Fostering and Adoption

Foster placements for children are necessary when Child Protective Services (CPS) determines a child’s home is not safe.  If CPS completes an investigation of a home environment and determines that the child’s home is not safe, they will petition for the child to be removed to a foster home or a relative placement.

In Michigan, relatives are often given priority in becoming a foster placement but they will still need to go through the process of becoming an approved foster home at some point. In Michigan, relatives are given priority or preference when fostering children, but they are still expected to become a licensed foster parent. Relatives who are willing to take placement of the child must go through a similar process as any other non-related foster home. However, relatives can take immediate placement of a child and maintain them in their home while they are going through the licensing process. Before taking placement of a child, relatives must pass an initial safety assessment and be willing to work with the child’s foster care agency to create a plan for the child. 

After a child is removed from their home and placed into foster care, child protective services first look to the child’s relatives to find a placement. Placing the child with family members allows the child to maintain their cultural traditions and remain close with family. Therefore, the child can better adjust to their placement, and the parents have more hope about the child staying in a stable home. Therefore, relatives are the preferred home when finding a placement for the child.

For Family Members - Foster and Relative Placements

• Becoming a Foster Parent 

• Relative Caregiving 

• Kinship Care: Legal Guide 

• Family is What you Make It

• Foster Care Review Board

• Foster Parent Guide to Court

How does Child Protective Services determine when a placement is needed?

Child Protective Services conducts investigations upon hearing reports that a child has been abused. These investigations can consist of:

• Interviews with the children

• Interviews with the parents

• Visits to the home

• A safety assessment

• Requesting the child be seen by a doctor

What is foster care?

Foster care is the temporary care of children that are not able to live safely in their home. The goal of foster care is to offer children a safe and stable home until they can be safely returned to their parents, adopted, or placed in a permanent home. The first goal of foster care is reunification, reconnecting the parents with the child.

The child must be placed in the least restrictive setting in which the relative or placement can effectively meet the child’s needs.

Why Relative Care?

• Keeps the children around family 

• Allows parents to know that children will remain around family

• Allows children to live with people they know

• Offers a sense of stability

• Allows children to continue traditions

• Helps the child build healthy relationships in the family

What do I need to become a relative foster care placement?

• Must be at least 18 years old

• Can be single or married (spouse must apply if married)

• Can own, lease, or rent home

• Can be employed full or part-time

• Need a bed and enough space for each household member and foster child

• Must be in good health

• Need transportation and a phone in home

• Need income to support foster child

Who is considered a Relative?

A relative is any individual at least 18 years old that meets one of the following categories:

Related by a fifth degree of blood, marriage, or adoption such as a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent, nephew, niece, sibling, stepsibling, aunt or uncle, first cousin or first cousin once removed, and the spouse of any of the above, even if the marriage has ended. Step relationships are included for placement purposes. A stepparent, ex-stepparent, or a parent that shares custody of a half-sibling is considered a relative. Not related to the child by a fifth degree of blood, but has a strong positive connection to the child if the child is an infant or an Indian child.

Licensure

All relatives unlicensed at the time of the placement must be approved with the completion of a safety screen. Before the child can be placed with a relative, the relative must be screened by the agency to ensure that the relative is fit and willing to meet the child’s needs. Licensing process takes three to six months. You will have to attend a three-hour orientation, and then you will meet with a someone to help certify you. They will organize your finger printing appointments, trainings, and check for criminal history.  You will need three references that are not a member of your family, and the certification worker will also check for a history of child abuse, view your medical records, and your home to make sure that the home is safe for children. 

If approved, your first license will last six months and will last two years after being renewed. You can also choose to ask for a waiver if you do not want to be licensed, and the foster care worker will view your home to see if you can be a caregiver. 

Caregiver Duties

• Attend court hearings and family meetings

• Enroll child in school

• Ensure child has health and dental care

• Use non-physical and age-appropriate discipline

• Provide transportation and support visits with child’s parents and siblings

• Report progress to foster care worker

• Communicate with the child’s foster care worker about the child

• Provide the child a safe and loving home

Financial and Other Assistance

• Monthly board and care payment between $517.20 and $617.70 based on the child’s age. 

• Initial and Semi-annual clothing allowances based on the age of the child

• Support from other caregivers

• Training Opportunities

• Family independence program grants; can apply online.

• Child will have Medicaid if they do not have insurance.

• Foster care worker will help you apply for benefits such as food assistance 

• Additional Help for Caregivers - Michigan Department of Health and Human Services offers multiple services such as subsidized childcare for people working or in school, transportation for the child to appointments, and referrals to parenting and counseling services. Ask your foster care worker for more information about how to access these services.