Daniel Schoenherr, Capital News Service

Emergency departments across the state saw a fivefold increase in nitrous oxide-related poisonings and deaths between 2019 and 2023. In 2024, Michigan banned the sale of devices used to release nitrous oxide from cartridges into balloons for inhalation.

Experts say a well-designed detention screening helps divert nonviolent youths away from prison. But advocates for changes in the juvenile justice system say the current assessment queries may increase the likelihood of detention for youths of color.

Rural Michigan continues to have a shortage of psychiatric beds, according to Health and Human Services Department data.