Thursday, August 18, 2005

Criminals slip through cracks, get foster kids

An audit finds state agency doesn't ensure backgrounds checked before placing children.

By Kim Kozlowski / The Detroit News

Children's foster care audit • In a review of 12,900 licensed care providers and adults who live in their homes, 353 were found to have convictions over a five-year period. • Of those, auditors looked at 16 who had potentially serious convictions and could not find a record of background checks being conducted on 12 of them. • The department has no way to know if an adult in a foster home is convicted of a serious offense after an initial background check. Recommendations: • Ensure and record background checks of all adults living in homes of foster care providers before children are placed there. • Conduct periodic updates on criminal background checks. Comment on this story Send this story to a friend Get Home Delivery

Hundreds of Michigan foster children could be at risk because they're living with adults convicted of crimes, including domestic violence, assault and battery and criminal sexual conduct, a state audit has found.

The state Department of Human Services does not ensure that workers conduct and document criminal history background checks before placing its approximately 19,000 foster children in homes, according to the report released Wednesday by the state Office of the Auditor General.

The audit of 12,900 foster care providers and other adults living in those homes found that 353 people were convicted during a five-year period of a crime that may disqualify them from caring for foster children.

"These people with a personal history of criminal conduct may not be suitable for providing foster care for children," said Scott Strong, deputy auditor general.

Marianne Udow, director of the state Human Services Department, said while no child should be in a potentially risky situation, nearly all of Michigan's foster children are in safe homes.

"Our goal is 100 percent safety for our children," Udow said. "The vast majority of our foster parents do not have a criminal history, and the vast majority of our foster parents are doing amazing things for our children."

Foster care is one of the largest programs of the Department of Human Services and provides care to children removed from their homes because of abuse or neglect.

The state's foster care manual requires background checks of all people living in foster care homes, and prohibits placing children in homes if any adult has been convicted of child abuse or neglect, crimes against children or domestic violence.

The routine audit of the state foster care program was conducted between June 2003 and May 2004 and included the examination of records between Oct. 1, 2000 and May 31, 2004.

Of the 353 convictions found, auditors identified 16 who had convictions that could disqualify them from hosting children. The Department of Human Services could not provide the documentation showing that an initial criminal background check had been done for 12 of those 16.

Human Services spokeswoman Maureen Sorbet said auditors could not find evidence of background checks because they were looking for a form that was only required during half of the audit period.

The audit also identified five adults living in the homes of the foster care providers with convictions that occurred after the homes were licensed.

Udow said criminal background checks are run on all foster care providers when they are initially licensed but random checks are not currently done because it is not required by state law. However, the department will be establishing a link with the state police by year-end that will provide ongoing criminal information on foster care providers.

"We want to do everything we can to show children are safe," Udow said.

You can reach Kim Kozlowski at (313) 222-2024 or kkozlowski@detnews.com.