In our 2025 Annual Report the OCA made the following recommendations to the Legislature and MDHHS. The following recommendations were made in the 2025 Annual Report:

Statewide Child Abuse Medical Centers

• Allocate funding to establish statewide regional child abuse medical centers staffed by Child Abuse Pediatricians.
• Require MDHHS and PAFCs to utilize these centers for expert medical evaluations, documentation, and follow up when child injuries are identified.

Lead Investigative Entity & MDT Structure

• Amend Child Protection Law (MCL 722.628(6)) to designate law enforcement as the lead criminal investigators and formally add them to the multidisciplinary team (MDT) alongside prosecutors and MDHHS.
• Provide funding for MDHHS liaisons to the MDT in every county office.

Child Welfare Training Academy & Simulation Labs

• Codify the requirement for a statewide Child Welfare Training Academy and simulation labs focused on experiential courtroom testimony training.
  Provide funding for the purchase, equipping, staffing, and maintenance of regional simulation labs for child welfare training.

Substance Exposed Newborns

• Amend the Child Protection Law to expand the definition of a confirmed case of serious abuse or neglect (MCL 722.622(p)) to include:
  A newborn experiencing withdrawal symptoms from alcohol, controlled substances, or metabolites requiring medical treatment, unless symptoms result from medical care provided to the infant or mother.

Updating Child Protection Law Language

• Amend MCL 722.637(1) by:
  • Replacing the term “severely” with “seriously” to align with definitions in Section 2.
  • Removing the reference to Section 8 and directing readers to Section 2 for clarity.
  • Suggested statutory language:
    • “Within 24 hours after the department determines that a child was seriously physically injured as defined in section 2, sexually abused, or allowed to be exposed to or have contact with methamphetamine production, the department shall submit a petition for authorization by the court under section 2(b) of chapter XIIA of 1939 PA 288, MCL 712A.2.”

Support for Case Managers

• Request funding to hire additional support staff to help case managers obtain records and service reports so they can focus on core case responsibilities, including petition filing.
• Request allocations to fund analyst/specialist level petition writers in larger counties, ensuring staff have courtroom and petition writing expertise or receive specialized training.

Temporary Voluntary Agreements (TVAs)

• Track all TVAs statewide to ensure consistent review and timely follow up as agreements near expiration.
• Designate an individual in each county to approve TVA extensions.
• Amend CPS policy 713 01 to clarify TVA timelines, extension criteria, and management approval requirements.
• Amend CPS policy 713 01 to ensure parents are offered visitation during a TVA and require documentation of visits or missed visits in MiSACWIS.
• Require annual training for MDHHS staff on TVAs and safety planning.

Strangulation Response

• Engage the Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention (TISP) or a similar expert to develop medical and investigative policy for strangulation related complaints.
• Train all MDHHS staff — including centralized intake — on the seriousness, lethality, and often nonvisible nature of strangulation injuries.
• Direct centralized intake to stop assessing the “excessiveness” of strangulation based on visible injury or loss of consciousness; leave determinations to investigators.
• Require centralized intake to assign all strangulation complaints for investigation.
• Include non-fatal strangulation content in mandated reporter training.

Substance Exposed Infants

• Amend PSM 716 7 to define “medical staff” as the infant’s treating medical provider (physician, nurse, or another qualified practitioner).
• Amend PSM 716 7 to require CPS specialists to contact the infant’s medical provider when withdrawal symptoms are present and assess the infant’s health, treatment, and whether symptoms meet the definition of serious physical harm.
• Train all CPS case managers on the Governor’s Task Force Plan of Safe Care Protocol.

Medical Assessment & MDT Coordination

• Require a medical assessment within 24 hours when a child presents with injuries consistent with Ten 4FACESp, and require direct communication between case specialists and the examining medical provider.
• Encourage county prosecutors or designees to conduct regular MDT meetings to strengthen communication and case coordination.
• Create MDHHS positions dedicated to MDT liaison duties, including facilitating meetings, coordinating with central office on policy, and advising on serious abuse/neglect investigations.
• Add a Ten 4FACESp related question to the risk and vulnerable child assessments to improve identification of concerning injuries.

Previously Adopted Siblings

• Require case managers to identify and locate previously adopted siblings when a new sibling enters care and document these efforts in the foster care case.
• Add this requirement to FOM 722.03 (placement selection and standards).
• Issue regular communication reminders to staff about this process.
• Establish policy and procedure—placed in both CPS and foster care manuals—to obtain the information needed to identify and contact families of previously adopted siblings.
• Develop a process to assist adoptive parents of previously adopted siblings who reach out to any MDHHS area, ensuring they can be identified as potential placements for siblings entering care.
• Conduct research, including consultation with PAFCs, to determine whether additional central adoption registry/post adoptive inquiry analysts are needed.
• Ensure all sibling search processes are accessible to PAFCs.

AWOLP Protocol & Placement Guidance

• Amend FOM 722 03A to require courts be notified within one business day when a child who was AWOLP is found.
• Amend FOM 722 03A to provide guidance for case managers when a child is in an unapproved placement and refuses to leave, including court notification.
• Provide additional training to staff on the updated definition of “relative.”
• Amend FOM 722 03B to require documentation of how an unrelated caregiver meets the definition of a relative.
• Ensure required placement exception requests are completed for ongoing case IDs 789963 and 691596.

Court Orders, Testimony & Legal Coordination

• Amend PSM 715 3 to require notification to the Children’s Services Legal Division (CSLD) when a court or referee removes a respondent from a petition and the department disagrees.
• Implement simulation-based courtroom testimony training for all new and current case managers, with required initial and periodic refresher training.
  • Conduct training jointly with local prosecutors, the Attorney General’s office, and/or retained counsel.
  • Use hands on mock trials in a simulation environment.
  • Integrate petition writing into the training.
  • Require supervisors or mentors to attend court hearings with inexperienced staff.

Foster Care Safety & Home Visit Requirements

• Provide an explanation for the July 1, 2019, change to FOM 722 06H that made unannounced home visits discretionary.
• Strengthen foster care policy to require additional safety focused activities, including:
  • Quarterly unannounced home visits to foster homes.
  • Monthly private face to face interviews with all verbal children residing in or frequently visiting the home.
  • Viewing the entire home during each required home visit.
  • Drug screening of caregivers or adults in the home when there is substantiated CPS substance abuse history or reasonable cause to suspect current use (FOM 722 03B).
  • Drug screening of caregivers or adults in the home when reasonable cause exists during ongoing placement (FOM 722 06H).
  • Required interviews with medical and mental health providers when a caregiver reports a condition that may affect their ability to care for a foster child (FOM 722 03B).
  • Requiring foster parents to notify the agency when hospitalized and requiring MDHHS staff to interview medical/mental health providers to assess caregiving capacity (FOM 722 03).

Threatened Harm, Birth Match & Substance Exposed Infants

• Amend PSM 713 11 to add a required question on whether threatened harm includes a prior termination of parental rights, and require case managers to:
  • Review and summarize prior cases and court orders.
  • Assess how the parent has addressed prior issues.
  • Compare prior and current allegations.
  • Document whether risk and safety issues have been resolved.
  • Determine whether a mandatory petition is required under MCL 722.638.
  • Require second line or director approval for birth match investigations.
• Amend PSM 716 7 to require CPS specialists to contact the treating medical provider for substance exposed infants and assess health status, withdrawal treatment, and whether symptoms meet the definition of serious physical harm.
  • Clarify that “medical staff” refers to trained medical providers such as physicians, nurses, or licensed practitioners.
  • Train all CPS case managers on the Governor’s Task Force Plan of Safe Care Protocol.
  • Develop and implement additional training on birth match investigations and threatened harm policy (PSM 713 11).
  • Develop and implement additional training on substance exposed infant policy (PSM 716 7).
• Amend PSM 713 01 to require case managers to immediately provide a safe sleep environment (e.g., pack and play) when one is not observed in the home.

In our 2024 Annual Report the OCA made the following recommendations to the Legislature and MDHHS. The recommendations included in this report were previously published, and some will reflect the OCA's former name, Office of the Children's Ombudsman. 

• The OCA recommends the Michigan Legislature codify the requirement for a Child Welfare Training Academy (CWTA) and simulation labs that incorporate experiential learning and provide a reliable funding source for the CWTA and simulation labs.
• The OCA recommended Michigan Legislature provide additional funding to ensure that MDHHS receive capital for the Redetermined Adoption Assistance Program as outlined in MCL 400.115t. The funding allocation should consider the necessary services to assist Michigan's adoptive families requiring care redetermination, as well as sufficient staffing within MDHHS to effectively support these families. Additionally, it is advised that this program be designated as a specific line item in the MDHHS budget to secure funding, given that it has not received financial support since its establishment in 2015.
• The children’s ombudsman recommends MDHHS amend CPS policy 713-01, requiring case workers to make collateral contact with mental health professionals when there is evidence of psychosis in a parent during a CPS investigation. This required contact would aid CPS in determining if mental health professionals believe the parent is compliant with treatment, services and if there is any concern for harm to the children.
• The children’s ombudsman recommends CPS policy manual define psychosis.
• The children’s ombudsman recommend MDHHS amend CPS policy 711-2 relating to threatened harm, expanding the definition of this to include the mental health of a parent. This can require a threatened harm assessment when the parent has a history of mental health diagnosis in previous CPS investigations and the current case involves concerns relating to the parents' mental health and ability to meet the child's needs.
• The children’s ombudsman recommends CPS amend policy 713-11 pertaining to the threatened harm assessment. An amendment to require an assessment by the case manager, where mental health is present in one or both caregivers and the prior history relates to concerns surrounding mental health. The threatened harm assessment would then require the worker to evaluate and assess the "severity of past behavior, length of time since past incident, evaluation of services, benefit from services (including if conditions have been rectified) and vulnerability of child(ren)." This information can help CPS in comprehensively determining if threatened harm remains a factor for maltreatment and/or if CPS should request court involvement.
• The Child Advocate recommends MDHHS amend PSM 713-01 surrounding vulnerable children, to state the case manager must contact and speak with the physician or medical personnel who are treating the vulnerable child’s medical condition (or, who are the most knowledgeable about the medical condition…). This policy change would allow the case manager to ask a treating physician questions about whether the child’s medical needs are being met, and if there are concerns for abuse and/or neglect.
• The Child Advocate recommends once funding is appropriated for the Redetermined Adoption Assistance Program, MDHHS comply with the requirements outlined in MCL 400.115t.
• The OCO recommends CPS amend policy 713-11 to add a question to the safety assessment specifically surrounding parental mental health like those found in New York and Ohio CPS safety assessments.
• The OCO recommends MDHHS amend ‘PSM 713-04 Medical Examination and Assessment’, to require the assigned case manager conduct interviews with treating medical professional(s) as part of an investigation into physical abuse, sexual abuse, and/or severe physical injury.
• The OCO recommends MDHHS amend PSM 713-01 to require that case conferences between CPS case managers and their supervisors be documented in narrative format in the case file’s social work contacts.
• The Child Advocate recommends that when child abuse or neglect is present Kalamazoo County MDHHS-CPS comply with Michigan law and take the necessary actions to protect the child from their abuser or neglector.
• To assist Kalamazoo County CPS, and any other county agreeable to this solution, the Child Advocate recommends that MDHHS adopt a process of CPS case management review when there are allegations of severe abuse and/or neglect. This review can include the following process:
  
  • The first line Children’s Protective Services Manager requests a Case Review Conference with the Children’s Protective Services Program Manager regarding the CPS Investigation/Ongoing Case.
  • A meeting between the parties is scheduled and held within 24 hours of the initial request.
  • The managers review the documents that memorialize the steps taken in the active investigation, service plan, or updated service plan, as well as the case history before the scheduled meeting.
  • A case conference will be held with the Children’s Protective Services Program Manager regarding the active investigation/ongoing case via telephone, Microsoft TEAMS, or in person.
  • The Children’s Protective Services Manager provides the Children’s Protective Services Program Manager with an overview of the case, as well as the protective interventions that have occurred and progress regarding the investigation/ongoing case to date. A consensus will be reached regarding necessary case actions after the following items are discussed:
    
    • What are the allegations listed in the complaint?
    • Who were the identified victims and perpetrators?
    • How many children are in the home and what ages?
    • What are the identified needs for the family and child based on the CANS/FANS, FTM/TDM, and interactions?
    • What services have been provided for the family to date? Have there been any barriers to providing services?
    • What safety plans are currently in place?
    • Who are the identified supports for the family?
    • What, if any, are the safety concerns?
    • What are the service recommendations?
  • The conference between the Children Protective Services Manager and Program Manager be documented in narrative format in the MiSACWIS case file in a social work contact.

In the OCA 2023 Annual Report, we made the following recommendations to MDHHS. 

• Marquette County DHHS adhere to MCL722.628d in determining when to file a petition. 
• That child welfare partners In Marquette County set a standing monthly or bl-monthly meeting.
• That DHHS develop a new process to ensure case specialists are adequately investigating and addressing new allegations that come in during an open investigation or open services case. 
• Remove the policy provision that allows the CPS caseworker to provide information to a professional at the medical facility when the medical practitioner is not available. 
• Amended policy to require that case conferences between CPS caseworkers and their supervisors be documented in narrative format in the case's social work contacts. 
• Require local county directors to develop processes in coordination with the local Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) to include detailed direction on how to request and access a second medical opinion, to develop county-specific protocols on obtaining a second medical opinion, and to train CPS workers and Supervisors on those specific protocols as well as the impact of obtaining the second medical opinion in a timely manner. 
• Child welfare investigations require law enforcement and CPS caseworkers be proficient in detecting abuse and neglect. 
• Amended policy to mandate the annual in-service training include objectives on the detection of injuries attributable to child abuse. 
• DHHS assist families when a safety plan removes the support system currently in place. 
• DHHS require local county directors to collaborate with their MDT to develop a working list of medical practitioners who have specialized training in detecting child abuse and neglect, examining, and interviewing children, mandate and update the list of statewide and local child abuse medical experts with caseworkers and supervisors, train CPS caseworkers and supervisors on the critical importance of using the child abuse medical expert list when scheduling initial and second opinion medical examinations, and invite medical practitioners from the child abuse and neglect list to MDT meetings and case reviews. 
• Anyone Identified as a person with firsthand knowledge of the allegations when the complaint is called into Centralized Intake.
• MDHHS require local county directors develop process in coordination with the local MDT.
• Adjust policy and Michigan Model Child Abuse Protocol to require in person or phone contact with law enforcement when MDHHS Is required to submit a LEN. 
• Implement units within the Children's Services Administration that specialize in the handling of foster care cases Involving vulnerable children.
• MDHHS amend policy requiring caseworkers to make collateral contact with mental health professionals when there Is evidence of psychosis in a parent during a CPS Investigation, and that the CPS policy manual define psychosis.
• Amend policy pertaining to the threatened harm assessment. 
• Amend policy to add a question to the safety assessment specifically surrounding parental mental health similar to those found in New York and Ohio CPS safety assessments. 
• MDHHS amend policy to require the assigned case manager conduct interviews with treating medical professional(s) as part of an investigation into physical abuse, sexual abuse, and/or severe physical injury. 

View the full report here

In the OCA 2022 Annual Report, we made the following recommendations to MDHHS. 

• The MDHHS Children’s Services Administration develop and implement a new training to be offered to all CPS staff and mental health workers statewide. This training should help ensure compliance with MCL 330.1748a, MCL 333.2640, and MCL 333.16281 regarding the sharing of clients’ mental health records during an investigation of suspected child abuse or neglect, even without the client’s consent. This training should focus on when these laws and policies are applicable, how to utilize and comply with their requirements, and what to do if CPS experiences resistance from mental health care providers.
• The MDHHS incorporate into their training of new and ongoing child welfare staff a portion dedicated to mental health and illness of clients. This aspect of training should focus on understanding the types, causes, and symptoms of mental illness, what treatment modalities are available to care for such individuals, and the impact a caregiver’s mental illness can have on the child(ren) in their care. In doing so, an emphasis should be placed on the assessment and response to a client’s propensity to harm or neglect themselves or others, particularly the child(ren) the client is caring for. This training should occur for all new child welfare staff and be repeated on a regular basis, so workers are adequately prepared to assess and react to such situations should they arise in a case.
• The MDHHS Children’s Services Administration consider amending the Children Protective Services Manual, PSM 713-08, Special Investigative Situations, to include a section that addresses how CPS should respond when a caregiver’s mental health condition is potentially placing a child in harm’s way. The Children’s Ombudsman recommends this section could include the following items:
  • An expedited timeframe for when to make collateral contacts, such as with mental health providers. Instead of a discretionary timeframe for making collateral contacts as in PSM 713-01, this section could prescribe that such contacts be made within 24 to 48 hours of receipt of the complaint when the complaint alleges potential harm to a child due to a caregiver’s mental health issues.
  • Allow for extensions of the 30-calendar day standard of promptness to obtain and review mental health records of the client.
  • Provide an assessment tool or other way to assess a caregiver’s ability to continue to meet the needs of the child(ren) in their care. This could include questions like those in PSM 716-7, Decision Making for Cases Involving Substances, and include, but not be limited to, the following:
    
    • Is there evidence to demonstrate difficulty regulating emotions or controlling anger?
    • Does the caregiver’s mental health condition reduce their capacity to respond to the child(ren)’s cues and needs?
    • Are there supports such as family and friends who can care for the child(ren) when the parents are not able to?
    • Are the parents willing to use their supports when necessary?
    • Is the caregiver taking their medications as prescribed? If not, does this present a possible harmful situation for the caregiver or others?
    • Has the caregiver’s mental health condition caused substantial impairment of judgment or irrationality to the extent that the child(ren) was abused or neglected?
  • A requirement to obtain and review all records from each mental health provider of the caregiver.
  • Access to databases, such as the Judicial Data Warehouse (JDW), where CPS can check for any involuntary hospitalizations or commitments.
  • An automatic referral to preventative services whether a preponderance of evidence is found or not.

• The OCO recommends that partners (Children’s Protective Services, law enforcement, and the courts in Mason and Manistee counties) come together to review this case and discuss it in the context of guiding law, policies, and protocols. The OCO also recommends that MDHHS Children’s Services Agency review this case and consider providing guidance to all county offices on their legal responsibilities after a law enforcement officer has removed a child from parental custody.
• MDHHS Children’s Services Agency amend FOM 722-03B to emphasize that adherence to deadlines and documentation requirements are crucial to fully implementing the preference for relative foster care placement in effect during the 90 days following removal of a child from parental custody.
• The OCO recommends that MDHHS Children's Services Agency develop an internal review, oversight, or quality assurance mechanism regarding contracted entities’ compliance with law and policy on relative placement processes. Timely adherence to law and policy regarding relative placement is in the best interest of the child, and to that end, achieving greater compliance is necessary. Furthermore, the OCO strongly recommends that MDHHS finds meaningful ways, including provisional licensing, to hold these contracted agencies accountable when relatives are routinely disregarded when seeking placement of children.

In the 2021 OCA Annual Report, we made the following recommendations to MDHHS. 

In the OCA 2020 Annual Report, we made the following recommendations to MDHHS. 

• The OCO recommends that MDHHS require a heightened response by DCWL to statutory or 
  administrative rule violations regarding restraint, staff physical abuse of a resident, or failure to 
  comply with the mandated reporting provisions of the Child Protection Law (CPL) by a CCI. This heightened response could include the following:
  
  • For a second or subsequent violation of law or administrative rule concerning restraint, staff physical abuse of a resident, or failure to report, issuing a provisional license to the CCI; and
  • For any violation of law or administrative rule concerning restraint, physical abuse of a resident, or failure to report, requiring DCWL to notify local DHHS offices of its findings to permit local offices to decide whether to seek re-placement of children under their care and supervision.

• The OCO recommends that MDHHS identify jobs within the state civil service that are substantially similar to the position of direct care worker at a private non-secure CCI. MDHHS should require by contract that pay rates for direct care workers within private non-secure CCI's be commensurate with the department's pay rates for substantially similar positions within the state civil service and include pay differentials for employees with relevant child welfare experience.
• The OCO recommends that MDHHS add a requirement to Michigan Administrative Rule 400.4128; Rule 128, to require all direct care workers in CCI's, similar to the first aid training requirement, to take Parent Resources for Information, Development, and Education (PRIDE) training as required for foster parents.

• The OCO recommends that the Michigan Legislature amend the Child Care Organizations Act, MCL 722.111 et seq., to limit the number of children that a CCI may house within a self-contained unit of a facility to 19 residents or less. 
• The OCO recommends that the Michigan Legislature appropriate sufficient funds to support the establishment, monitoring, and administrative costs of CCI’s with smaller resident populations as recommended in this document.

View the full report here