LANSING – House Bill 4125, introduced by State Representative Dudley Spade (D-Tipton), passed the House of Representatives on Thursday. The bill would require the Department of Human Services (DHS) to notify the Michigan Children's Ombudsman in cases in which a child in Michigan dies and the state has been involved, either through the DHS or the courts. Children die each year while in state custody, but the lack of a central clearing house and lax reporting requirements result in some of those deaths going unreported, making accurate information on child deaths difficult to ascertain.
"In order for the state to effectively prevent child death, we must understand the circumstances that caused these incidents," Spade said. "Without timely and accurate reporting, the ability of the Children's Ombudsman to investigate these cases is greatly diminished. Without proper investigation into not just the individual case, but the larger issues that caused the situation in the first place we as a state are hard pressed to fix the underlying problems before there is a larger systemic failure."
The legislation would require that the DHS notify the Children's Ombudsman when a child dies and any of the following apply:
- The child died while under court jurisdiction.
- The child died during an active child protective services (CPS) investigation or an open CPS case.
- DHS received a prior CPS complaint concerning the child's caretaker.
- The child's death may have resulted from abuse or neglect.
Spade pointed out that this bill is one part of a broader initiative that he is spearheading to improve reporting and address the causes of child death in the state. House Bill 4409, also introduced by Spade, would require the DHS to authorize foster parents to approve non-emergency medical procedures rather than have to petition the courts, the Department, or the placing agency in charge for permission, a key issue for foster parents trying to deal with chronic conditions like asthma or diabetes. This bill had its first hearing in the House Family and Children Services Committee this week and is expected to be taken up for a vote soon.
"We are working diligently on this issue and Michigan's citizens can expect to see more legislation as it is finalized," Spade continued. "We just felt that this problem was important enough that we could wait until all the bills were finished before we took the first important steps. Our children deserve action now."