Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to the most common questions we hear from older adults, caregivers, families, job seekers, students, and the professionals who refer them. Cannot find what you are looking for? Call 734-282-7171 and we will help.
About The Information Center
The Information Center is a nonprofit that has served older adults, adults with disabilities, caregivers, families, job seekers, and WCCCD students in Wayne County, Monroe County, and across Michigan for decades. We deliver multiple programs across senior services and workforce.
Each program has its own service area.
MI Options covers the entire Lower Peninsula of Michigan.
Michigan WORKS! serves Wayne County (excluding Detroit) and Monroe County.
MI Choice serves Wayne County excluding Detroit, Hamtramck, Highland Park, Harper Woods, and the five Grosse Pointes.
Community Navigation primarily serves Wayne County (including Detroit) and Monroe County and helps callers from any area.
The WCCCD Student Assistance Program serves all WCCCD students no matter where they live. See each program page for full details.
Yes. The Information Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
Through Medicaid for MI Choice and Community Transition Services. Through MDHHS grants for MI Options. Through federal and state workforce contracts with SEMCA for Michigan WORKS!. Through the WCCCD contract for the Student Assistance Program. And through donations from individuals, foundations, and partner organizations.
Our main office is in Taylor, Michigan. Service delivery happens by phone, by home visit, and at partner sites across the region. See Contact Us for the full address and hours.
We have served the Downriver community for over five decades.
Eligibility, Cost, and How to Get Started
MI Options, Community Navigation, Michigan WORKS!, and the WCCCD Student Assistance Program are free.
MI Choice and Community Transition Services are funded through Medicaid for people who qualify, so there is no out-of-pocket cost to the client.
Not for most programs. MI Options has no income or asset limits. Community Navigation and Michigan WORKS! are free regardless of Medicaid. It is helpful to have Medicaid eligibility for MI Choice and Community Transition Services , but you do not need active Medicaid to apply.
Call 734-282-7171. WCCCD students should call 1-855-59WCCCD (1-855-599-2223). A real person will listen and connect you with the right program.
That is normal. When you call, we work it out with you. If TIC does not have the right program, we connect you with the right resource somewhere else.
Some programs have a waitlist. When you call, we can tell you what to expect.
We respond the same business day during phone hours. Most callers reach a real person on the first call.
No. Our programs serve adults 18 and older, including older adults, adults with disabilities, caregivers, families, job seekers, and WCCCD students.
MI Choice Medicaid Waiver Program
MI Choice is a Medicaid Waiver program that pays for in-home care so people can stay home instead of moving to a nursing facility.
Adults 18+ with qualifying disabilities, or adults 65+ in eligible Wayne County areas excluding Detroit, Hamtramck, Highland Park, Harper Woods, and the five Grosse Pointes.
The income and asset limits are more flexible for the Medicaid Waiver Program than most people think. Having Medicaid, being eligible for Medicaid, or having a pending Medicaid application is helpful, but not necessary to apply for the Waiver Program.
Let us help you apply. There is no obligation.
Nursing visits, personal care, meals, transportation, home modifications, adult day services, and many more. See the MI Choice page for the full list.
Yes. MI Choice supplements your medical care. You keep your own doctors and your own insurance.
Timelines depend on the situation. When you call, we will walk you through what to expect.
MI Options: Person-Centered Options Counseling
MI Options Person-Centered Options Counseling is a free, unbiased one-on-one conversation about long-term care choices. A certified counselor listens to your situation, walks you through your options, and helps you build a plan.
MI Options is options counseling, a conversation. MI Choice is care coordination, services delivered in your home. Both live at TIC. Many people use MI Options first to think through choices, and then use MI Choice if it fits.
Anywhere in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Counseling is by phone statewide. In-person where available.
No. MI Options has no income or asset limits.
MMAP is Michigan’s name for the federal SHIP program (State Health Insurance Assistance Program). Through MI Options we offer free, unbiased Medicare counseling, enrollment, prescription coverage, cost-savings programs.
No. MI Options counselors are certified to be unbiased. The choice is always yours.
Community Transition Services (CTS)
Community Transition Services is a program that helps adults move out of nursing facilities back to home or community living. The program covers housing search, set-up assistance, support coordination, and connections to in-home services.
Adults currently living in a nursing facility who want to transition back to a community setting in Wayne County.
CTS helps you move out of a nursing facility. MI Choice provides in-home care services for people living in the community. Some people transition out of a facility through CTS and then use MI Choice services in their new home.
Community Navigation
Community Navigation is our service that connects people with local resources — rent, utilities, food, transportation, mental health, legal aid, and more. A trained Community Navigator listens to your situation and helps you find the right resource.
Yes. We used to call it Information and Referral. We now call it Community Navigation because that better describes what our team actually does, we navigate the system with you, not just point you at it.
Primarily Wayne County, including Detroit, and Monroe County. We help callers from any area. If you are outside our resource map, we connect you with a Community Navigation agency in your region.
Anyone facing a moment of crisis or trying to find a local resource. Free for everyone we help.
Michigan WORKS! One Call
Michigan WORKS! is the workforce side of TIC. We help people find jobs, training, and education paths, and we help employers find skilled workers.
One Call is the centralized phone line for Michigan Works! services in Wayne County (excluding Detroit) and Monroe County. The Information Center operates One Call under contract with SEMCA Michigan Works!. Job seekers and employers both call the same number.
Yes. Free for job seekers. Free for employers.
No. Anyone looking for a job, training, or a career change can use Michigan WORKS!. Unemployment is not required.
Yes. Employers reach a Business Services specialist who helps with recruiting, hiring events, and connections to skilled workers.
WCCCD Student Assistance Program
The Student Assistance Program is a service for Wayne County Community College District students who need help staying enrolled — food, housing, utilities, transportation, mental health, and more.
Call 1-855-59WCCCD, which is 1-855-599-2223. This is the designated line for WCCCD students.
No. The Student Assistance Program serves all WCCCD students no matter where they live.
Use SAP for support that helps you stay enrolled (food, housing, mental health). Use Michigan WORKS! for job search and training. Many students use both.
Referrals and Community Partners
Use the referral form or call 734-282-7171, or sit with the person and call us together. A warm hand-off has the highest success rate.
Yes.
Contact information for the person, a brief note on what is going on, and their permission.
No. Referrals are free for everyone.
Yes. Reach out about formal partnership. Partner organizations get a named TIC point of contact, materials, briefings, and joint outreach.