License suspension leads residential juvenile treatment facility to close, state says

A residential treatment center for juveniles near Saginaw has temporarily closed because of an incident where a child was injured, according to the state.

The Pioneer Work and Learn Center in Vassar was shut down March 1 after its license was suspended, said Bob Wheaton, spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. The facility is temporarily closed pending a hearing before an administrative law judge, Wheaton said.

"The safety of our young people is our top priority. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) has been proactively working with child-caring institutions — including Pioneer — to assist them in keeping children safe," Wheaton wrote in an email. "Our staff have been onsite at Pioneer almost daily, with daily calls between management occurring over the past few weeks. When a facility is unable to keep youth safe despite this assistance, MDHHS needs to take action for the safety of the youth and find them placements where they are protected."

This closure comes at a time when residential beds for juveniles are in high demand. The Wayne County Juvenile Detention Facility has been struggling with overcrowding issues and is currently at double capacity, 3rd Circuit Court Chief Judge Patricia Fresard said.

All juveniles were relocated after a Feb. 27 incident that left a child hurt during an altercation at the facility. Wheaton declined to give any specifics on the altercation.

The 12 juveniles at Pioneer were sent to other facilities, returned to their families or were sent back to local courts so they could be relocated, Wheaton said.

A child who waited in the Wayne County facility for more than 200 days for a residential placement had to return to the JDF less than a month after he moved to Pioneer, Fresard said. The boy had to have an emergency placement hearing, and Fresard said the chief juvenile judge told her she was horrified to have to order the child be returned to the JDF.

Wheaton said the state is working with Wayne County to find permanent placement for the child.

Fresard said it is "absolutely inexcusable" that the state is using facilities like the JDF — which is supposed to be a temporary holding facility — seemingly in place of residential treatment centers, where juveniles are able to get the treatment, supervision and education they need.

"Wayne County JDF is not a residential facility. It's not a facility where all that is going to be ever satisfied. It's a holding facility," Fresard said. "(The state) is supposed to be providing these services and not sending them back."

Wheaton said MDHHS agrees with Wayne County about the importance of working together to address the collective challenges within the juvenile justice system. The state is working to partner with Wayne County to remediate the overcrowding issues, much of which is a problem because kids are waiting on placements at residential centers.

MDHHS put $25 million of pandemic relief toward juvenile care and residential centers. One-time payments will be given to about 30 child-caring institutions, Wheaton said. Payments will range from $100,000 to $3.5 million depending on the number of beds the institution has occupied and available.

Child care rates for the institution increased beginning Oct. 1, Wheaton said, from approximately $500 a day per child to $1,000 per child per day. Rates for 2023 also have a $2 per hour direct care worker rate, he said.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer also noted $25 million in supplemental spending to increase rates paid to child-caring institutions, Wheaton said.

kberg@detroitnews.com