LANSING − Attorney General Mike Cox announced today that Ms. Savanah Woods, 53, a resident of Southfield, will plead guilty to the charges of Forgery and Misconduct in Office.

            Ms. Woods worked as an Adult Foster Care Consultant P11/Licensing Consultant for the Department of Human Services, Office of Children & Adult Licensing. One of her most important duties was to maintain an unbiased regulatory supervision of licensees, including governmentally operated facilities, to ensure ongoing compliance with licensing requirements.

            It was determined that Ms. Woods would approach potential foster care applicants and offer them her "consulting services" for a fee of $4,000. Her private "consulting services" mirrored the duties she was supposed to provide for free on behalf of the State of Michigan. After collecting the fee of $4,000, Ms. Woods would expedite these applicants' foster care applications. Applications that normally took 6-12 months to approve were approved in less than two months and in some instances as little as one week. In order to expedite these applications, Ms. Woods counterfeited and forged documents such as certificates of compliance. These documents were eventually turned back in -- to Ms. Woods -- who knowingly accepted and approved the application(s).

            "This is a dereliction of duty and a terrible burden on good people trying to become foster parents," Cox said. "This sentence sends a signal that this type of behavior will not be tolerated."

            The actions of Ms. Woods were first discovered by the Office of Inspector General. The Inspector General and the Office of the Attorney General cooperated in the investigation of Ms. Woods.

            Ms. Woods pled guilty to one count of Forgery (14-year felony) and one count of Misconduct in Office (5-year felony). She will be on probation for five years and is required to pay a $15,000 fine. Ms. Woods was originally charged with one count of Conducting a Criminal Enterprise, three counts of Public Officer accepting Bribes, three counts of Misconduct in Office and three counts of Forgery.

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