The Bureau of Children and Adult Licensing has a large amount of facility information available on-line that may be accessed by using our license search feature. This allows you to search for licensed Adult Foster Care Facilities (including Homes for the Aged) or Child Care Centers and Homes , Camps , or Child Welfare Facilities using one or more search values.

If you seek additional documentation concerning a facility, you may find it useful to review the general overview of the Freedom of Information Act as it relates to the Bureau of Children and Adult Licensing. You may also access the Michigan Freedom of Information Act online.

You may submit a Freedom of Information Act request to the Bureau of Children and Adult Licensing for information regarding Adult Foster Care Facilities, Child Day Centers and Homes, Camps, and Child Welfare Facilities in any of four ways:

1. By completing the online FOIA submission form and submitting it over the world wide web.
   
   
2. Via e-mail to bfsfoia@michigan.gov
   
   
3. By sending a written request using conventional mail to:
   FOIA Request
   Michigan Department of Human Services
   Bureau of Children and Adult Licensing
   7109 W. Saginaw, 2nd Floor
   P.O. Box 30650; Lansing, MI  48909-8150. 
   
   
4. By FAX to 517/335-6121. Please clearly specify that you are making a FOIA request on the fax.  If you choose to make a FOIA request, be sure to include the following information:

• Your name and complete mailing address
• The name of the licensee or the name of the licensed home or facility.
• The address of the licensed home or facility.
• The type of licensed home or facility, such as a child day care center or an adult foster care facility.
• The specific document or documents you are requesting. 
• The license number of the home or facility is also helpful if you can provide it.  

The following statewide lists are also available on this site:

· Statewide List of Adult Foster Care (delimited file)
· Statewide List of Child Care Centers and Homes (delimited file)
· Statewide List of Child Welfare Facilities (delimited file)

About the Bureau of Children and Adult Licensing and the Michigan Freedom of Information Act:

Michigan's Freedom of Information Act, commonly referred to as FOIA, permits anyone to request and receive any documents in our possession which are not protected by confidentiality laws.  Generally, we are able to provide the requested documents within the 5 business days allowed by the FOIA statute.  Some records are not kept in our central office where FOIA requests are handled.  If we need to retrieve requested records from the State's Record Center or from one of our 20 field offices located throughout the state, we send a letter to the requester to provide notice that we are taking the 10 business day extension allowed by the statute to provide the requested documents.  We begin counting the 5 business days on the business day following the date the request is received by the Bureau of Children and Adult Licensing. This means that we will mail out the request or have it available for pick up on the fifth business day.

The Bureau of Children and Adult Licensing does not release information regarding a complaint investigation that is ongoing.  Once the complaint investigation report has been finalized, it becomes available under FOIA.  The Bureau of Children and Adult Licensing is required to protect the names of children and adults receiving care in licensed homes/facilities and the names of their families; social security numbers; medical/ psychological reports; and any information related to investigations or records made under the Child Protection Law.  All of this information is confidential and protected from disclosure by State or Federal statute.  Additionally, the Bureau of Children and Adult Licensing is prohibited by statute from copying any record produced from the Michigan Department of State Police's Law Enforcement Information Network.

Please be aware that there are charges for Freedom of Information Act Requests.  Fees for licensing records include .05 cents a page for copying, actual mailing and postage costs, and exact time and labor costs to search for the record and prepare it for release in accordance with applicable statutes.  Rates are determined by the pay rate of the lowest paid employee who is capable of responding to the request.   A good faith deposit may be required for requests whose cost will exceed $50.

Lists of licensed homes and facilities are available by county.  The lists typically include the name, address and phone number of the licensee and the home or facility, the licensed capacity, and the status and effective dates of the license. 

You may request a specific document or documents from the license file or you may request the entire file.  The type of documents most generally requested include the licensing study report which summarized the findings of our licensing inspection; and complaint reports which summarize the nature of a complaint, our investigation methods and findings, and our recommendations.  You may request the most recent of either or both of these, or you may request them for a specific period of time such as the most recent 3 years, or you may request all of them.