LANSING, Mich. — State Sen. Jim Runestad on Monday renewed his call for more oversight into the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, saying national news coverage of a Lincoln Park couple being charged with murder in the death of their 5-year-old son illustrates the growing need for increased scrutiny into the agency’s Child Protective Services.
“The tragic situation in Lincoln Park has shined a spotlight on CPS — and what we are seeing is a disaster,” said Runestad, R-White Lake. “We must ensure that CPS can be properly investigated when necessary. It cannot be allowed to operate in total secrecy when there are innocent lives at risk.”
WDIV Local 4 news reported Saturday that its reporters were denied a Freedom of Information Act request by MDHHS, claiming that CPS case information is “not available by FOIA as it is exempt from FOIA.”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer told the news organization that she “didn’t know that they were exempt from FOIA” and “perhaps there is an opportunity for us to take a real hard look at it and see what more we can do.”
Runestad first announced his plan to draft legislation to provide more transparency between state lawmakers and MDHHS on Jan. 19 after Pontiac’s Monica Cannady and her two sons were found frozen to death in a field.
“I couldn’t even discover under confidentiality whether CPS has even had contact with a particular family or not; there should be some provision for any state legislator to confidentially know basic information under specific circumstances,” Runestad said. “Strict privacy laws are necessary and rightly protected when it comes to these personal situations but there must also be room for investigation and oversight in order to prevent future tragedies and provide justice when it is needed.”
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