Macomb Today

Michigan’s child welfare system has improved significantly over the last decade, but the two people chiefly responsible for that progress have recently left their positions in the state government, according to Bridge Michigan.

Between 2004 and 2008, Michigan’s child welfare system was in disarray, with caseworkers who were overworked, not enough foster parents and a computer system that was failing to collect case-tracking data or identify shortcomings in the system. These flaws led to thousands of children never being adopted and being shuffled back and forth between foster homes. In the worst cases, children were abused, neglected, went missing -- and 78 children actually died while in the agency’s custody. 

As a result of these failings, the foster care system was put under court-ordered federal oversight in 2008, which continues to this day. 

Stacie Bladen, MDHHS | LinkedIn

Under the guidance of Robert Gordon, director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), and JooYeun Chang, head of the department’s Children Services Agency, the state’s troubled foster care system has improved dramatically, but both of those leaders have recently left their positions in state government.

Gordon suddenly resigned from his position in January without explanation. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has offered no further details to clarify Gordon’s departure, but she wished him well. Chang has accepted a job working on child welfare issues in the Biden administration.

Chang’s interim replacement, Stacie Bladen, credits Chang and Gordon for the department’s transformation by shifting focus from separating children from their parents to preemptive efforts to help struggling families stay together.

Kevin Ryan, a court-appointed monitor, said that Gordon and Chang were “deeply engaged in this work,” according to Bridge Michigan. “They lead a strong management team that possesses the talent and the experience to address long-standing problems in the Michigan child welfare system.”

Bladen said that maintaining the momentum for overhauling the foster care system will be her biggest challenge. “I’ve been in child welfare long enough to know that changes in leadership can be very unsettling,” Bladen told Bridge Michigan. “It can cause the pendulum to swing.”