West Michigan Partnership for Children celebrates historic investment into Kent County’s child welfare system 

West Michigan Partnership for Children (WMPC) is celebrating Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s signing of the bipartisan state budget for Fiscal Year 2023 that includes a three-year contract between WMPC and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) to maintain a performance-based child welfare program.

For the past five years, WMPC has partnered with MDHHS, Bethany Christian Services, Catholic Charities West Michigan, D.A. Blodgett-St. John’s, Samaritas, Wellspring Lutheran Services, and other statewide public and private child welfare leaders to implement evidence-based models to improve the outcomes for Kent County children and families experiencing foster care.

Since Oct. 1, 2017, WMPC has served as the official administrator of Kent’s foster care system overseeing the placement and outcomes for approximately 2,225 children.

In collaboration with the five subcontracted private foster care partners and MDHHS, WMPC has achieved the following significant successes:

• 30% fewer children experience foster care in Kent County.
• 85% fewer incidents of maltreatment in care.
• 53% fewer days youth lived in institutional/residential care settings.
• Implemented Enhanced Foster Care supporting 373 youth
• Launched investments in race equity and inclusion initiatives for foster care.

“On Sept. 30, 2022, WMPC will move from being a pilot to signing a three-year contract with MDHHS,” Sonia Noorman, WMPC’s Chief Executive Officer, states, “We are excited to envision innovative ways to collaborate with our partners, MDHHS, and the community to make data-driven decisions to positively impact children and families in Kent County.”

“We are committed to working closely with West Michigan Partnership for Children to ensure children in Kent County are kept safe with their families whenever possible. And when children are removed that they are cared for in a loving, temporary foster home for children while we support their families until it is safe for them to return home,” said Demetrius Starling, MDHHS Children's Services Agency executive director. “We hope to see children and families benefit from the work of WMPC, and we thank them for the important work they are doing.”

WMPC has been operating a community-based foster care model as a pilot for almost five years through a contract with the MDHHS and is currently the first and only performance-based child welfare model in Michigan.

ABOUT WMPC

WMPC is a community-based foster care model through a contract with MDHHS and is currently the first and only performance-based child welfare model in Michigan. For more information please visit, www.wmpc.care

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