MSU Kinship Resource Center

The MSU Kinship Resource Center, administered by Michigan State University’s School of Social Work, is a statewide program that helps kinship families across Michigan find the information, resources, and services they need to make their lives easier. Kinship caregivers are the relatives and close family friends — grandparents, aunts and uncles, godparents, older siblings, and others — who raise children when the biological parents cannot.

These families often take on the responsibility suddenly and without the legal standing, financial support, or services that foster families receive, which can leave them scrambling for help. The center exists to bridge that gap. It connects caregivers to basic necessities such as food and clothing, assists with school enrollment, makes referrals for legal services, identifies financial-assistance opportunities, and points families to health resources. It also builds community through family support groups and training events, so kinship caregivers know they are not navigating this alone.

This resource matters because kinship caregivers carry an enormous, often invisible load, frequently while on fixed incomes or in retirement, and a single point of contact can open the door to many supports at once. As a statewide MSU program, the center has both the reach and the expertise to help families anywhere in Michigan. Assistance is free: caregivers can call 1-800-535-1218, use the online Help Center, or visit kinship.msu.edu to get started. For any Michigan relative raising a child outside the traditional parent-child structure, it is an authoritative and welcoming first stop.