Court officials urge decentralizing child-protective intake, expanding local services and training

Lansing — Leaders from Michigan family and juvenile courts told the House Oversight Committee on the child welfare system on Sept. 12 that centralized State intake and contractor-driven case management are producing delays and missed safety signals, and urged a shift toward localized intake, standardized risk assessments, and stronger supports for foster and kinship caregivers.

The testimony, given by members of the Michigan Association of Family Court Administrators (MAFCA), emphasized three near-term priorities: return certain intake decisions to locally based workers, expand court‑run or court‑partnered in‑home services that allow frequent face‑to‑face contact, and create a centralized training institute to raise baseline practice standards across counties.

The presenters described a contrast between how many Michigan juvenile courts handle high‑risk families and how the child welfare system currently operates. "Michigan's child welfare system is currently heavily centralized to the detriment of youth and families it's designed to protect," said Tim Smith, court administrator and attorney referee for the Charlevoix County Probate/Family Court. Smith and other court officials argued that central intake implemented in February 2012 moved screening decisions away from workers who know local communities, producing a substantial drop in abuse/neglect petitions filed in some counties and, they contend, screening out referrals that local staff would have investigated.

Kathy Quillin, assistant director at the Ottawa County 20th Circuit Court, gave a personal account of a recent case she…