Advocates voiced support for bills that they say could help protect patients in Michigan’s psychiatric hospitals.
The bills were introduced by Rep. Jamie Thompson in March and sent to the House Committee on Health Policy. On Wednesday, May 21, 2025, the committee accepted testimony on the bills.
The bills would add advocacy groups to an advisory committee for the state’s recipient rights office and require that patients be provided with a written copy of their rights.
“This package stems from a current investigation from the Auditor General, and it aims to actually improve the oversight and bring peace of mind to families, people, parents, children, within the mental health space under the state’s care,” Thompson said.
Lawmakers said they believe these bills will move forward soon for a vote.
The legislation has also been introduced in the Senate by Sen. Michael Webber and Sen. Rick Outman. Those bills were referred to the Committee on Housing and Human Services.
Office of Recipient Rights audit
The Office of Recipient Rights is currently under investigation by the Auditor General.
The audit began in April 2024 and was expected to be completed in June 2025, but it has been delayed. It’s not expected to be completed until August.
The Office of Recipient Rights is responsible for investigating patient treatment complaints. This includes complaints from the Hawthorn Center, the state’s only child psychiatric facility.
Local 4 first exposed issues at the Hawthorn Center over two years ago, after an unannounced active shooter drill brought the facility into the national spotlight.
Since then, the Hawthorn Center has been torn down. Children have been temporarily transferred to Walter Reuther while a new Hawthorn Center is constructed. Concerns continue to be raised about how children at the facility are being treated.
Sen. Michael Webber is the one who called for a state audit of the Hawthorn Center.
“I called for this investigation based on serious concerns over patient care and a disturbing lack of transparency from the department in charge of our state psychiatric hospitals. And the more I looked into it, the worse it got,” Webber said. “Parents and families deserve answers. I’m eager to review the auditor’s findings as soon as they are available so we can better protect patients moving forward. The bottom line is that if the department had been doing its job, this audit wouldn’t have been needed.”
---> Audit linked to Michigan psych hospital for kids pushed back
House Bill 4218
House Bill 4218 would add advocacy group members to the State Recipient Rights Advisory Committee, bringing the total number of members up from 12 to 15.
The three new members would be as follows:
- One individual who represents the interests of Disability Rights of Michigan
- One individual who represents the interests of the Mental Health Association in Michigan.
- One individual who represents the interests of the Arc Michigan.
The bill would also prohibit an individual who is employed by, serving under, or otherwise a part of the executive office at DHHS from serving on the committee.
House Bill 4219
House Bill 4219 would require patients voluntarily seeking treatment to be provided with a written copy of their rights.
The written copy would include the right to end treatment and the process for doing so. The patient would also receive a copy of the form they use to end treatment.
“Even though it’s 2025, we still have incidents in both public and private psychiatric hospitals where people are not always treated really well. And that’s why, particularly House Bill 4219, which gives formal voluntary individuals, people who say, ‘Yes. I think I am a person requiring treatment. I need to get inpatient psychiatric treatment,’ written notice of their rights. Because that wasn’t happening,” said Marianne Huff, with the Mental Health Association of Michigan.
Currently, a patient’s rights during treatment are only required to be communicated orally. The bill would make it so the rights are communicated orally and in writing to the patient and the person who executed the written consent.
The patient will also receive instruction on their right to end voluntary mental health treatment and describe the process in which they can end treatment.
