Michigan's Women, Infants & Children program, providing supplemental nutrition, breastfeeding information, and other resources for healthy mothers & babies.
Information on the Family Independence Program, State Disability Assistance, SSI, Refugee, and other cash assistance.
If you cannot afford child care, payment assistance is available.
Children's Special Health Care Services information and FAQ's.
Information on assistance with home repairs, heat and utility bills, relocation, home ownership, burials, home energy, and eligibility requirements.
Information on the Food Assistance Program, eligibility requirements, and other food resources.
Information about the health care programs available through Medicaid and how to qualify.
Our migrant program works with a number of organizations to provide services for Michigan’s migrant and seasonal farmworkers.
A federal program which helps persons admitted into the U.S. as refugees to become self-sufficient after their arrival.
Universal caseload, or task-based processing, is a different way of handling public assistance cases.
Information on the Children's Protective Services Program, child abuse reporting procedures, and help for parents in caring for their children.
Information on adoption programs, adoption resources, locating birth parents and obtaining information from adoption records.
Information on Adult Protective Services, Independent Living Services, Adult Community Placement Services, and HIV/AIDS Support Services.
Information on child support services for participants and partners.
Programs for healthy children & families, including immunization, lead poisoning prevention, prenatal smoking cessation, and many others.
Information on the Children's Foster Care program and becoming a Foster Parent.
Information about the Michigan law that requires certain information be made available to a woman who is seeking an abortion at least 24 hours prior to the abortion procedure.
Information on treatment and services for juvenile offenders, success stories, and more.
Child Welfare Medical and Behavioral Health Resources
MDHHS and partners support a continuum of prevention services. The continuum is inclusive of primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention activities. Visit this page to learn more.
Information about injury and violence prevention programs in Michigan
Information on Safe Sleep for your baby, how to protect your baby's life.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services' (MDHHS) Environmental Health Bureau (EHB) uses the best available science to reduce, eliminate, or prevent harm from environmental, chemical, and physical hazards.
Resources and information to assist in assuring firearm safety for families in the state of Michigan.
The Division of Victim Services (DVS) provides a voice advocating for and responding to all victims of crime in Michigan. Learn more about DVS-funded programs and services, including Michigan’s 24/7, free, confidential, and anonymous domestic violence and sexual assault hotlines.
Medical Resources for Child Protection
Serves as liaison and provides funding to Michigan’s 45 local health departments.
Adult Behavioral Health & Developmental Disability Services
Multicultural Health
Prevention of diseases & conditions such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes and many others.
Information on communicable & chronic diseases.
Home to an array of public health programs, initiatives and interventions aimed at improving the health and well-being of women, infants, families and communities.
Birth, Death, Marriage and Divorce Records
Boards and Commissions
Bridge Card Participation Information on Electronic Benefits for clients and businesses, lists of participating retailers and ATMs, and QUEST.
Provider Payments Information on the direct deposit of State of Michigan payments into a provider's bank account.
Information on How to Bid, Requests for Proposals, forms and publications, contractor rates, and manuals.
Information & resources for Community and Faith-Based partners
Information on DHS Applications and Forms grouped by category.
State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP)
Health Care Providers
Licensing information for Adult Foster Care and Homes for the Aged, Child Day Care Facilities, Child Caring Institutions, Children's Foster Care Homes, Child Placing Agencies, Juvenile Court Operated Facilities and Children's or Adult Foster Care Camps.
Michigan Statewide Systems of Care
Information on the grant awarded for the State Innovation Model Proposal
Protect MiFamily -Title IV-E Waiver
Offers resources for agencies who operate the Weatherization Assistance Program in the state of Michigan
Information on resources in your community and volunteer recruitment and training, and services provided at local DHS offices.
Information is collected to monitor the general health and well-being of Michigan citizens.
Equal Opportunity, Legal Base, Laws and Reporting Welfare Fraud information.
A variety of reports & statistics for programs and services.
Search is currently unavailable. Please try again later.
The web Browser you are currently using is unsupported, and some features of this site may not work as intended. Please update to a modern browser such as Chrome, Firefox or Edge to experience all features Michigan.gov has to offer.
September 09, 2021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 9, 2021
Contact: Chelsea Wuth, 517-241-2112
LANSING, Mich. - To help promote International Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) Awareness Day on Sept. 9, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is announcing the release of 'Understanding FASD and Its Impact on Children and Youth,' a video that explores the basics of FASD and the behavior of children and youth with FASD. This video is for parents of a child with a diagnosed or suspected FASD and professionals who work with families and their children with a diagnosed or suspected FASD.
The Sept. 9 date was chosen to recognize this day as it represents nine months of an alcohol-free pregnancy. Research on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders indicates 1 in 20 children are affected by prenatal alcohol exposure. FASD is twice as prevalent in children as autism spectrum disorder and Down's Syndrome. Alcohol is the most damaging substance of abuse compared with use of marijuana, methamphetamine, opioids and heroin during pregnancy.
FASD is an umbrella term used to describe preventable birth defects and intellectual and/or developmental disabilities resulting from prenatal alcohol exposure. These conditions can range from mild to severe and affect each person differently. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is the most severe of the FASD spectrum. People with FAS can manifest physical features, such as a small head size, low birth weight or smooth ridge between the nose and upper lip, but some may not present these physical features. Common behavioral and intellectual disabilities of people with FASDs include:
• Difficulty with learning or memory
• Hyperactive behavior
• Difficulty with attention
• Speech or language delays
• Poor reasoning and judgement skills
"It's important to note that we offer resources for both expectant moms and families with children and youth who may be adversely affected by fetal alcohol spectrum disorders," said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, MDHHS chief medical executive and chief deputy for health. "Services provided in the public mental health system for children affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and their families are tailored to meet the needs of this unique population. Our efforts to help children with FASD also include training to improve children's mental health providers' understanding of FASD and its impact on a child and their family."
FASDs are completely preventable by abstaining from alcohol while pregnant and are in fact the only preventable form of intellectual disability. There is no scientific evidence that confirms any amount of alcohol that will not affect the developing fetus. In 2019, an estimated 58.1 percent of women of reproductive age in Michigan, aged 18-44 years, reported one or more drinks of alcohol during the last 30 days and 20.2 percent reported binge drinking four or more drinks of alcohol on any one occasion during the last 30 days, according to the Michigan Behavioral Risk Factor Survey.
The Division of Mental Health Services to Children and Families in the Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Administration within MDHHS has provided statewide training on basic information about FASD since 2017. This training has been provided to community mental health service programs (CMHSPS) and community partners. Additionally, select CMHSPS are trained and implement practices that focus on children and youth with FASD and their families.
For more information, visit Michigan.gov/MDHHS or CDC.gov/FASD.
To learn more about trainings, click here.
Visit Mcfares.org for family support and other resources.