Michigan residential treatment providers warn of collapsing capacity, rising assaults and property damage

At a joint oversight hearing of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Public Health and Food Security and the Children’s Welfare Subcommittee, leaders of three Michigan residential treatment providers told lawmakers that residential capacity has fallen sharply since 2020 and that assaults, property damage and staff injuries have risen sharply, straining the child welfare system.

The testimony matters because fewer available and stable residential beds for children with severe trauma can increase waits for treatment, shift high‑need youth into foster care or the community without adequate services, and raise costs for providers and local governments, witnesses said.

Stacy Bowens, executive director of Spectrum Child and Family Services, said Spectrum operates multiple residential programs and that “we are the last remaining private provider of secure residential treatment for boys in the State of Michigan.” She told the committees that Michigan’s system has fewer beds now than earlier in the decade, leaving children with higher levels of need concentrated in the remaining programs.

Dan Gowdy, president and CEO of Wedgwood Christian Services, presented data showing a drop from about 1,200 youth in residential beds in December 2020 to roughly 500 two years…