On the heels of a contentious election, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson isn’t wasting time in calling for sweeping changes to Michigan elections. She says s
But institutional racism isn’t an attitude, or a policy; it’s an outcome. To diminish it and ultimately eradicate it, we first have to measure it.
So we’re asking leaders in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties to undertake an extraordinary effort: Gather the data necessary to document, and quantify, the racial inequities that infect each county’s criminal justice system, following the example of civic leaders in Washtenaw County.
The dedicated and methodical group of grassroots activists known as Citizens for Racial Equality in Washtenaw, or CREW, had no idea what they’d discover when they undertook to analyze 3,600 felony charges brought in Michigan’s sixth-largest county between 2013 and 2019. The racial disparities they documented in the prosecution and sentencing of criminal defendants astonished them, and their discoveries have challenged Washtenaw’s top law enforcement officials to reexamine the procedures, protocols and culture undergirding every facet of that
Nonprofit had overdue discussions on growing state health contracts
Lansing The leader of a nonprofit whose work for the state health department has ballooned during the COVID-19 pandemic said the group has had long overdue discussions about imposing stricter requirements for contracts involving the state.
Michigan Public Health Institute CEO Renee Branch Canady appeared before a House Appropriations subcommittee Wednesday, telling lawmakers that she started having conversations on the matter with Elizabeth Hertel of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services prior to Hertel s becoming the department s director on Jan. 22.
The nonprofit, which was created through a state law to assist the state with public health research, disclosed $166 million in funded projects for this fiscal year, up 93% from $86 million in projects two years earlier. The Detroit News reported last week on concerns about the group s close ties to the department and the fact it falls outside t
Nonprofit used in Michigan s COVID fight draws oversight abuse fears
Lansing The budget of a nonprofit group that one official says has been used by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to avoid oversight has ballooned during the COVID-19 pandemic, spurring concerns about the accountability of millions of dollars in government spending.
Through a master agreement, the Okemos-based Michigan Public Health Institute has quietly been able to execute contracts on behalf of the state health department. The group is so closely tied to the department that former state health director Robert Gordon once said hundreds of employees contracted through the nonprofit assist the state with work.
State-tied nonprofit used in Michigan's COVID fight used to avoid oversight, critics say chicagotribune.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from chicagotribune.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.