In 2025, the OCA deepened its commitment to elevating the voices of those most impacted by Michigan’s foster care system. Through a series of listening sessions held across the state, we engaged directly with children, families, and professionals to better understand their experiences, challenges, and hopes. These conversations are shaping our priorities and informing our advocacy, ensuring that future reforms are grounded in lived experience and community insight.
The OCA partnered with The Council of State Governments (CSG) to conduct an independent, statewide assessment of Michigan’s foster care system. This initiative looks beyond individual cases to examine the broader factors driving foster care involvement, placement instability, and disparities. CSG brings national expertise, nonpartisan credibility, and experience across all three branches of government to provide policy research, technical assistance, and convening support. Central to the review is extensive stakeholder engagement, including listening sessions with child welfare professionals, judges, attorneys, caregivers, youth with lived experience, and community partners across Michigan. These conversations surface real-world challenges and opportunities that are not always reflected in administrative data.
The partnership also incorporates national learning, with CSG conducting policy scans and comparative research to highlight effective reforms from other states. Insights from this research, combined with Michigan-specific data analysis, will inform a multi-day summit of legislative, executive, and judicial leaders aimed at building consensus around practical, evidence-based solutions. The effort will culminate in a formal OCA Report of Findings and Recommendations, delivered to Michigan lawmakers, the Governor, and MDHHS. Deliverables will include listening-session summaries, policy briefs, state reform snapshots, technical assistance for implementation planning, webinars, and a final report outlining short- and long-term recommendations. Together, these outputs will provide Michigan with a clear, data-driven roadmap for durable foster care reform—grounded in lived experience, informed by national best practices, and designed to improve outcomes for children and families statewide.
Policy research conducted to date highlights persistent challenges within Michigan’s foster care system, including placement stability, workforce capacity, educational continuity, and transparency. Evidence-informed recommendations emphasize prioritizing kinship care, expanding community-based supports, strengthening services for youth transitions, and using data-driven accountability to improve safety, permanence, and well-being.
Michigan’s foster care system faces persistent challenges in placement stability, workforce capacity, educational continuity, and transparency. These brief outlines the most pressing issues and provides concrete, evidence‑informed reforms with examples from peer states. Recommendations emphasize kin‑first strategies, community‑based care, youth transition supports, and data‑driven accountability to improve safety, permanence, and well‑being.
The most pressing issues identified so far are:
As of December 2025, the OCA and CSG have conducted 29 listening sessions, with additional sessions scheduled. These engagements have included a wide range of stakeholders such as Michigan Youth Opportunities Initiatives (MYOI) coordinators and youth, MDE staff, child welfare professionals, foster parents, private agency staff, judges, attorneys, behavioral health professionals, advocates, and community partners like the Park West Foundation. Sessions were held in both group and individual formats, ensuring diverse perspectives were captured—including those of foster parents and foster youth with lived experience in care.
Looking ahead, the OCA and CSG will complete listening sessions by January 2026 and meet with Michigan legislators to share key takeaways from this work. A two-day summit, planned for April 28-29, 2026, will bring together leaders from across all three branches of government to build consensus around actionable solutions. By September 2026, a final report will be issued, outlining findings and recommendations to guide actionable foster care reform. Together, these efforts will ensure that Michigan’s foster care system is strengthened through collaboration, evidence-based strategies, and the voices of those most impacted.
Looking for foster care resource information? Check out our resource page.
