Michigan's Women, Infants & Children program, providing supplemental nutrition, breastfeeding information, and other resources for healthy mothers & babies.
Information on the Family Independence Program, State Disability Assistance, SSI, Refugee, and other cash assistance.
If you cannot afford child care, payment assistance is available.
Children's Special Health Care Services information and FAQ's.
Information on assistance with home repairs, heat and utility bills, relocation, home ownership, burials, home energy, and eligibility requirements.
Information on the Food Assistance Program, eligibility requirements, and other food resources.
Information about the health care programs available through Medicaid and how to qualify.
Our migrant program works with a number of organizations to provide services for Michigan’s migrant and seasonal farmworkers.
A federal program which helps persons admitted into the U.S. as refugees to become self-sufficient after their arrival.
Universal caseload, or task-based processing, is a different way of handling public assistance cases.
Information on the Children's Protective Services Program, child abuse reporting procedures, and help for parents in caring for their children.
Information on adoption programs, adoption resources, locating birth parents and obtaining information from adoption records.
Information on Adult Protective Services, Independent Living Services, Adult Community Placement Services, and HIV/AIDS Support Services.
Information on child support services for participants and partners.
Programs for healthy children & families, including immunization, lead poisoning prevention, prenatal smoking cessation, and many others.
Information on the Children's Foster Care program and becoming a Foster Parent.
Information about the Michigan law that requires certain information be made available to a woman who is seeking an abortion at least 24 hours prior to the abortion procedure.
Information on treatment and services for juvenile offenders, success stories, and more.
Child Welfare Medical and Behavioral Health Resources
MDHHS and partners support a continuum of prevention services. The continuum is inclusive of primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention activities. Visit this page to learn more.
Information about injury and violence prevention programs in Michigan
Information on Safe Sleep for your baby, how to protect your baby's life.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services' (MDHHS) Environmental Health Bureau (EHB) uses the best available science to reduce, eliminate, or prevent harm from environmental, chemical, and physical hazards.
Resources and information to assist in assuring firearm safety for families in the state of Michigan.
The Division of Victim Services (DVS) provides a voice advocating for and responding to all victims of crime in Michigan. Learn more about DVS-funded programs and services, including Michigan’s 24/7, free, confidential, and anonymous domestic violence and sexual assault hotlines.
Medical Resources for Child Protection
Serves as liaison and provides funding to Michigan’s 45 local health departments.
Adult Behavioral Health & Developmental Disability Services
Multicultural Health
Prevention of diseases & conditions such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes and many others.
Information on communicable & chronic diseases.
Home to an array of public health programs, initiatives and interventions aimed at improving the health and well-being of women, infants, families and communities.
Birth, Death, Marriage and Divorce Records
Boards and Commissions
Bridge Card Participation Information on Electronic Benefits for clients and businesses, lists of participating retailers and ATMs, and QUEST.
Provider Payments Information on the direct deposit of State of Michigan payments into a provider's bank account.
Information on How to Bid, Requests for Proposals, forms and publications, contractor rates, and manuals.
Information & resources for Community and Faith-Based partners
Information on DHS Applications and Forms grouped by category.
State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP)
Health Care Providers
Licensing information for Adult Foster Care and Homes for the Aged, Child Day Care Facilities, Child Caring Institutions, Children's Foster Care Homes, Child Placing Agencies, Juvenile Court Operated Facilities and Children's or Adult Foster Care Camps.
Michigan Statewide Systems of Care
Information on the grant awarded for the State Innovation Model Proposal
Protect MiFamily -Title IV-E Waiver
Offers resources for agencies who operate the Weatherization Assistance Program in the state of Michigan
Information on resources in your community and volunteer recruitment and training, and services provided at local DHS offices.
Information is collected to monitor the general health and well-being of Michigan citizens.
Equal Opportunity, Legal Base, Laws and Reporting Welfare Fraud information.
A variety of reports & statistics for programs and services.
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Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also known as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) or venereal diseases (VDs), are infections that are spread by sex - including vaginal, anal, and oral sex. STIs often are asymptomatic, meaning that people who have an STI may have no visible signs of infection in the early stages and may not know they have an STI.
The most common STIs are syphilis, chlamydia, gonorrhea, genital warts, genital herpes, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Left untreated, HIV can progress to Autoimmune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
HIV/AIDS was first seen in Michigan in 1981. Like most other STIs, HIV is on the list of mandatory reportable conditions in Michigan. Health care providers and local health departments report HIV and other STIs using a web-based tool known as the Michigan Disease Surveillance System (MDSS).
STIs are transmitted during vaginal, oral, and anal sex. They also can be passed from a mother to her unborn child or from an infected person who shares a needle or syringe for drug use, tattooing, piercing, or other activity with another person. If left untreated, STIs can result in serious negative health outcomes, including:
Having any STI can break down the body's natural defense system and increase a person's risk of HIV infection. In addition, any sore or break in skin or a mucous membrane can provide a way for HIV to enter the body.
STIs, including HIV, are spread through contact with infected body fluids, such as blood (including menstrual blood and any blood in saliva, urine, and feces), semen ("cum") and other male sexual fluids ("pre-cum"), vaginal secretions, and breast milk. STIs also can be transferred through contact with infected skin or breaks in mucous membranes, such as sores or lesions in the mouth or genital area.
Activities that expose you to infected body fluids or skin include:
Anal or rough sex are especially risky, because they often can cause tearing or bleeding.
In addition, health care providers and medical lab workers can be at risk if they come into contact with other body fluids, such as cerebrospinal fluid around the brain and spinal cord, synovial fluid around the joints, and/or amniotic fluid around a developing fetus. Most other people do not come into contact with these fluids.
HIV and other STIs are not transmitted from everyday, non-sexual activities, such as:
HIV attacks the body's immune system, specifically a certain type of white blood cells called CD4 cells (also known as T cells).1 Over time, the virus destroys so many CD4 cells that the body is left without enough defenses to fight off infections and disease. That's why people with HIV have regular doctor visits to monitor their viral load and CD4 cell count.
CD4 counts are measured as the number of CD4 cells in a millimeter of blood. Normally, the body has a CD4 cell count between 500 and 1,500. But, as HIV progresses, a person's CD4 count falls. If the CD4 count drops below 200, the person receives a diagnosis of AIDS. The goal of medical care for people with HIV is to achieve viral suppression, a status in which the measurable virus level in their blood is 200 or lower. People with HIV who are virally suppressed can maintain a higher CD4 cell count and, as a result, will have better immune health and be less likely to transmit the virus to their partners.
Doctors prescribe antiretroviral (ARV) medications to lower a person's viral load. ARVs target HIV and suppress its ability to replicate and invade blood cells. They are effective, but they are also relatively expensive. People with HIV can get help paying for medications and medical care visits through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) and the Michigan Drug Assistance Program (MIDAP).
There are safe alternatives to vaginal, anal, or oral sex. For example:
If you are not in a monogamous relationship, be sure to:
If you think you've been exposed, get tested right away. Early care and treatment is most effective.
Local health departments across Michigan distribute condoms and perform HIV and STI testing. Local health staff also follow up with people who are newly diagnosed with HIV and/or syphilis to help them understand the importance of immediate treatment and to offer them partner services, including referrals for case management and/or medical care, risk reduction counseling, and partner notification.
Once a person has tested positive, notifying their sexual and/or needle sharing partners of their possible exposure enables them to take advantage of testing and possible treatment, reducing their risk of becoming infected (and possibly transmitting the infection to others).
Although prevention of new infections is best achieved by safe sex practices, medications are also available that can help prevent infection with HIV.
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a medication that can be taken to reduce an individual's chances of getting HIV through sex or sharing drug injection equipment. Taking PrEP as prescribed by a healthcare provider can reduce your chances of getting HIV by up to 99% from sexual encounters and 74% from sharing drug injection equipment. To learn more about PrEP, find a provider, or access resources and support, visit Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP).
Medication also can be taken following a possible exposure to HIV to help prevent transmission of the virus. In such cases, the medications are referred to as post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). To learn more about PEP, visit Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP).
PrEP and PEP can be prescribed by a doctor, physician assistant, or a nurse practitioner.
Michigan HIV/STI Hotline
Michigan residents with questions related to HIV and STIs are encouraged to call the Michigan HIV/STI Hotline at 1-800-872-2437 or chat online (Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.).
Michigan 2-1-1
Michigan 2-1-1 is a free service available 24/7/365 to help connect Michigan residents with the information and resources they need. For assistance with locating resources available in Michigan to help prevent, diagnose, and treat HIV and STIs, visit: Michigan 2-1-1 HIV/STI Services.
The number of new cases (incidence) of HIV in Michigan has remained stable since 2000, but the number of people with HIV (prevalence) has increased. That rise in prevalence can be traced to new medications and standards of care that have made HIV a manageable, chronic condition and led to a sharp decline in the death rate among people with HIV.
MDHHS Bureau of HIV and STI Programs - Division of Data and Operations - Surveillance and Epidemiology Section tracks the frequencies and proportions of people with HIV in Michigan that are in selected stages of HIV care (Infected with HIV, Diagnosed with HIV, In Care for HIV, and Virally Suppressed).
The team issues an annual Michigan HIV Care Continuum (also known as the HIV Treatment Cascade) report. That and other data and analyses about HIV in Michigan can be found on our Data & Statistics page.
1 Definitions of HIV-related terms can be found in the Understanding HIV/AIDS Glossary, a resource of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services HIVinfo project.