Hello, my name is Gloria Mitchell, and I am here to navigate you through your foster care and/or adoption process.

I am here to answer, as best possible, your foster care and adoption questions, keep you encouraged and focused on your endeavor and to help connect you with an agency in your area.

I welcome you to contact me by phone anytime at (248) 443-0300, ext. 241 or via email at gloriamitchell@spaulding.org regarding your foster care or adoption concerns.

Contact Information

Spaulding for Children

Gloria Mitchell

(248) 443-0300, ext. 241

gloriamitchell@spaulding.org

Para información en español, contacte:

Iliana Velazquez

(248) 443-0300, ext. 244

Licensing Requirements for Foster or Adoption

Foster Care: Foster care is meant to be temporary; adoption is meant to be permanent.

Because foster care is considered to be a temporary placement, it is not a good idea to become a foster parent with the expectation that you will always be able to adopt a child placed in your care. A foster parent is expected to work with the agency and birth parents, in the hopes that the family will be reunited.

If parental rights are terminated, though, relatives and then foster parents will be considered first as adoptive homes for the child.

For more information about fostering, please go to: www.spaulding.org/cfs/foster.htm.

Adoption: Yes, there are children whose parental rights have already been terminated, and yes, these children need adoptive families.

Once your licensing process is complete, you may start inquiring about children that your family is interested in. Your adoption worker will share information about your family – including your Family Assessment – with the child’s worker. Usually, children’s workers gather information on multiple families at the same time to find a family that best meets the needs of the child. Once the family has been chosen, the child’s worker will share more in-depth, detailed information with the family’s adoption worker. Usually called a Child Assessment, this report contains information such as how the child came into foster care, how long the child has been in care, how many placements the child has lived in, and any diagnoses the child may have. It is then up to the family to decide if they want to proceed with an adoptive placement.

For more information about adoption, please go to: www.spaulding.org/cfs/adoptionservices.htm.

Who can Foster or Adopt?

• You do not have to be married to foster or adopt a child or children. Many children will thrive in a single parent home.
• You do not need to own your own home. A rented home or apartment is fine, as long as there is adequate bedroom space per child. The home must be free from health and fire hazards, and must have a safe play area for children.
• You do not need to be rich to adopt or be a foster parent. Even if you receive some type of financial assistance, you are still eligible to provide foster care or adopt as long as you have resources to provide for your family.

Anyone applying to foster or adopt must meet the following qualifications:

• Be 18 years of age or older.
• Be of good moral character.
• Be willing to provide care for children who are in foster care.
• Understand the care which must be provided to the children, or express a willingness to learn how to provide that care.
• Have enough time to provide care and supervision for the children.
• Have a specific source of income, and be capable of managing that income, to meet the needs of the family.
• Be of such physical, mental, and emotional health to be able to properly care for the children.
• Be able to assure the proper care and safety of children.
• Be willing to comply with the licensing rules.

If you have a spouse or live-in-partner, they will also be required to participate in the homestudy process as well as attend the P.R.I.D.E. (Parent Resources for Information, Development and Education) training series with you.

More detailed information will be provided to you upon request.

Does it Cost to Foster or Adopt?

When working with a local DHS office to adopt a child from the Michigan Foster Care System, the family is not charged for the home assessment process.

Some private agencies will require a home assessment fee. However, once the family adopts a child from the foster care system in Michigan, the family must be reimbursed that fee by the agency for a Michigan child. If the family adopts a child from another state’s foster care system, that family may be reimbursed through that State’s Nonrecurring Adoption Expenses. Also, if a child in foster care is also eligible for subsidy, then the adoptive family may be eligible for reimbursement of limited nonrecurring adoption-related costs.

Yes, you can adopt a child who is waiting in foster care in any state in the U.S.

Parent Support Groups

M.A.R.E. is a huge resource link for the State of Michigan. It is a vital resource, and it has a comprehensive calendar of Support Group meetings, conferences, training opportunities, etc., all of which can be found at: www.mare.org/calendar/month.php.

The Spaulding for Children’s Support Group meets the 2nd Monday of each month from 6:30 – 8:30 PM.

Agency Contact and Orientation Information

To find a local DHS Office, go to: www.mare.org/MIAgencies/DHS.html.

To find a Private Agency, go to: www.mare.org/MIAgencies/SN.html.

To obtain orientation information, please contact the agency nearest to you or go to the Michigan Adoption Resource Exchange (M.A.R.E.) at www.mare.org/calendar/month.php for a list of trainings delivered by agencies across the State of Michigan.

Information on Children

There are 20,498 children in foster care in Michigan; 7,061 of these children are waiting for adoptive families.

Upcoming Events

Please consult M.A.R.E. for a comprehensive calendar of Support Group meetings, conferences, training opportunities, etc., at www.mare.org/calendar/month.php.

For more information, please contact Gloria Mitchell at (248) 443-0300, ext. 241.