MICHIGAN., (WPBN/WGTU) — Michigan children are being sent out of Michigan in order to get the mental health care they need.
It’s not a new trend. Michigan simply doesn’t have the facilities here. What is new is the latest data released from the state about how much it’s costing us.
“Some people say Michigan kids are not being sent out of the state,” said Cheryl Karpinski, a Kinglsey mother. “Don’t tell me that isn’t happening. My son and I lived it.”
On paper, they are numbers, data, but in reality, they represent Michigan children being sent out of state for behavioral or mental health care.
“Aiden wasn’t placed in Missouri because it was a good program or a reputable program or the best place for him,” said Karpinski. “Aiden was placed there because there was an open bed. The court signed the paperwork and met the deadline. Hey, at least we found a bed.”
The reality is that there is an absence of these kinds of beds for our state’s youngest in need.
Rep. Luke Meerman highlighted the issue, stating,
“We learned that Michigan’s bed capacity for residential treatment programs is decreasing with no sign of reprieve. The strap-in capacity is not because the children don’t require care, but because of an overall reduction in programs.”
Fewer programs mean that when the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services or the courts order a Michigan child to get treatment, there simply aren’t options available close to home.
“We went in 2020 to 1,200 beds in the state of Michigan to this year, 398,” said Rep. John Roth, R-89th District. “It is a major, major loss in beds, and mainly because providers are deciding to either pull back or actually discontinue service altogether.”
That shortage, according to the latest numbers released by MDHHS, comes at financial cost.
$13 million, that’s what was paid to out-of-state facilities to take care of Michigan kids last year. 152 of them were placed in facilities as close as Indiana to as far away as Hawaii. Five of those youth come from Grand Traverse County.
“This is probably the most important thing I think we do as a state with our children and making sure we have good care here,” said Roth.
There is ongoing debate on the impact of emotional and physical toll on a young person being that far from home, but there is also a real cost. Counties pay 100 percent of the cost to the out-of-state facility. $13 million last year, they then bill the state for 50 percent of the eligible costs. That being $6.5 million. It comes to about $391 per day per child.
“We cannot continue this,” said Roth. “This is a serious issue that’s coming to a head.”
If it’s costing Michigan taxpayers and the distance from home isn’t working for parents and in some cases the child is anything being done to add beds here?
“Here in Michigan, we’re working hard to expand access to mental health care,” said Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Whitmer, back in March at Pine Crest Christian Mental Health Services in Grand Rapids, showed off Michigan’s new 66 inpatient adolescent beds that the state invested $50 million in.
Across the state, a $383 million state-funded project called the Southeast Michigan Psychiatric Hospital (SEMPH) in Northville Township will include 72 beds for youth, an increase of 22 beds for adolescent patients, according to MDHHS.
More money is expected in the future. Whitmer’s proposed 2027 budget includes an $8.3 million investment for additional psychiatric residential treatment facilities in Grand Rapids, Lansing and Livonia that are expected to bring 50 new transitional beds online.
It’s a trend that right now does appear to be heading in the right direction. The 2025 $13 million payout was actually $3 million more than the 2024 amount.