News

MAGIC is recruiting adults with experience of guardianship to help shape reform in Michigan.

The Michigan Advancing Guardianship Innovations Center (MAGIC) is establishing a Lived Experience Advisory Group to help improve the guardianship system in Michigan. MAGIC believes that meaningful reform must be led by the people most affected by it.

Michigan Elder Justice Initiative (MEJI) and Michigan Long Term Care Ombudsman Program (MLTCOP) staff members have been featured in new articles in MLive and the Detroit Free Press regarding nursing homes.

The Michigan Elder Justice Initiative and Michigan Long Term Care Ombudsman presented in front of the Michigan Senate Oversight Committee. The hearing was sparked by MEJI's June 2025 report, "Public Funds into Private Pockets: How Nursing Homes May Be Hiding Profits and Depriving Residents of Care and Quality." MEJI and MLTCOP staff discussed the poor quality of care and life that many Michigan nursing home residents experience as well as the need for more financial transparency and accountability in nursing home financing.

MEJI is pleased to be presenting on April 29th to the Michigan Senate Oversight Committee about Michigan nursing homes' financial practices and the impact on nursing home residents' quality of life and care.

MEJI congratulates MLive reporter Matt Miller for his recent national and state awards for investigative reports on Michigan nursing homes. Matt's careful, thorough, and dogged research and reporting have illuminated the dark side of some of the state's worst nursing homes where MLive observed residents are being used as "pawns for profits."

"Some residents are not able to physically use a phone or computer, but newer devices allow residents to connect through simple voice commands," Salli Pung, who leads the program, wrote in an email to the Detroit Free Press. "The ombudsman program believes that cameras can have a great benefit to residents to ensure their needs are being met and care is being delivered timely."

What do you wish other people understood about guardianship?
If you work in legal, medical, social services, advocacy, or have lived experience under guardianship, your perspective matters.
Your voice will help shape future conversations across fields. Please
share widely!
Take this short survey using the QR code or link: https://forms.office.com/r/QTSqXxvpKC

The Michigan Elder Justice Initiative (MEJI) announces the launch of the Michigan Advancing Guardianship Innovations Center (MAGIC), a new program aimed at maximizing autonomy and dignity in Michigan’s adult guardianship system. This work is supported by a generous two-year grant from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund.

Alison Hirschel was pleased to participate in and present at the 2026 University of Southern California Judith D. Tamkin International Symposium on Elder Abuse. On February 27th, Alison and her Co-Presenter, Lori Smetanka, Executive Director of the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long Term Care, kicked off a day of discussion on the state of nursing homes and the need for additional advocacy and research related to elder mistreatment in that setting.

This Black History Month, the Michigan Elder Justice Initiative highlighted multiple Black disability and elder justice advocates: Youself Seegars, Travar Pettway, and Dr. Feranmi Okanlami.