Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Director Elizabeth Hertel joined with kinship caregivers, advisory council members and kinship support staff at the MDHHS South Central Wayne Office in Detroit to discuss how the state is continuing its commitment to ensuring Michigan children safely remain with their families through kinship care.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s recently announced FY2026 budget includes nearly $90 million in investments focused on meaningful, timely and effective services and supports to help kids safe.
Kinship care is the full-time care, nurturing and protection of children by family members or other important adults in the child’s life. This could include grandparents, aunts, uncles, older siblings or family friends.
Kinship care can occur when a child is placed through the MDHHS foster care system or through an arrangement made outside the child welfare system between the parent and the kinship caregiver.
“Michigan has been a national leader in kinship care and believes children who need placements outside their homes should be placed with relatives or other close family friends whenever possible,” said Elizabeth Hertel, MDHHS director. “This allows children to maintain connections with relatives, friends and communities they know and aligns with our priority to keep families together when it is safe to do so.”
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Director Elizabeth Hertel joined with kinship caregivers, advisory council members and kinship support staff at the MDHHS South Central Wayne Office in Detroit to discuss how the state is continuing its commitment to ensuring Michigan children safely remain with their families through kinship care.
MDHHS has been piloting kinship support workers in nine counties. Their roles are to help identify potential kin caregivers and provide support and placement services. The FY26 proposal includes $24.4 million to expand the program statewide.
Michigan has 10,000 children in the foster care system with nearly half of those children currently placed with relatives. Placing children with people they know can help minimize trauma and loss associated with foster care placement and decrease the amount of time spent in foster care. MDHHS works with the Kinship Care Resource Center (KCRC) at Michigan State University (MSU)?to provide support, trainings and other outreach for kinship caregivers.?
“The Michigan State University Kinship Care Resource Center is proud to support all kinship caregivers raising relative children, ensuring they have the information, referrals and resources needed to provide safety and stability for their families,” said Michele Brock, Director of Community Programs, MSU School of Social Work. “Thanks to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services' commitment to prioritizing kinship caregivers who have stepped up for family, KCRC can step up for them – offering the only statewide toll-free service at 800-535-1218, designed specifically for kinship families. With dedicated navigators, most of whom are kinship caregivers themselves, and expanded partnerships with community organizations like UPCAP, D.A. Blodgett, Hands Across the Water, Spaulding for Children and Child and Family Services, KCRC is reaching more families than ever to ensure they have the support and information they need to thrive.”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s recently announced FY2026 budget includes nearly $90 million in investments focused on meaningful, timely and effective services and supports to help kids safe.
Kinship care is the full-time care, nurturing and protection of children by family members or other important adults in the child’s life. This could include grandparents, aunts, uncles, older siblings or family friends.
Kinship care can occur when a child is placed through the MDHHS foster care system or through an arrangement made outside the child welfare system between the parent and the kinship caregiver.
“Michigan has been a national leader in kinship care and believes children who need placements outside their homes should be placed with relatives or other close family friends whenever possible,” said Elizabeth Hertel, MDHHS director. “This allows children to maintain connections with relatives, friends and communities they know and aligns with our priority to keep families together when it is safe to do so.”
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Director Elizabeth Hertel joined with kinship caregivers, advisory council members and kinship support staff at the MDHHS South Central Wayne Office in Detroit to discuss how the state is continuing its commitment to ensuring Michigan children safely remain with their families through kinship care.
MDHHS has been piloting kinship support workers in nine counties. Their roles are to help identify potential kin caregivers and provide support and placement services. The FY26 proposal includes $24.4 million to expand the program statewide.
Michigan has 10,000 children in the foster care system with nearly half of those children currently placed with relatives. Placing children with people they know can help minimize trauma and loss associated with foster care placement and decrease the amount of time spent in foster care. MDHHS works with the Kinship Care Resource Center (KCRC) at Michigan State University (MSU)?to provide support, trainings and other outreach for kinship caregivers.?
“The Michigan State University Kinship Care Resource Center is proud to support all kinship caregivers raising relative children, ensuring they have the information, referrals and resources needed to provide safety and stability for their families,” said Michele Brock, Director of Community Programs, MSU School of Social Work. “Thanks to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services' commitment to prioritizing kinship caregivers who have stepped up for family, KCRC can step up for them – offering the only statewide toll-free service at 800-535-1218, designed specifically for kinship families. With dedicated navigators, most of whom are kinship caregivers themselves, and expanded partnerships with community organizations like UPCAP, D.A. Blodgett, Hands Across the Water, Spaulding for Children and Child and Family Services, KCRC is reaching more families than ever to ensure they have the support and information they need to thrive.”
––––––––––––––––––––
Subscribe to the Legal News!
https://www.legalnews.com/Home/Subscription
Full access to public notices, articles, columns, archives, statistics, calendar and more
Day Pass Only $4.95!
One-County $80/year
Three-County & Full Pass also available
