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Foster Care

Foster Care

  • Contact our Foster Care Navigators to get started. Our Foster Care Navigators are experienced foster parents who can answer all of your questions - Call them today at 855-MICHKIDS.

  • Yes. Once a month is the requirement, but other assistance may be available as well from local support groups, other foster parents, caseworkers, doctors and more.
  • Foster homes are needed for infants, toddlers, school-aged children,  teenagers, sibling groups, children with disabilities and children of various races, religions and cultural backgrounds.
  • Love and accept them without trying to replace their natural parents. Give them a normal family life and a feeling of belonging. Provide nutritious meals and give good daily care. See that their health needs are met. Give them the training and guidance that will help them become good citizens. Help them become a part of the community, by involving them in community recreational activities. Cooperate and work with the local educational system to ensure continuity of the foster child's education.
  • The Department shares responsibility with them. The parents are responsible for the day-to-day care of the child, while MDHHS carries overall responsibility for decisions about the child.
  • A worker from the Department makes regular visits to the home to help with problems that may arise. Foster parents are expected to discuss any issues that come up throughout the placement with their worker so he/she can provide support and assistance, or find a new placement for the child if need be. Changes must be planned carefully to prevent further emotional distress to the child. The foster child remains under the supervision of the Department while away from his own home.

  • Call our Foster Care Navigators at 855-MICHKIDS to get started. Navigators can answer all of your questions, help you find an agency near you and provide guidance along your journey to becoming a foster parent.

    Go to www.michigan.gov/hopeforahome to learn more.

  • A licensing worker from the Department arranges to talk with prospective foster parents, usually in the office and in the home. The worker explains Department policies and what is expected of foster parents. The services worker needs to get to know the parents and the members of the family. Medical statements, character references and criminal history are checked.
  • You can become a court-appointed special advocate (CASA). You'll follow a child's case through the court system while looking out for his best interests. Tutor a foster child. Give free music or art lessons. Donate clothes, suitcases, and baby supplies. Many foster kids show up with only the clothes they have on or all their belongings in a plastic garbage bag. Provide transportation. Offer to help foster parents take their children to activities and appointments. Volunteer at the office. Provide administrative help to a foster care agency. Become a Big Brother or a Big Sister. Foster kids need role models.
  • Foster Parenting requires a lot of patience and compassion. Foster parents understand that the children that come to them are hurting and that it takes a long time to reduce that pain and change the resulting behaviors. You have to be 18 years old, be of good moral character, be in good health, have an adequate income, and meet other basic standards.
  • Contact your local Department of Human Services or a private child-placing agency in your area. The foster care supervisor will explain what you need to do to become licensed. You can be either married or single and can either work or stay at home. You will be required to attend training, agree to submit medical statements for your family, agree to be interviewed in your home, agree to have a criminal background check done, and provide letters of recommendation. The entire process takes between three and six months.
  • Foster care is intended to be a temporary placement for the child. Reunification of the family is the primary goal. The majority of children in foster care are reunited with their parents or primary caretaker. If that's not feasible, workers try to place the child in a permanent adoptive home as soon as possible. Each case is unique; you could keep a child for a few months or even a year.
  • No more than four foster children can be placed in a home at one time. The Department expects a foster child to have his own bedroom or share a room with another child of the same sex. Every effort is made to place brothers and sisters in the same home.
  • Twice monthly, you'll receive monthly payments, based on the age and needs of the child. You will also receive a semi-annual clothing allowance. Children in foster care are eligible for Medicaid, which pays for medical, dental and mental-health care. Many foster families will also qualify for reimbursement for the costs of child care.