The Detroit Free Press reports that Gov. Snyder will announce plans to merge the two departments in his State of the State address tonight.
More from the Freep:
Merged, the two departments would be the state's largest, with a combined 14,202 employees. Currently, only the Michigan Department of Corrections is larger, with 12,440 employees. At the federal level, the health and human services functions are already delivered by one large department. And at the state level, some programs delivered by the Department of Human Services are funded by the Department of Community Health.
Snyder says the merger will help improve how the agencies deliver services.
Earlier this month, The state's Department of Human Services announced a job reduction of 270 positions that included 100 layoffs. The reductions came in the wake of a $7.5 million budget cut by Michigan lawmakers last year.
The layoffs will become effective February 15. A DHS spokesperson told us he did not expect any more layoffs this fiscal year.
