Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, courts, and

schools partner to keep youth in school, out of justice system

Contact: Bob Wheaton, 517-373-7394

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. Caseworkers, the courts, educators and other partners are making
progress in a collaboration to keep Michigans young people in school and out of the criminal justice
system.
They are sharing accomplishments and discussing the important work that still needs to be done
during the two-day 2015 Michigan School-Justice Partnership Statewide Forum that began today.
The Michigan Departments of Health and Human Services, Education, and the Michigan Supreme
Court, State Court Administrative Office, and the University of Michigan organized the event.
At the urging of Gov. Rick Snyder, leaders from across the state have been working on local plans to
keep children in school and out of court following an earlier statewide forum held in September 2013.
The forum comes the same week that Snyder delivered a special message on the states criminal
justice system, offering a plan make Michigan safer. His message included directing MDHHS to
require quality metrics to measure performance from juvenile justice providers.
Its great to have representatives from every Michigan county working on solutions to a major
problem, said Steve Yager, executive director of the MDHHS Childrens Services Agency, one of
the speakers at the forum being held at the Grand Traverse Resort.
Yager said the recent merger of the departments of Community Health and Human Services into
MDHHS is intended to provide better and more coordinated services to Michiganders in need.
The School-Justice Partnership is exactly the type of thing we have in mind when we talk about
working together to focus on peoples needs and to remove barriers to success, Yager said.
Pathways to Potential is an example of success in removing barriers. Chronic absenteeism at
Pathways to Potential schools which have MDHHS caseworkers located in schools to assist
students with outside of school struggles dropped 33 percent during the 2013-14 school year.
Preliminary numbers for the current school year show Pathways is on track for its goal of reducing
chronic absenteeism another 10 percent in the more than 200 schools that have success coaches.
Keeping Michigans kids out of court and in school must be our goal, said Michigan Supreme Court
Justice Mary Beth Kelly, chair of the School-Justice Partnership. Thats why the judiciary is
collaborating with our partners from schools, MDHHS and other stakeholders to make sure our
young people get the help and support they need to succeed.

During breakout sessions at the forum, attendees heard from experts on topics such as community
policing in schools, eliminating bullying, afterschool programs, homeless children and the value of
mentoring.

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