abuse and neglect claims, putting children at risk of harm. MDHHS blasted the audit’s findings as “deceitful and dishonest.”
