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| Appeals court rule against counties in juvenile detention case |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 03/28/2005 |
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The state of Michigan is not required to reimburse counties for construction and other capital costs they incur for housing children in juvenile detention centers, the state appeals court ruled last Wednesday. The court's ruling was a setback for 11 counties that said the state violated the law by not paying half the total cost of caring for child wards, who are under the protection and custody of courts. The Department of Human Services -- formerly the Family Independence Agency -- reimburses counties for half the cost of caring for the children. But it doesn't include the cost of constructing, equipping or improving the buildings where juveniles are housed when calculating payments to counties. A three-judge panel agreed with the state, saying nothing requires state officials to reimburse counties for major capital expenses. The law plainly requires a county to pay for its own buildings with its own money, the court said. Judge Peter O'Connell wrote that a ruling in favor of the counties "would twist the statutory design into an unbudgeted and unaccountable state subsidy that provides unlimited matching funds for any purchase that a county decides its juveniles might use." The total dollars at stake in the case may exceed $1 million, or an average of $100,000 per county. The eleven counties suing the state were Allegan, Bay, Berrien, Eaton, Grand Traverse, Kalamazoo, Marquette, Midland, Ottawa, Saginaw and Washtenaw. Grand Traverse does not have a center but has discussed building one. The FIA said other counties with detention centers that didn't join the suit are Calhoun, Genesee, Ingham, Jackson, Kent, Lenawee, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, Roscommon, St. Clair and Wayne. The case is Ottawa County v. Family Independence Agency. |
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