Audit Reveals Gaps in Michigan’s Health Department Oversight of School Services
Recent findings from a state audit have highlighted significant issues in how the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) manages the school services program. The audit scrutinized activities from July 2022 to the end of September 2024 and identified that the department hasn’t consistently verified the qualifications of school-based staff, such as counselors and teacher aides.
The verification of staff credentials is crucial as it influences how school districts qualify for federal reimbursements for support services. This process involves coordination between the state health department, the Michigan Department of Education, and a contracted external agency.
During the review period, it was noted that credential verifications were often delayed, sometimes extending over several months. Furthermore, there were instances from the 2019-2020 school year where districts were not informed about staff lacking the necessary credentials.
The audit report states, “Without remedial action, when (Intermediate School District) staff are found not to hold appropriate credentials, the manual credential review process likely has little or no value.”
The Office of the Auditor General attributed these issues to unclear review plans and outdated agreements between agencies. Despite the significance of these findings, the agency did not provide representatives for interviews.
In its initial response, the MDHHS acknowledged the need for improvement and committed to enhancing its policies for stricter oversight and improved review timelines. “MDHHS will establish a written internal monitoring process to ensure that a comprehensive credential review is conducted and maintained by both MDHHS and MDE,” the department stated.
The audit aimed to evaluate the MDHHS’s effectiveness in monitoring school districts’ compliance with federal standards and overseeing its contractors. The department was found to be “sufficient, with exceptions” in monitoring compliance but “not sufficient” in contractor oversight.
A critical concern was the lack of oversight regarding the contractor’s practices. The audit highlighted “significant deficiencies in MDHHS’s oversight of the (school services program) contractor resulting in the department’s overreliance on its contractor to adhere to contract terms and program requirements.”
MDHHS has accepted these findings and plans to update its systems and provide additional training to address these issues. The department has a 60-day window to submit a corrective action plan in response to the audit’s concerns.
For more details, the full audit report is available here.
