• Governor's Task Force on Children's Justice
In December 1991, Governor John Engler appointed the Governor's Task Force on Children's Justice (Task Force) with Honorable Elizabeth A. Weaver, then of the Michigan Court of Appeals, as Chairperson. T ...

• Kinship Care/Family Decision Making (FGDM)
Kinship care or suitable relative placement, which includes placement with a friend of the family who has "relative status" is the favored alternative to foster care.

• Teen Parents
Self-sufficiency and independence is promoted among teen parents while repeat pregnancies and welfare dependency is discouraged.

• Child Placement Network
In January 2005, as part of child welfare reform in Wayne County, a team comprised of Department of Human Services (DHS) managers, DHS front line staff, foster parents, and private agency staff was ...

• Medical Resource System
The Department of Human Services has a contract with DeVos' Children's Hospital at Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids to ensure access to a Medical Resource System (MRS).

• Race Equity
In March 2006, MDHS in compliance with a state legislative mandate released a major report, Equity: Moving toward Better Outcomes for All of Michigan's Children, examining why African American children ...

• Family to Family Initiative
In 2007, Michigan will finalize the implementation of the Family to Family Initiative in its remaining 18 counties. The Family to Family Initiative is part of Michigan's child welfare reform effort to i ...

• State Permanency Taskforce for Foster Care Youth
In January of 2006, Marianne Udow, Director of the Michigan DHS, and Maura Corrigan, Michigan Supreme Court Justice, convened a statewide permanency taskforce.

• Treatment Foster Care
Michigan's Treatment Foster Care Program will provide family-based treatment to children with serious to severe emotional and behavioral disturbance who must be placed outside the parental or placement ...

• Child Locator Unit (AWOLP Program)
The Absent Without Legal Permission (AWOLP) unit was developed in response to the large number of missing children from foster care across the State.

• Child Death Review Teams
In cooperation, the Department of Community Health and the Department of Human Services established Child Death Review Teams in all 83 counties.