MiFamily: Project aims to keep more children, families together

The Michigan Department of Human Services announces the launch of Protect MiFamily, the new Title IV-E waiver project approved for the state by the federal government. The five-year pilot program begins operating in three counties: Macomb, Kalamazoo, and Muskegon. Michigan needs to invest existing federal resources in the most effective and innovative way possible. Protect MiFamily is designed to do just that by strengthening families and improving the lives of vulnerable children, with the aim of keeping families together. The children involved in this project will be from birth to 5 years old and determined by Children's Protective Services to be at high or intensive risk for future maltreatment. Families served also must live in one of the three pilot counties, where private agencies Lutheran Social Services of Michigan and Catholic Charities of West Michigan will partner with DHS in the new program. All three counties chosen have a higher than typical rate of children in that youngest age group being removed from their homes and placed into foster care. The federal government oversees Title IV-E funding to the states. That money generally gets spent on the placement costs involved with moving children into foster care. Now, Michigan is one of just a handful of states to be granted a Title IV-E waiver for 2013 and beyond. There will be no additional federal dollars involved, but rather the repurposing of a portion of existing child welfare dollars to the project. "There's been a real disconnect between what we want for children and families and what we can afford," said Maura Corrigan, DHS director. "Reallocating funding from the federal government into early intervention to prevent abuse and neglect is a smart investment. Keeping families together and children safe will be our primary goal with Protect MiFamily." One hundred families in each of the pilot counties (300 total per year) will be identified and offered a broad array of services in the program, with each engagement expected to last a minimum of 15 months. Protect MiFamily under DHS will work with its partners to provide: * Safer Children--Children can be made safer in their own homes by better adapting to strategies under Protect MiFamily, avoiding maltreatment and the chance of secondary trauma often associated with foster care. The extended treatment plan will allow for monitoring both immediate and long-term safety issues. * Strong Families--Helping at-risk families address the root causes of maltreatmentand neglect, assisting them in raising happier, healthy children. Strengths will be identified, as will barriers like substance abuse, domestic violence and depression. * Supportive Communities--Many families under stress have no support system in place. Protect MiFamily will work to nurture and grow that support base among family, friends, neighbors and the community. * Innovation--Working to redirect resources right here in Michigan, at the front end when a family can still be saved and preserved intact, with evidence-based intervention. Protect MiFamily will invite new avenues of collaboration between DHS, its private partners, faith-based and other community organizations. "This new program is an important step and part of the larger reform of child welfare," said Stacie Bladen, Director of Protect MiFamily for DHS. "If successful, this project will set the stage for effective prevention and preservation services along with child protection in the years to come." DHS has also partnered with research consultant Westat and the University of Michigan to provide critical analysis of Protect MiFamily, for a rigorous ongoing evaluation during its run and a full report after the planned conclusion date. For additional information on the Department of Human Services, go online to www.michigan.gov/dhs. Published: Tue, Aug 13, 2013

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