8 posts tagged “tennessee department of human services”

The Department of Human Services (DHS) is struggling to accurately and timely identify who is qualified to receive assistance, costing the state millions in misspent assistance dollars and millions more in potential federal sanctions and lost incentives, said a report from Auditor General (OAG) Thomas McTavish released on Friday.

DHS, which is responsible for determining eligibility for cash, food assistance, childcare and Medicaid cases, didn't effectively catch or fix errors in determination in the four years reviewed by the audit, from October 2002 through November 2006, the audit said.

Among the chief finds of auditors was that DHS mistakenly sent out payments in fiscal year 2006-06 in 7.5 percent of cases, which the report attributed to ever increasing caseloads from workers.

Although DHS has made strides in its system, the error rate in Michigan in 2005-06 was still 1.5 percent higher than the federal government tolerates, opening the state to economic sanctions much like the $89 million the federal government initiated for the fiscal years 1995-02.

Not only is Michigan inaccurate in its approvals but it's slow, too, the report said.

Michigan ranks 45th in its turnaround time with 81 percent of clients receiving approvals within the 30 days required by the federal government. That compares to Massachusetts , which ranked first and informs nearly 99 percent of its clients about their case status within a month.

In order to progress further, DHS said, it needs more "resources," because, although officials agreed with many of the audit's suggestions, they can't comply with them without more funds.

Among the fixes the department said it would initiate with more money is a study of how many workers it needs to handle caseloads and what tasks could be done by other staff members to increase worker availability for clients.

With more than 75 percent of workers and 87 percent of managers reporting that caseloads are too high, the study will likely find that more staff is needed, but the department said it can't hire more workers without additional funding.

As usual, the Department immediately cries "We need more money! We need more staff!" They told the OAG they would use additional dollars to "do a study". In fact, the OAG said that "DHS did not conduct a workload analysis to determine optimal caseworker staffing levels" and not only did they not do that last year, they hadn't done it in 2001-02 after being told they should by the Auditor General. So now they say they will if we give them more money?

You may read the audit for yourself. Here is the link: http://audgen.michigan.gov/comprpt/docs/r431028505.pdf

Does DHS need more staff? Do they have too many managers and not enough case workers? It is hard to get those answers; the Department is not forthcoming. The bottom line is the Department of Human Services has been woefully inefficient and inept for years and it continues to be in spite of repeated Audit Reports reporting the problem and even suggesting the solution. This is a problem that cannot be fixed by the OAG and it cannot be fixed by the Legislature. It must be addressed by the "Executive". That's right folks; I am talking about the governor and her department heads.

I hate to sound like a broken record, but my Transparency bill, which would expose the entire state budget, including that of the DHS, to the sunshine for everyone to see and closely examine, would go a long way toward resolving many of these issues.

On March 12, 2008, a joint committee of the Legislature met to ask for answers from the Department. What was their answer? We need more staff. We need more time. We are implementing a new program in the NEXT TWO YEARS. Once we have that in place, it will be better.

Here is hoping that Director Ismael Ahmed, the recently appointed Director of DHS can effectively address the issue.

What is Going on in the House?

To keep abreast of bills moving through the House of Representatives, check my blog. I will be posting when the House is in session at www.CorePrinciples.blogspot.com

Ok friends, Court date has been reset again. Looks like I am going to go at it alone, Forgive me if I dont say too much, snoops you know?

I am trying to get publicity, so these people know others are watching. I guess you can say Im going to step out there and do the damn thing. Hopefully, I will get Bella home and set out a format others can use to get their kids. I think we have been going about this the wrong way. We are disjointed and separated, we need to all be together, signing petitions, making calls, and writing local media of each person that is involved. What I am saying is instead of just talking and supporting each other on here, we need to share info and work together, a few cases at a time. Depending on who has what going on in theior court cases. Sound good? and I mean this, if you aren't going to work to help another in the group dont bother, some will need to write letters, some can look up info, laws or adddresses to each States media and elected officials to contact.
Whadda ya say are you in?
Contact me and say it "IM IN" and lets get to work.

first off here is a link o our local news station, Bellas picture is there, I suggest you do the same in your local media, I want everyone to go there and post a comment about the "system". Eventually they will see all the hits and do a story.

http://knoxville.wate.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=0&pos=7

you have to register, but its quick. The good thing is TN is having alot of trouble with CPS and we need to strike while its hot, cause its cooling FAST.

Second, the petition is reopened, so if you have signed it, your job is to post it 2 other places.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/5/in-support-of-lisa-and-bella-smith-2

I also suggest you go here and write your own petition, if you need help holler.
They are effective if you get them signed and keep them updated, Name names in them, be specific,

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/

Ok that it, this shit is serious, if you want help then you have to help others, we can do this together.
  ps

feel free to copy and or share anything I post.

We only have 175 signatures to go, thank you all so much. I was so surprised to see people from Australia, Germany, Portugal, and even Canada have taken a minute for this important cause, You guys are wonderful. What a great Valentines day gift it would be to have my baby returned.We don't have much time left, this petition will be submitted with court documents. These documents will be ready today or tomorrow, so please keep spreading the word.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/5/in-support-of-lisa-and-bella-smith-2#signatures

Thank You friends,
BellasMom06

<div id="peSiteTargetDiv806693528"><a href="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/" style="display: block; width: 252px; text-align: center; font-size: 8pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Petition powered by ThePetitionSite.com</a></div>
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• ABA - Dialogue on Freedom

• The American Judicature Society - A nonpartisan organization of judges, lawyers, and non-legally trained citizAmerican Bar Association's Lawlink ens interested in the administration of justice.

• American Law Sources Online

• Courts.net - Indexed List to U.S. Court Sites

• Davidson County District Attorney's Office - website provides enhanced information about the office to victims, witnesses, members of the community, and the media.

• Federal Register

• FindLaw , A Comprehensive Legal Site Search Engine

• Institute for Court Managment (National Center for State Courts)

• Institute for Law and Justice (ILJ)

• National Criminal Justice Resource Center

• JERITT Project - a national clearinghouse for information on continuing judicial branch education

• Judicial Family Institute

• "Kids and the Law" from California Bar Association

• Law and Politics Internet Guide - (Legal resources)

• Lipscomb University Institute for Conflict Management

• Nashville Bar Association Appellate Practice Manual

• Nashville School of Law

• National Center for State Courts - A comprehensive listing of State, International and Federal Courts

• SEARCH -National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics

• State Justice Institute

• CTAS - County Technical Assistance Service, University of Tennessee
  (Complete Listings of County Officials)

• TennHelp - A project of the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services

• Tennessee Association for Child Care

• Tennessee Bar Association - disciplinary process explained

• Tennessee Bench-Bar CLE

• Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility (BPR)

• Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI)

• Tennessee Code Annotated (on Michie site)

• Tennessee County Information (Info from the National Association of Counties )

• Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization

• Tennessee Criminal Law Defense Resources

• Tennessee Attorney General Opinions

• Tennessee Board of Law Examiners

• Tennessee General Assembly  (For current legislation - choose "Bills" from site's menu.)

• Tennessee Legislature Chaptered Bills

• Tennessee District Attorney Generals' Conference

• Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program

• The Tennessee Lawyers Association for Women (TLAW)

• Tennessee Office of Criminal Justice

• Tennessee State Agency Rules and Regulations (Non-judicial)

• Tennessee Supreme Court Historical Society

• U.S. District Court - Middle Division

• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (Opinions)

• United State Sentencing Commission

• U.S. Supreme Court

• University of Memphis School of Law

• University of Tennessee College of Law

• University of Missouri - Kansas City - Famous Trials - Detailed Historical Accounts

• Vanderbilt University Law School

• Villanova School of Law

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http://www.tsc.state.tn.us/geninfo/clinks1.htm