Part of Maxey to be closed under state budget deal
Source: The Associated Press / The Ann Arbor News (MI), October 31, 2007 07:02AM
....... A compromise was reached on the last sticking point: Turning over more of the state's adoption, foster care and juvenile justice services to private hands. Under the compromise, a medium-security section of the Maxey facility on M-36 would close and 60 youthful offenders would be moved to private facilities.
The more than 130 affected workers would be allowed to transfer elsewhere in the Department of Human Services instead of losing their jobs.
"We are protecting those people who have been public employees for a long time," said House Appropriations Chairman George Cushingberry Jr., D-Detroit. He said private agencies can help lighten the backlog of cases handled by an overburdened and understaffed DHS.