Whitmer's Administration Closes an Adoption Service

Since 1969, the non-profit group Homes for Black Children has been providing a route to adoption for children in Detroit and around Wayne County, Mich. It was started in conjunction with United Way of Southeast Michigan in the wake of the Detroit riots of 1967 to help find homes for black children and get them out of the foster care system. Although it was originally designed for black children, if you go to the Facebook page, you can see that it provides help for families of all ethnicities. You can watch an early video produced by the organization here:

Michigan News Source reports that the state is planning to close the organization and revoke its license at the end of the week. Since its inception, Homes for Black Children has placed over 2,000 children in new homes. In recent years, the organization has struggled with money but has recently gotten its financial issues in order after it restructured. President and CEO Jacquelynn Moffett told the site that as of 2021, Homes for Black Children showed a net profit of $70,000. The organization was originally funded by the United Way.

Funds for adoption from larger organizations have been declining in Michigan, and this has also affected other adoption services in the state. Homes for Black Children received five grants from the federal government, which ended in 2016. The issue was further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Funding is now primarily with state contracts and foster care

The state has said that the impetus is financial instability. Bob Wheaton, the public information officer for MDHHS, told Michigan News Service that the organization’s past financial issues, which included late paychecks for employees, past debt problems, and fiscal deficits made it necessary to revoke the license. The state will transfer the children to other agencies that can “meet their needs.” The decision was made following an investigation.

Moffett’s daughter, Alex Moffett-Bateau, has acknowledged past financial issues and stated that the investigation by the state started in January of this year, and is based on problems occurring from 2016 to 2018. The state has not acknowledged the work that was done to address the problems. For that matter, the state has ignored the findings of a 2021 audit.

Despite the financial turnaround, under the leadership of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Homes for Black Children is scheduled to be shuttered as soon as this Friday. In June, Republican legislators in Michigan included $2.5 million in the budget to fund pregnancy resources and adoption agencies, which would have included Homes for Black Children. Whitmer used a line-item veto to stop the effort. She reportedly called adoption funding “harmful.” Harmful to whom, exactly?

So to recap — an adoption service that has been in existence since 1969 had funding struggles. It admitted the problem and took steps to fix it. The Republicans in the Michigan state legislature tried to provide them with additional funding. Gretchen Whitmer vetoed adoption funding.

Any guesses as to her preferred alternative?