Whitmer admin to close down black adoption agency

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) plans to close an adoption agency based in Detroit this week, asserting that its worsening financial situation could adversely affect the quality of care the children it services might receive.

Homes for Black Children (HBC), an organization founded in 1969 to reduce the number of black children in foster care, faces a state-enforced closure this week amid declines in its external funding, according to Michigan News Source. HBC has provided adoption services to more than 2,000 children since its founding.

MDHHS plans to revoke HBC's license on Friday. MDHHS Public Information Officer Bob Wheaton told the outlet that "significant financial instability at this agency over the last four years threatens its ability to manage the cases of vulnerable children."

"At times the agency has been unable to pay foster parents promptly, which could affect the financial support they need to provide for the children in their care," he continued. "Employees have not always received their paychecks on time. Debt is greater than what can be offset, and the agency has shown large deficits every fiscal year since 2017."

"While MDHHS appreciates the heartfelt support from community members, the department has completed a thorough investigation and must initiate the process required under Public Act 116 to protect children," Wheaton added, before noting that MDHHS would transfer all children's cases to other agencies that were prepared to handle them.

HBC, however, contends that the closure is unnecessary and that the organization's finances had significantly improved following an overhaul of its operations. President and CEO Jacquelynn Moffett highlighted that the organization had run a net profit of $70,000 in 2021, but that that had not been enough to convince the state to refrain from closing them down.

The closure follows Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's veto of a Republican-backed effort to increase state funding for adoption agencies, per the outlet. The measure would have made $25.5 million available for organizations like HBC. 

Moffett’s daughter, Alex Moffett-Bateau, highlighted that the recent Supreme Court ruling that eliminated the national constitutional right to abortion created an environment in which adoption would present one of the best alternatives.

"In a post-Roe v Wade world, it makes zero sense that politicians are pointing to adoption as an ideal alternative to abortion and yet systematically under-funding every adoption agency in the state of Michigan," she wrote.

Founded by the United Way, HBC previously received nearly half a million dollars annually in financial aid from the group, though that figure has plummeted tenfold in recent years, according to HBC leaders. Moffett asserted that funding from Lansing was one of its last funding channels, saying "now our funding is state contracts in adoption and foster care."