Secret list: Having your name on this secret Michigan list of 275,000 people could cost you your job
March 20, 2014 § Leave a comment
Secret list: Having your name on this secret Michigan list of 275,000 people could cost you your job
Secret list: Having your name on this secret Michigan list of 275,000 people could cost you your job
LANSING, Mich. (WXYZ) – There’s a secret list in the state of Michigan that can cost you your family or your job. It’s called the Child Abuse/Neglect Central Registry, for this secret list, it’s not a judge or a jury that can get you labeled a child abuser — it’s the word of a state worker.
Governor Rick Snyder just signed a new law that will make changes to the rules of the Central Registry, but many legal experts say it doesn’t go far enough. Currently, state officials say there are about 275,000 names on Michigan’s Central Registry. The Registry is maintained by the Department of Human Services (DHS), which oversees Child Protective Services (CPS).
People who want to work with children can’t be on the registry. Attorney Elizabeth Warner, who is suing DHS and other state officials, says she has clients who have lost their jobs or been prevented from getting new jobs because they were placed on the registry in error.
Warner says the Central Registry is unconstitutional because people are labeled abusers without being given a fair hearing by an independent party.
“They do not give them a chance to defend themselves before they list them,” said Warner. Warner also adds the registry is unreliable. “We know that the error rate is very high,” she said.
Thursday on 7 Action News at 11, Investigator Heather Catallo will show you what’s being done to keep families from being unfairly accused of abuse.
Will County Pro-se 