CPS in Michigan has a loooooong history of screwing up, not meeting goals, and falling short of the mark. And of this sounds like us trash talking an “enemy”, it isn’t – we’re simply stating the facts as CPS themselves have observed. Over the years there seems to have been an endless string of scandals, law suits, audits revealing gross oversights, and agency-wide failures to follow their own policies. It’s a mess.

Following the election of Michigan’s newest governor – Gretchen Whitmer, and a new DHHS director – Robert Gordon (who replaces Nick Lyon), some people have expressed hope that the problems at CPS can be fixed. But that remains to be seen. And let’s be honest, a new governor and a new director may bring some brilliant new plans to the table, but they’ve inherited a giant quandary and they’ve got their work cut out for them. The simple act of returning the agency to some kind of ‘baseline’ starting point will be an enormous feat on it’s own.

So where is the agency at right now? What state are they in?

The answer: not in a good place. At a recent hearing where court appointed monitors appeared before U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds to provide the latest updates on how the agency is working to meet their goals, the outlook was very bleak. “The problem remains unfixed,” said monitor Eileen Crummy, when addressing the Judge. To use the words of Judge Edmunds, “It’s pretty depressing, to say the least.”

So what’s going on? Why is CPS still in such dire straights after so much time has passed, so many millions (billions?) of dollars have been spent, and so many policies have been reformed. Why is it so hard to save this sinking ship? Let’s go back a few years, to 2006, where the agency (under Governor Jennifer Granholm) was sued on behalf of thousands of children who were placed in unfit foster holmes, and became victims of abuse and neglect at the hands of ‘parents’ who were paid to care for them.

A deal was made that would solve a lot of those problems…

But the governorship was handed over to Rick Snyder in 2010, and that plan fell apart before it was even fully formed. Although court appointed monitors did note some success during Snyder’s early years, it didn’t last long. By the end of Snyder’s term in office the data was just as depressing as it had been before, and what little gains the agency made were lost as the numbers of children in foster care rose steadily. That however, isn’t the end of the story – there’s a lot more to cover.

So join us next time for more discussion on this rather depressing (but very important!) subject.And know that despite CPS’s failure to do their jobs properly, we always do ours! So until CPS workers start working with families, and not against them, we’ll keep on fighting to protect parents who have been falsely accused or misunderstood by CPS. If you or a loved one have been accused of child abuse or neglect by CPS, call the skilled CPS defense attorneys at The Kronzek Firm at 866 766 5245. We’re here to help you!