If your child is receiving or may be eligible for special education services, Michigan Alliance for Families is one of the most valuable free resources in the state — and one many families don't discover until well into their journey through the IEP process.
What Michigan Alliance for Families Is
Michigan Alliance for Families (MAF) is Michigan's federally funded Parent Training and Information Center, established under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. It provides information, support, and education for families of children and young adults, birth through age 26, who receive or may be eligible for special education services.
What Makes MAF Different
Every staff member at MAF is a parent or family member of someone with a disability themselves — meaning the people helping you have personally navigated the special education system, not just studied it professionally. This lived-experience model shows up in how they describe their own mission: helping parents understand they're an equal partner at the IEP table, not an outside party being informed after decisions are made.
What MAF Actually Offers
Services include: regional Parent Mentors who provide one-on-one guidance (virtual or in-person) to help you navigate your specific situation; workshops and webinars on special education topics ranging from understanding how your child learns to behavioral support strategies to transition planning; an extensive resource library, including topic-specific fact sheets covering the full alphabet of special education terminology and processes; and support specifically around the IEP process — understanding your rights, communicating effectively with your child's school team, and knowing what to expect at each stage.
All of this is free, since MAF is grant-funded rather than fee-for-service.
Why This Matters Alongside ABA Therapy
Special education and ABA therapy are different systems, but they should work together for your child, not in isolation. Understanding your rights and how to advocate effectively within the school system — which is exactly what MAF helps with — can make it much easier for your family to ensure that skills your child is building in ABA therapy are recognized and reinforced at school too. We cover this connection more directly in our School Readiness content.
How to Connect With MAF
You can reach Michigan Alliance for Families through their website or by contacting a regional Parent Mentor directly — they can help connect you with the mentor serving your specific area of Michigan.
For Lansing-Area Families
Our Individual ABA Therapy service is designed around exactly this kind of goal. Given Lansing's role as the state capital and its proximity to the Michigan Department of Education, Lansing-area families are often well-positioned to access MAF's resources and events. If your family is also looking for in-home ABA therapy in the Lansing area, our ABA therapy in Lansing page has more information, or Get Started Today to get started.
This article is part of our directory, The Complete Directory of Autism Resources in West & Central Michigan. Clinically reviewed by Kimberly Blazer, BCBA.