What’s in Store for Kinship Care in Michigan?

<p>Speaking for Kids Host Matt Gillard from Michigan’s Children explores an</p><p>important family issue that’s thankfully gaining greater attention at the Capitol</p><p>lately. With 54,000 children living in kinship care families in Michigan, Matt</p><p>discusses the issue of formal and informal kinship care arrangements with two</p><p>top advocates, David Berns and Erin Peets. Both serve as members of the</p><p>Michigan Kinship Care Coalition and the Kinship Advisory Council of the Michigan</p><p>Department of Health and Human Services. David Berns, now retired was most</p><p>recently the Director of the Department of Human Services for the District of</p><p>Columbia. He was also the Director of the Office of Children’s Services for the</p><p>Michigan Department of Health and Human Services agency. There,</p><p>was that he realized that kinship care is often the best way to keep children</p><p>safe without placing them in foster care. Erin Peets, a lawyer, is the grant</p><p>manager at the Elder Law &amp; Advocacy Center, which offers free legal services,</p><p>education, and assistance to older adults and caregivers throughout Wayne</p><p>County.</p>