Jackson County nonprofit outlines rising foster caseload, school-based mental-health services and strain on guardianship program

Dr. Bob Powell, CEO of Family Service and Children's Aid in Jackson County, told the Michigan House Families and Veterans Committee that his agency is seeing higher demand across foster care, behavioral health and guardianship services and urged lawmakers to support increased funding for foster-care rates and guardianship services.

"We don't turn anybody away for any reason, as long as they're eligible for whatever services we offer," Dr. Powell said, describing the agency's mix of DHHS contracts, grants, United Way funding and donations. He said foster care has "super[ly] busy" caseloads: at the time of his testimony his agency had 185 youth in care in Jackson County and had received 347 protective-services referrals in one month, 164 of which were investigated.

Powell told the committee that many children come into care because of parental addiction and described recent cases that, in his words, showed severe neglect and, in other cases, trafficking. He said private nonprofit agencies handle adoption in Michigan and that recruiting foster and adoptive parents remains an ongoing need.

Powell described the…