Hitting the MARC

Hitting the MARC

A first ever national research study was performed to establish minimum adequate rates for children; the goal was to perform calculations of the real expenses for caring for children in foster care. So how does Michigan rate? Poorly I’m afraid, though not the worst by far.

In 2005 there were over 20,000 children in foster care, the average number of different placements that children in foster care go through was 3 and 16% of children were placed in facilities instead of homes (gasp) and the length of stay in foster care was 23.8 months.

Michigan’s current foster care rate for a child 2 and under is $433/month; the recommendation is $646 plus reimbursement for travel expenses and childcare. According to their calculations Michigan needs to increase its reimbursement rate by 49% to hit the MARC. The national data shows the cost of raising a child in the same age range in the Midwest is $750. The group in the worst shape is reimbursement for children 9-16 which needs to increase by 71%!

You can compare this to our nearby state of Indiana which reimburses foster families of the same age $760 compared to $433 is a big difference! The MARC study states that low rates can negatively impact the states ability to recruit and retain foster parents which sets off a chain reaction of negative events that has life long consequences for children in foster care. When an adequate pool of foster parents are unable to be maintained children are more likely to be placed in institutionalized facilities which are costly or shuttled from placement to placement, an unstable situation which harms the child and can decrease their chances of growing up in a permanent family.