Battle Creek Times

Two of the people credited for making tremendous improvements to Michigan's troubled child welfare system have recently left their positions, at a time when the federal court may soon release the foster care system from its oversight, according to Bridge Michigan.

Robert Gordon suddenly left his job as the director for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) in January. Gordon was appointed to the position by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2019.  Whitmer has declined to address the reason for Gordon's resignation. Gordon didn't give an explanation either but said, "It's been an honor to serve alongside wonderful colleagues" in a tweet. 

JooYeun Chang, who was also instrumental in turning the foster care system around, took a job with President Joe Biden's administration, where she'll be working on child welfare issues. Until the announcement that she'd be leaving state government last week, Chang was in charge of MDHHS's Children Services Agency. She'll be replaced, at least temporarily, by Stacie Bladen, a long-time MDHHS employee.

Stacie Bladen, MDHHS | LinkedIn

Gordon and Chang have been recognized for their work to improve the foster care system by both a children's rights lawyer and the court-appointed monitor tasked with keeping an eye on their attempts to turn the system around. 

Samantha Bartosz, another children's rights attorney, was taken aback by news they both had left state government. "We had, over time, really come to respect the job they were doing," Bartosz told Bridge Michigan. "We were beginning to feel a fair amount of momentum working with them."

She's hopeful the state will continue moving in the right direction, away from the disarrayed state the child welfare system was in 15 years ago. The state acknowledged the issues from the beginning of the lawsuit filed in 2006 that included too many cases for workers, not enough foster homes, and children who were abused and neglected in state care.

Two years later, Michigan settled the case by agreeing to be monitored by the federal court while they took steps to improve the system. U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Edmunds oversees the Michigan foster care system. During a November hearing, she noted that she'd like "to have this wrapped up" prior to her upcoming retirement, referring to the federal oversight.