Judge Lisa McCormick, of the 30th Circuit Court, has been influencing a unique service program called Intensive Neglect Services (INS). For more than 30 years, the court has provided services to get children out of the foster care system and back into their homes.
“We have dedicated employees that help families, and we know that the best practice is for kids to remain in-home. We can leave kids within their homes and know we are providing the best possible services while minimizing the trauma of children being in foster care,” McCormick said.
More than 30% of children in the program have returned home within 12 months due to the employees that work for the court and have a passion to work with families and children. Because of this program, the 30th Circuit Court has the highest percentage of reunited children in the region.
Annie Kahler
Judge Lisa McCormick sitting in front of the Law and Courts Committee.Employees will do all they can to provide safety for the family. In a recent case, one family was able to find housing with the help of INS staff after 200 difficult phone calls.
“We have a robust division, I think. We provide all sorts of different services and we just try to see what the need is for our family and we work from there,” said McCormick.
Families working with the program are even able to receive services after their child is returned home. Workers check in on their family clients once a week, and the services will be provided until employees are sure that the family is no longer in need of them. Services include assistance with education, medical appointments, substance abuse interventions, utilities payments, and hands-on work that they may need extra help with.
Mary Ferranti, director of Intensive Neglect Services, said, “The INS meets with families in-person, makes phone calls, provides transportation, and provides some hand-holding in the beginning which helps build trust and relationships with the family to show that we are willing to do whatever it is to help them.”
Ingham County pays for about half of INS’s costs and operations, amounting to around $5 million, and the rest comes from the State of Michigan Child Care Fund.
“Since we have been returning kids home sooner, the cost to the county was reduced since kids were not in foster care,” said Scott Leroy, interim court administrator, who takes care of the Juvenile Division.
Judge McCormick views the system as a very positive process and is very proud of the employees who put in the hard work to help out families.
“They are amazing individuals that are always so positive,” she said. “They are always trying to think out of the box when it comes to trying to come up with a solution for a family.”