MI- State audit lists care providers as not suitable

8-17-2008 Michigan:

A state audit recently released that showed Michigan put thousands of children at risk by authorizing 1,900 sex offenders and other "unsuitable" day-care providers between 2003 and 2006 included three from Livingston County.

The state's office of the auditor general, which compiled the data, confirmed in a letter last week that the report includes three individuals or day cares from Livingston County.

However, the auditor general's office declined the Daily Press & Argus' July 24 Freedom of Information Act request to specifically identify the three Livingston County individuals and/or daycares centers cited in the report.

They denied the request under the Child Protection Law, which provides for confidentiality of Department of Human Services central registry information, according to the letter.

"The department ought to be giving up this information," state Rep. Joe Hune, R-Hamburg Township, said Friday. "It seems this department operates on its own scruples, or lack thereof, and almost thumbs their nose at the Legislature."

Hune said this audit and a subsequent audit that indicated the state potentially made $231 million in improper payments to provide day care for low-income children over two-plus years are "egregious violations" that are all too familiar with the department.

Hune added, "We force schools into (releasing information); we ought to force day-care facilities as well."

State Sen. Valde Garcia, R-Marion Township, agreed.

However, Garcia added the information should be double-checked for accuracy, so the state doesn't repeat the fiasco it had when it released background information on school employees, some of whom were mistakenly identified as having a criminal background.

"You're messing with people's lives and livelihood," Garcia said.

"Thankfully, the auditor general brought this to the public's attention, but they should double-check to make sure the names are really who they say they are" before releasing names, he added.

The first audit said background checks done by the state weren't effective in identifying perpetrators of child abuse or neglect, sex offenders, and others.

Auditors said they flagged 1,900 day-care providers — serving about 4,600 CDC children — because they were substantiated child abusers or neglecters, had unsuitable criminal histories, were sex offenders, had been convicted of other serious crimes or were incarcerated in prison or under parole restrictions limiting their contact with children.

The audit also criticized the state for using only Social Security numbers to match against offender registries and not other information, such as names and dates of birth.

The second audit indicated that the state paid dead day-care providers and made payments on the behalf of dead children, according to an Associated Press story.

State officials agreed with the auditors' recommendations and said they are making improvements.

"We do have a program to resolve this, and we are moving on it," Department of Human Services Director Ismael Ahmed said of the second audit, which reviewed records dated between October 2003 and March 2006. ..News Source.. by Lisa Roose-Church