By Hon. Maura D. Corrigan and Marcia M. McBrien
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| Daniel J. Wright |
There were—and are—plenty of reasons to love, honor, and miss the late Daniel J. Wright (1948-2012), attorney and former director of the Friend of the Court Bureau (FOCB) and Child Welfare Services division of the State Court Administrative Office (SCAO).
Professionally, Dan was probably best known for the “Michigan
Miracle,” the 2003 conversion of Michigan’s 83 counties and their friend of the
court offices to a single child support computer system for the state, known as
the Michigan Child Support Enforcement System (MiCSES). At the time, it was deemed impossible for the
state to meet the federally-mandated deadline for the conversion. But Dan led a
successful conversion effort, saving the state $178 million in federal
penalties.
Those of us who were blessed to work with him also cherished
his legal acumen, integrity, jovial-yet-firm diplomacy, and wide smile. Dan’s
command of the poems of W.B. Yeats – he could quote any of the Irish poet’s
works from memory – was matched by his profound understanding of the child
welfare system and its challenges.
As head of the SCAO’s Friend of the Court Bureau, and later
as director of Child Welfare Services, Dan continued to work for Michigan’s
children and families. He launched “adoption forums” to make it easier for children
in foster care to find permanent homes and advocated for legislation giving
children more power in the legal decisions affecting their futures.
To honor his work in child welfare, the state created the
Daniel J. Wright Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011, which recognizes an
outstanding advocate for Michigan children and families.
Dan’s death left an enormous void in our hearts and in the
field of child wellbeing. We needed to not only to honor his memory, but also
to foster the next generation of child welfare leaders, a fitting legacy for
Dan.
That is why a group of Dan’s family and friends have created
the Daniel J. Wright Memorial Endowed Scholarship in Child Welfare at the
University of Detroit-Mercy.
The scholarship committee, formed by Justice Corrigan,
includes Child Welfare Services Director Kelly Wagner; Dan’s brother J. Patrick
Wright; his law school classmates Daniel Clinton and former State Bar of
Michigan President Thomas J. Ryan; Dan’s former colleague Lisa Gigliotti,
division director and administrative law judge in the Michigan Office of
Administrative Hearings; and Marcia McBrien, who worked closely with Dan during
the MiCSES conversion.
The Wright Memorial Scholarship will be offered to students
pursuing a career in child welfare, advocacy, and policy. Students in the University
of the Detroit Mercy School of Law, the School of Business, and the College of
Liberal Arts will be eligible to apply.
Financial need is a serious barrier to students who want to
enter the field of child welfare. Our goal is to remove that barrier for the
next generation of child welfare leaders.
We believe that Dan knows of our effort – and he is smiling.
For more information about the Wright Memorial Scholarship,
please visit the School of Law’s endowedscholarships page.
Sidebar: Remembering Dan
“Dan was a tremendous diplomat and a man of his word. At the
time, it seemed impossible that all the state’s counties could meet the federal
deadline for the MiCSES conversion. But Dan persuaded the counties to come on
board despite all the difficulties involved. Federal officials acknowledged at
the time that it took a ‘miracle’ for the state to meet the deadline.”
-- Former Justice Maura D. Corrigan
“I am not surprised that Dan pulled off ‘The Michigan
Miracle.’ Dan had tremendous drive but very little ego. He never talked about
himself. So it is comforting to know his memory and bountiful legacy of helping
children in need will continue in the education of children’s advocates at the
University of Detroit-Mercy.”
-- J. Patrick Wright, brother of Dan Wright
“I think Dan’s greatest contribution to child welfare was
building relationships among the courts, the Department of Health and Human
Services, attorneys – everyone involved – to make sure the system runs smoothly
for families. He was laser-focused on bringing people together to solve
problems.”
-- Kelly Wagner, Director, Child Welfare Services, State
Court Administrative Office
“Dan was driven to build consensus and bring people together.
At a time when people at the state and local levels were barely talking to each
other, and the branches of government treated each other with suspicion, he
helped forge a partnership that saw them work together not only to implement
the child support enforcement system, but to collaborate on family law reform
measures to improve the lives of children and their families.”
-- Steve Capps, current director of the FOCB and former
deputy under Dan Wright
“Dan was the soul of encouragement, even on days when there
wasn’t much to be encouraged about. And he was never arrogant or vain. The day
we got word that the federal authorities had approved the MiCSES conversion,
Dan didn’t boast about it or take any kind of victory lap. Instead he leaned
back in his desk chair and started reciting a Yeats poem from memory—a truly selfless
man.”
-- Marcia McBrien, former Public Information Officer,
Michigan Supreme Court
Marcia M. McBrien is an attorney and the former Public Information Officer of the Michigan Supreme Court (2001-13).
