GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Four hundred and twenty-six foster care children are “left in limbo,” and will stay that way if the state doesn’t reinstate a contract and restore program funding cut from the budget, according to the West Michigan Partnership for Children (WMPC).

The oversight agency for Kent County’s foster care system is suing the state after it “abruptly ended” the nonprofit’s contract in October. WMPC says the contract cannot legally be canceled, despite the organization not being funded in the budget for fiscal year 2026.

The lawsuit was filed Oct. 13 with the Lansing-based Court of Claims. A Kent County judge expressed concern in an Oct. 6 letter shortly after the budget passed, saying the loss of funding and the lack of a transition plan creates an “immediate child welfare emer

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