JUVENILE RESIDENTIAL CARE FACILITIES

House Bill 4218 as introduced

Sponsor:  Rep. Eric Leutheuser

Committee:  Judiciary

Complete to 10-2-17

SUMMARY:

House Bill 4218 would add a new section to the Social Welfare Act to specify that a direct care worker would be qualified to work, and must be allowed to work, in certain court-operated juvenile residential care facilities if the worker had completed high school or obtained a general equivalency diploma (GED).  The bill would apply to a facility located in a county with a population of more than 46,000 but less than 48,000.  If an administrative rule conflicts with the bill's provisions, the bill's provisions would prevail.

The bill would take effect 90 days after enactment.

[A juvenile court-operated residential facility is a 24-hour residential care facility operated by a juvenile court for children and youth.  The facility can be open or secure.  Section 14 of the Social Welfare Act conveys the authority to regulate these facilities to the Bureau of Children and Adult Licensing within the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.  Currently, departmental rules require a direct care worker to have completed 30 semester hours of college or equivalent quarter hours or have a minimum of a high school diploma or its equivalent and 2 years of work experience in a facility or child caring institution (R 400.10121).  Regarding a diploma for a person who was homeschooled, the rule is interpreted to mean that unless the home schooled person passed a GED or had a diploma from a nationally accredited Home School Association that does standardized testing to prove competence, the diploma may not be recognized.]

MCL 400.119d 

FISCAL IMPACT:

House Bill 4218 would have no fiscal impact on the state of Michigan and minimal fiscal impact on local units of government.  To the extent that the bill's provisions might enable the relevant county to hire employees with less experience or fewer completed college courses, the bill could potentially produce some cost savings to the county concerning wages.  The amount of any possible savings gained is indeterminate and would depend upon the number of new employees hired under the bill's stipulations and any savings that might have been generated through the hiring of personnel with reduced education or experience requirements compared to current policy.

                                                                                         Legislative Analyst:   Susan Stutzky

                                                                                                 Fiscal Analyst:   Viola Bay Wild

■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.