Freedom of Information Act Requests

Public records for all of our licensed facilities are posted online. Use our License Lookup feature to find the facility you are looking for. Click on the facility name and go to the Reports Available section to view public records.

• Adult Foster Care & Homes for Aged
• Child Day Care Centers and Homes
• Children & Adult Foster Care Camps 
• Child Welfare Facilities

In addition, you can use one of our statewide lists below to find the name, address and phone number of the registrant/licensee and the home or facility, the licensed capacity, and the status and effective dates of the registration/license.

• Statewide List of Adult Foster Care
• Statewide List of Child Care Centers and Homes
• Statewide List of Child Welfare Facilities

If you need additional documentation concerning a licensed adult foster care facility, child care centers and homes, camps, or child welfare facilities, include the following information in your FOIA request:

• Your name and complete mailing address.
• The name of the registrant/licensee or the name of the registered/licensed home or facility.
• The address of the registered/licensed home or facility.
• The type of licensed home or facility, such as a child care center, adult foster care facility. 
• The specific document or documents you are requesting.
• The registration/license number of the home or facility, if known.

You may request specific document(s) from the file or you may request the entire file. The type of documents most generally requested include the licensing study report, which summarizes the findings of our licensing inspection, and special investigation reports, which summarize the nature of a complaint, our investigation methods and findings, and our recommendations. You may request:

• The most recent, specific type of report (such as licensing study report, special investigation report, etc.).
• A specific type of report for a specific period of time (such as all special investigation reports from the past three years).
• All reports on this registrant/licensee.

Fees 

There are charges for FOIA requests. Fees 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. Labor costs 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.

Submit Your Request 

Choose from any of the four methods listed below.

Email	Online
bfsfoia@michigan.gov	Complete the Online FOIA Request Form  If your request is not related to Licensing, skip the Facility/Home Information section and enter details of your request in the "Other" section.
Mail	Fax
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	517-335-6121

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note: When using email, mail or fax, clearly specify that you are making a FOIA request.

About the Bureau of Children and Adult Licensing and the Freedom of Information Act 
Michigan's Freedom of Information Act 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 five 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 five business days on the business day following the date the request is received by BCAL. This means that we will mail out the request or have it available for pickup on the fifth business day.

BCAL does not release information regarding a complaint investigation that is ongoing. Once the complaint investigation report has been finalized, it becomes available under FOIA. BCAL 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, BCAL is prohibited by statute from copying any record produced from the Michigan Department of State Police's Law Enforcement Information Network.