The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is a principal department of state of

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, headquartered in

Lansing Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, making ...

, that provides public assistance, child and family

welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

services, and oversees health policy and management. Additionally, the MDHHS oversees Michigan's child and adult protective services,

foster care Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home ( residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family ...

, adoptions, juvenile justice, domestic violence, and

child support Child support (or child maintenance) is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child (or parent, caregiver, guardian) following the end of a marriage or other similar relationship. Child maintenance is paid d ...

programs. The MDHHS also licenses adult foster care, child

day care Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to 18 years. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(r ...

and child welfare facilities.

History

In April 2015, the Department of Human Services (DHS) was merged with the Department of Community Health (DCH) to create the Department of Health and Human Services.

Department of Human Services

The Department of Human Services was created in 1965 as a principal department with the name of "Department of Social Services". Renamed in 1995 to "Family Independence Agency", the department was once again renamed in 2004 to indicate its status as a principal department as the "Department of Human Services". In August 2007, Governor

Jennifer Granholm Jennifer Mulhern Granholm (born February 5, 1959) is a Canadian-American lawyer, educator, author, political commentator, and politician serving as the 16th United States secretary of energy since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, she prev ...

named

Ismael Ahmed Ismael N. Ahmed is an American government official and labor leader who is the designate to be a member of the National Endowment of the Arts in the Biden administration. Ahmed previously served as the director of the Michigan Department of Human ...

to replace Marianne Udow as department director effective September 10, 2007. 100 employees were laid off due to budget cuts in January 2015.

Department of Community Health

The Department of Community Health was created in 1996 through an executive order merging Department of Public Health (as Community Public Health Agency), Department of Mental Health, Medical Services Administration from the Department of Social Services, responsibility for Liquor Control Commission, Licensing, Monitoring and Accreditation and Division of Occupational Health from Department of Commerce, Food Service Sanitation from the

Department of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

and many functions of Department of Social Services.

Merger

The merger of the Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Department of Community Health was announced by Governor

Rick Snyder Richard Dale Snyder (born August 19, 1958) is an American business executive, venture capitalist, attorney, accountant, and politician who served as the 48th governor of Michigan from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Snyder previo ...

during his 2015 State of the State address.

Programs

The department has several agencies and programs operating under its management.

Epidemiology

The Bureau of Epidemiology and Population Health is under the purview of the MDHHS. Past Chief Epidemiologists of Michigan include Professor Matthew Boulton of the University of Michigan.

Bureau of Juvenile Justice

The Bureau of Juvenile Justice is responsible for the operation of juvenile correctional facilities. Facilities include: * Bay Pines Center * Shawono Center (Boys adjudicated for sex offenses) Former facilities: * W.J. Maxey Boys Training SchoolW.J. Maxey Boys Training School
" Michigan Department of Human Services. Retrieved on July 25, 2010. (Closed October 1, 2015)

Districts

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is divided into 43 districts to service the 84 counties. * Allegan County Health Department: Allegan * Barry-Eaton District Health Department:

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 195 ...

and

Eaton Eaton may refer to: Buildings Canada * Eaton Centre, the name of various shopping malls in Canada due to having been anchored by an Eaton's store * Eaton's / John Maryon Tower, a cancelled skyscraper in Toronto * Eaton Hall (King City), a confere ...

* Bay County Health Department:

Bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

* Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department: Benzie and Leelanau * Berrien County Health Department: Berrien * Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency:

Branch A branch, sometimes called a ramus in botany, is a woody structural member connected to the central trunk of a tree (or sometimes a shrub). Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs. The term '' twig'' usually ...

, Hillsdale and St. Joseph * Calhoun County Public Health Department: Calhoun * Central Michigan District Health Department: Arenac,

Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

, Gladwin, Isabella,

Osceola Osceola (1804 – January 30, 1838, Asi-yahola in Creek), named Billy Powell at birth in Alabama, became an influential leader of the Seminole people in Florida. His mother was Muscogee, and his great-grandfather was a Scotsman, James McQ ...

and

Roscommon Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads. The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who bui ...

* Chippewa County Health Department: Chippewa * Dickinson-Iron District Health Department: Dickinson and

Iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in ...

* District Health Department #2: Alcona, Iosco, Ogemaw, and Oscoda * District Health Department #4: Alpena, Cheboygan, Montmorency, and Presque Isle * District Health Department #10: Crawford, Kalkaska,

Lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much lar ...

, Manistee, Mason, Mecosta, Missaukee, Newaygo, Oceana, and

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N1 ...

* Genesee County Health Department:

Genesee Genesee, derived from the Seneca word for "pleasant valley", may refer to: Geographic features Canada * Genesee, Alberta, an unincorporated community United States * Genesee, California *Genesee, Colorado *Genesee County, Michigan *Genesee C ...

* Grand Traverse County Health Department: Grand Traverse * Health Department of Northwest Michigan: Antrim,

Charlevoix Charlevoix ( , ) is a cultural and natural region in Quebec, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River as well as in the Laurentian Mountains area of the Canadian Shield. This dramatic landscape includes rolling terrain, fjords, headlan ...

, Emmet, and Otsego * Huron County Health Department: Huron * Ingham County Health Department: Ingham * Ionia County Health Department:

Ionia Ionia () was an ancient region on the western coast of Anatolia, to the south of present-day Izmir. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements. Never a unified state, it was named after the Ionian ...

* Jackson County Health Department: Jackson * Kalamazoo County Health & Community Services Department:

Kalamazoo Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropol ...

* Kent County Health Department:

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

* Lapeer County Health Department: Lapeer * Livingston County Health Department: Livingston * Luce-Mackinac-Alger-Schoolcraft District Health Department:

Alger Alger may refer to: Places Algeria * French name for Algiers, the capital of Algeria ** Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Alger * Alger (department), a former French department (1848-1962) Russia * Alger Island, Russia United States * Alg ...

, Luce, Mackinac and Schoolcraft * Macomb County Health Department: Macomb * Marquette County Health Department: Marquette * Mid-Michigan District Health Department:

Clinton Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has frequently been used as a given ...

, Gratiot and Montcalm * Midland County Health Department:

Midland Midland may refer to: Places Australia * Midland, Western Australia Canada * Midland, Albert County, New Brunswick * Midland, Kings County, New Brunswick * Midland, Newfoundland and Labrador * Midland, Ontario India * Midland Ward, Kohima, Nagal ...

* Monroe County Health Department: Monroe * Oakland County Health Division:

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

* Ottawa County Department of Public Health:

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

* Public Health, Delta & Menominee Counties: Delta and

Menominee The Menominee (; mez, omǣqnomenēwak meaning ''"Menominee People"'', also spelled Menomini, derived from the Ojibwe language word for "Wild Rice People"; known as ''Mamaceqtaw'', "the people", in the Menominee language) are a federally reco ...

* Public Health – Muskegon County:

Muskegon Muskegon ( ') is a city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Muskegon County. Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, pleasure boating, and as a commercial and cruise ship port. It is a popular vacation destination because of the expan ...

* Saginaw County Health Department:

Saginaw Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of Greate ...

* Sanilac County Health Department: Sanilac * Shiawassee County Health Department: Shiawassee * St. Clair County Health Department: St. Clair * Tuscola County Health Department: Tuscola * Van Buren/Cass District Health Department:

Cass Cass may refer to: People and fictional characters * Cass (surname), a list of people * Cass (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Big Cass, ring name of wrestler William Morrissey * Cass, in British band Skunk Anansie * Ca ...

and

Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; nl, Maarten van Buren; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party, he ...

* Washtenaw County Health Department: Washtenaw * Wayne County Department of Health, Veterans & Community Wellness: Wayne * Western Upper Peninsula Health Department: Baraga, Gogebic, Houghton, Keweenaw, and Ontonagon

References

External links

Michigan Department of Human Services
{{authority control State corrections departments of the United States Human Services, Department of Juvenile detention centers in the United States 2015 establishments in Michigan State departments of health of the United States Government agencies established in 2015