Michigan State University’s Kinship Care Resource Center (KCRC) remains dedicated to helping children in Michigan stay with their families through kinship care.
This commitment has been reinforced by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who recently announced her FY2026 budget, which includes nearly $90 million in new investments to strengthen kinship care services and ensure children remain safe.
“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.”
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 MDHHS foster care system or through an arrangement made outside the child welfare system between the parent and the kinship caregiver.
Currently, Michigan has 10,000 children in the foster care system with nearly half of those children currently placed with relatives, according to MDHHS. Research shows that placing children with relatives minimizes the trauma and loss associated with foster care while also reducing the time spent in the system.
To support kinship families, MDHHS partners with MSU’s KCRC, which provides essential resources, training, and outreach to caregivers across the state.
“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 at MSU’s School of Social Work.
KCRC offers the only statewide toll-free support service specifically designed for kinship families, available at 800-535-1218. Through partnerships with community organizations such as the Upper Peninsula Commission For Area Progress (UPCAP), D.A. Blodgett, Hands Across the Water, Spaulding for Children, and Child and Family Services, KCRC is expanding its reach to ensure caregivers receive the assistance they need.
With the increase in state funding and ongoing support from MDHHS, MSU’s KCRC continues to play a critical role in advocating for kinship caregivers and the children they support.
“Thanks to MDHHS's commitment to prioritizing kinship caregivers who have stepped up for family, KCRC can step up for them,” said Brock.
The Kinship Care Resource Center is one of several community programs in the School of Social Work at Michigan State University. The KCRC serves kinship care families across the state by providing information and referrals to resources and services for caregivers and the children they are raising. KCRC also offers support to professionals serving kinship families.
The Kinship Care Resource Center is generously funded through grants provided by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.