Michigan Kinship Care vs. Foster Care: Key Differences for Relatives

About 52,000 children in Michigan live with relatives who stepped in when a parent couldn't provide care. Some of those arrangements are completely informal. Others run through the foster care system with caseworker visits, court oversight, and monthly payments. The difference matters — for your legal authority, the financial support you receive, and the level of state involvement in your daily life.

Informal Kinship Care

This is the arrangement most grandparents and relatives start with. A child comes to live with you because a parent is in crisis — addiction, incarceration, illness, domestic instability — and no court or agency is involved. You're raising the child on your own.

Legal authority: You have whatever the parent gives you. If a parent or court-appointed guardian signs an MCL 700.5103 power of attorney, you get consent authority for medical, dental, and educational decisions for up to 180 days. For school enrollment, MCL 380.1148 lets the district admit the child if the parents or guardians cannot provide a home and the child lives with you (a relative) to secure a suitable home, regardless of custody status.

Financial support: The child may qualify for a FIP child-only grant, Healthy Kids Medicaid, and FAP food assistance through MI Bridges. For FIP Child-Only, only the child's income and assets are evaluated; Medicaid and FAP have their own eligibility rules. But there are no foster care payments. The monthly amount for informal kinship care through public benefits is typically lower than what licensed foster parents receive.

State involvement: Minimal. No caseworker visits, no court oversight, no licensing requirements. You make the decisions.

Limitations: Your authority expires when the POA expires (every 180 days). If the parent won't cooperate with renewals, you're stuck. And the financial support is modest compared to foster care.

Licensed Kinship Foster Care

If the child enters the formal foster care system through MDHHS/CPS — either because a court removed the child from the parent's home or because CPS filed a petition — and you become a licensed foster parent, the arrangement looks different.

Legal authority: The court grants temporary custody to MDHHS, which places the child with you as a licensed relative foster home. Your authority comes from the court order and your foster care license, not from a parental POA. Medical consent, school decisions, and day-to-day care are authorized through the placement.

Financial support: Licensed kinship foster parents receive the state foster care payment rate, which is significantly higher than informal benefits. Michigan's foster care rates vary by age and level of care, but they're designed to cover the child's living expenses. You may also receive Medicaid for the child, clothing allowances, and support services.

State involvement: Significant. A caseworker visits regularly. Court hearings review the child's placement. There are permanency goals (reunification with the parent, guardianship, or adoption). You follow foster care rules and undergo licensing requirements — background checks, home studies, training hours.

Advantages: More money, clear legal authority, and access to support services. If the case moves toward permanency, you may be eligible for the Guardianship Assistance Program (GAP) or adoption assistance.

The Guardianship Assistance Program (GAP)

GAP bridges the two worlds. If a child has been in foster care under MDHHS/CPS jurisdiction and placed with a licensed relative for at least six consecutive months before guardianship finalization, you may be eligible for GAP. Once granted, GAP provides ongoing financial support without continued caseworker visits or court oversight.

Eligibility requires that the child was removed from the parent's home by MDHHS and placed in your licensed foster home — so GAP isn't available for families that started informally.

How to Choose

The decision isn't always yours to make. If CPS files a petition, the court drives the process. But in situations where you have a choice:

Stay informal if: the parent is cooperative and likely to resume care, the child's needs are straightforward, you value independence from state oversight, and the FIP child-only grant plus Medicaid are sufficient.

Pursue foster licensing if: the parent is unable to care for the child long-term, you need more financial support, the child has significant medical or behavioral needs that require services, or CPS is already involved and recommends it.

The MSU Kinship Care Resource Center (1-800-535-1218) can walk you through both paths and help you figure out what makes sense for your family's situation.

Wherever You Are, Get the Basics Right

Whether you're informal or licensed, you need to handle school enrollment, medical consent, and document tracking correctly. The Michigan school and medical consent guide covers the consent authority framework for both informal and formal kinship arrangements.

See more Michigan guides →