State Rep. Bronna Kahle today delivered testimony before the House Family, Children and Seniors Committee on a plan to improve the state’s adoption and foster care system.

Her measure is part of a greater plan to make critical improvements in quality and access to Michigan’s child welfare system based on recommendations from the Adoption and Foster Care Task Force Report in November. Kahle served on the bipartisan task force and helped compile the report that highlights several major areas of improvement and proposed specific recommendations that form the basis for this legislative package.

Kahle’s House Bill 5801 creates the Foster Care Improvement Commission, which would meet periodically to research best practices in foster care, recommend improvements to the child welfare system, and publish an annual report on their findings, among other activities. The commission would be appointed by all three branches of government.

“We have to do a better job with our foster care and child welfare system in Michigan,” Kahle said during her testimony. “Some progress has been made over the past 15 years but there’s still more to be done. The goal of this measure is to promote a coordinated action plan to bridge any unidentified gaps in the system. We typically have more than 10,000 kids in foster care and every single one of them deserves a chance at a bright future. This commission is a step in that direction.”

The plan remains under consideration by the committee.

###