- Debbie Frisbie adopted her grandchildren due to her daughter’s drug addiction.
- She’s part of a growing group of kinship caregivers in Michigan.
- Kinship care means relatives raise children who can't live with their parents.
- Gov. Whitmer’s budget proposes $25 million for kinship support.
- Experts say kinship care helps children's emotional and community stability.
Debbie Frisbie has faced tough family decisions.
"We had our youngest daughter, and she became addicted to drugs," Frisbie said.
That daughter has children—children Frisbie adopted as her own in 2007. She is one of thousands of families in Michigan who are part of what's called kinship care.
That's when a family member steps in to care for a child who can no longer live with their parents.
"Raising the awareness of these families out there, because they aren't going away. We know that we don't have a handle on the opioid crisis or the drug crisis," Frisbie said.
But Frisbie says she was lucky—she had some help. Other families do not.
"I think when I fight for caregivers now—kinship caregivers—I'm fighting because they have very little support," Frisbie said.
More support for kinship care is part of Gov. Whitmer's proposed budget. As your State Capitol neighborhood reporter, I'll keep tracking the state budget proposals as they get considered.
I asked a state official what kinship care can mean for children.
"When children are placed with their relatives, it allows them to maintain stronger and better connections in their community… that is vital to their physical and emotional well-being," Michigan Health and Human Services' Rachel Willis said.
The governor's budget calls for nearly $25 million directly for kinship support services—like training, support groups and financial supports. That's the same type of support offered to traditional foster families in Michigan.
"We're making sure we're providing the same level of support so we can continue to enhance that experience," Willis said
Frisbie tells me the funding can help set up other families with the financial and emotional support she knows she was lucky to have. She says it could also help encourage awareness of families like hers.
"Because some of it is going to make a difference for our families. It's just the beginning. But it is down the road—if we keep plugging away at this, it will make a difference," Frisbie said.
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