The Michigan House Oversight Committee grilled the leader of the state health department during a hearing Tuesday.
The discussion was often tense as lawmakers asked about child welfare cases, the state’s role in mental health services, and safeguards for food assistance programs.
One specific concern that committee members on both sides of the aisle brought up early was a Monroe County incident where children spent months living with family members in subpar conditions.
“Do you really believe it’s acceptable for our kids to grow in the state in tents and squalor?” state Representative Reggie Miller (D-Van Buren Twp) asked.
The House panel pressed Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Elizabeth Hertel about why the kids hadn’t been removed sooner.
Hertel reiterated repeatedly that the conditions originally didn’t rise to the level of neglect required under law for children’s protective services to take kids from their family. The kids were eventually removed after living in a car when Hertel said shelter accommodations fell through.
Hertel said her department is working on ways to intervene and provide more support before things get to that point.
“We are shifting our entire child welfare staffing structure over to one that focuses on how we can take care of families if and when they enter the system, or to help them never enter the system,” Hertel said.
Near the end of the committee hearing, which lasted more than an hour and a half, it was clear the panel’s Republican leadership wasn’t satisfied with Hertel’s answers.
Committee Chair Rep. Jay DeBoyer (R-Clay) referenced MDHHS’s role as the largest state department by far and questioned why more wasn’t getting done with its massive budget.
“You’ve had a four-year run. Your budget is gigantic. And we have kids sleeping on mattresses on the ground,” DeBoyer told Hertel during the hearing.
Tuesday afternoon, during an interview, DeBoyer said he thought the hearing proved MDHHS may be too big to run as one single department. He said he expects any potential changes to only come after a lot of thought and conversation in the future.
“I don’t think we’re just going to knee-jerk react. We’re going to actually put some work into it. Because at the end of the day it’s about what’s the best service we can provide to the taxpayers of the state of Michigan,” DeBoyer said.
For her part, Hertel defended her department in a statement Tuesday evening.
“Thanks to the hard work of MDHHS employees across the state, over the last few years we have made significant improvements to programs and policies that make a difference for Michigan residents’ health and wellness. We welcome the interest and efforts of the legislature to collaborate on building upon these improvements in the future,” Hertel said in a written statement.
