Greg Coburn / news@whmi.com


Michigan recognizes the important role kinship caregivers play for children who need loving homes.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer has proclaimed September to be Kinship Foster Care Month in Michigan. Kinship care is the full-time care, nurturing and protection of children by family members, close family friends or other important adults in the child’s life.

This could include grandparents, aunts, uncles or older siblings. In Michigan, about 53,000 children are being raised by kinship caregivers. That includes about 4,100 children in foster care and approximately 49,000 other children who are raised in kinship families.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services believes children who need placements should be placed with their relatives whenever possible. Maintaining connections with relatives, friends, and communities they know is vital to their physical and emotional well-being.

In many cases, kinship families may not be aware of the resources available to them. MDHHS encourages these families to call the Kinship Support Program to connect with a kinship navigator to learn about the resources available in their community.

Go to the provided link for more information.