Just issued, this special in-service training catalog is the product of a dynamic partnership among seven Michigan schools of social work with MSW programs and the Michigan Department of Human Services (DHS). Questions about individual workshops should be directed to the sponsoring school. With the support of DHS, these sessions are free of charge for Children’s Protective Services (CPS), foster care, and adoption workers of both DHS and DHS-contracted private agencies. Many of the workshop topics have applicability beyond child welfare practice. Each workshop is or will be approved for Social Work Continuing Education Credit Hours.

February 28, 2010 by Midland Daily News

When people tour Eagle Village, in Hersey, one of the most common reactions is that they didn't realize the size and scope of services.

"Often they didn't realize that we were here at all," a spokesperson said. "We find that many misconceptions still exist. There is a perception that Eagle Village is a juvenile detention center or lock down facility. After an individual takes a tour of Eagle Village, their comments include statements like, 'I can't believe what amazing work you do here" and "we never really understood, but we do now!'"

For more than 41 years, Eagle Village has been providing abused and neglected children from all over Michigan a safe place to live, helping them build positive relationships and develop character and leadership skills.

Eagle Village would like local residents to learn more about its services for abused and neglected children. Programs featuring Eagle Village staff and recipients of Eagle Village services are planned at the Midland Country Club. Call Lisa Spaugh at (231) 832-6589 or Linda Greene at (231) 832-7253 to reserve a spot. The program schedule is:

Wednesday, March 10, at 10 a.m.
Wednesday, March 24, at 5 p.m.
Wednesday, April 14, at 10 a.m. **
Wednesday, April 28, at 5 p.m. **
Wednesday, May 12, at 10 a.m.

**Alternate location, call for details

For background and current status of the federal Adoption Tax Credit, download the attached Adoption Advocate newsletter issued by the National Council for Adoption.

Additionally, these sites are listed for your convenience:

• The IRS tax topic can be viewed at http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc607.html
• The entire IRS publication is available at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-prior/p968--2002.pdf
• Forms referenced in the newsletter can be accessed at:
  http://www.irs.gov/formspubs/index.html?portlet=3
  http://www.ssa.gov/online/

By Austen Smith, Heritage Newspapers

When it comes to abused children, it's never easy.

There are horror stories of kids who have come from family backgrounds filled with neglect only to be shuffled through impersonal foster-care programs that do not provide the support necessary for children with behavioral problems.

There are, however, many success stories and the Girlstown Foundation, located in Belleville, has been a shining example for more than 50 years providing a comprehensive range of therapy, social work, residential and foster-care placement services for kids whom have come from terrible situations.
The longtime nonprofit organization at first featured just the residential program for troubled girls, but has blossomed to include foster care and Supervised Independent Living, with approximately 50 kids involved with those two programs alone.

With a little more than 50 employees spread throughout the residential facility, called Loch Rio, and administrative offices located on East Huron River Drive, the program provides services to hundreds of children each year. Most of the staff at Girlstown includes social workers with backgrounds in psychology and criminal justice.

Assistant Director Maria Lessnau does not have an easy job.

Starting out as a certification worker in 1995, she has experienced nearly every type of heartbreaking and exhilarating scenario that passes through Girlstown.

"The big push right now is licensing relatives. There are a lot of kids right now who are living with relatives who are not licensed as foster-care parents," Lessnau says. "The state's goal is to have only 10 percent of the parents in the home not licensed."

Plan on attending this wonderful event at St. Louis Center on April 25th: Blessing of the Bikes!

Established in 2007, its purpose is to expose a whole new crowd to St. Louis Center in a fun, family friendly environment. Attendees receive spiritual blessings for a safe riding season in addition to enjoying entertainment, prizes, food and vendors. Non-bikers, family, and the general public are welcome.

Blessing: 1:15 p.m., Raffle drawing: 2:00 p.m., Mass available at 2:30 p.m.

Advance registration is not necessary to attend this event. A five-dollar donation per person will be requested for entry. For questions or to volunteer, contact St. Louis Center at mail@stlouiscenter.org.

Download the flyer below for more information.

All private, nonprofit child and family service agencies in Michigan are invited to participate in the 2010 Salary & Fringe Benefit Survey conducted by the Michigan Federation for Children and Families. This year's survey includes improvements over the previous annual surveys, both in clarity of questions asked and expansion of the positions for which salary data is requested.

Add your agency's data to the premier compensation report produced exclusively for Michigan's private, nonprofit child and family services sector!

Two ways to report are offered; hard copy and an Excel file; find both downloadable below.

Agencies not currently members of the Federation, please download, complete and send in your Intent to Participate form.

The Michigan Department of Community Health and the Michigan Association of CMH Boards in association with the Co-Occurring Disorders: Integrated Dual Disorders Treatment Subcommittee will host this half-day session, facilitated by Mark Lowis, LMSW, and Ray Rais, MSW, LMSW, CAAC.

This training is ONLY for people who are working with individuals with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders within the public mental health or substance abuse system

Tuesday, March 23rd from 9am to 12:15pm
Ramada Inn, Lansing (formerly the Holiday Inn West)
$10 per person - includes boxed lunch.

Download the brochure (found below) to view the agenda, learning objectives, CE information and registration form.

Do you know a youth in Foster Care or Independent Living who needs to learn about money management, employment and/or educational opportunities, healthy relationships, or housing? If you do, then you need to register them for the 2010 Michigan Teen Conference. It will be held on the campus of Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant on Tuesday-Wednesday, June 22-23, 2010.

The Save the Date flier (downloadable below) includes a worksheet for requesting YIT funds through your local county DHS office that can be used to fund portions of the conference fees.

Additional conference materials and registration forms will be distributed in the coming weeks. We are looking forward to another dynamite conference!

Please see the attached program announcement for State Court Administrative Office, 6th Annual Child Welfare Services Issues Conference "Keeping Families Together: Removal Prevention and Timely Reunification" on April 7 & 8, 2010 at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing.

This conference focuses on: (1) the importance of keeping children in their homes whenever they can remain safe with extra familial supports and in-home services; (2) the trauma experienced by children during the removal process; and (3) how to minimize those effects with trauma-informed practices. Additionally, information will be presented on the appropriate engagement of families in the child welfare process to reduce the need for removals or to decrease the amount of time a child spends in foster care. The 24 workshop sessions will cover related yet diverse topics including the Indian Child Welfare Act’s “active efforts” requirement, evidence-based treatment for parents, child-parent interaction therapy, safety planning, and working more effectively with fathers.

The 2010 Michigan Association for Foster, Adoptive and Kinship Parents Conference will feature guest speakers: author Dr. Foster Cline, co-founder of the Love and Logic Institute and co-author of the Parenting with Love and Logic series; and Stephen Youngs, minister, school principal, and foster/adoptive parent. Twenty-eight workshops are offered. This conference is an amazing value...please download the conference book here and/or watch for it in the mail in mid-February. Special conference rates at the Causeway Bay are $71.99 for reservations made by April 8.

ALBION, MI – Starr Commonwealth, an internationally recognized nonprofit service provider of strength-based programs for at-risk youth and families, announces the addition of Elizabeth A. Carey as Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy & Administrative Services Officer.

In her new role, Carey will provide leadership for Starr’s strategic direction of investing in its people, as well as help shape the future of Starr’s talent management initiatives and business strategies. Carey has a comprehensive professional background that includes social work, government relations, statewide and national association leadership and operations.

She most recently served as the Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for the Alliance for Children and Families. She directed day-to-day operations, planned and executed strategic plans, coordinated member recruitment and retention efforts, and helped determine the public policy agenda.

Carey is no stranger to the nonprofit social service sector of Michigan. Before serving in a leadership role at the Alliance for Children and Families, Carey was Executive Director of the Michigan Federation for Children and Families, a statewide organization located in Lansing for nonprofit social service providers. While at the Michigan Federation, Carey directed the public policy efforts at state and national levels, organized and implemented grassroots advocacy efforts, and represented the federation membership with the legislature and state/federal departments.

All Michigan private, nonprofit child and family serving organizations are invited to participate in this survey. Find out how in the attachment below.

The 2009 Salary & Fringe Benefit Survey Summary reflects data current as of February 28, 2009, including a compilation of actual salaries of 5,081 employees across 58 job classifications within 39 Michigan private, nonprofit child and family service agencies, presented geographically—statewide, SE Michigan counties and counties outside of SE Michigan.

This 121-page report includes statewide aggregate data, plus four breakdowns of the General Information, Fringe Benefits, Staff Turnover Report, and Salaries Report by size of agency. This amount of detail allows for a close comparison among similarly sized organizations as agencies consider their own employee compensation packages.

This annual report is one of the many benefits of Full Membership in the Michigan Federation for Children and Families—no extra charge for participation and report. A copy of the 2009 report is available to non-participating non-members for $200; $150 for Affiliate and Individual Federation members.

Send your request and check to: Michigan Federation for Children and Families, 320 N. Washington Square, Suite 100, Lansing MI 48933.

Individuals can earn Social Work CECHs at all of Wedgwood Institute’s lifelong learning opportunities and “Tuesday Training Breaks.” Offerings for January–March include:
• January 12: The Psychology of Eating
• January 21: What’s Your Story?
• February 11: Music Therapy: Reaching Adolescents with Emotional Impairments
• March 9: Understanding and Interacting Effectively with Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders
• March 17: Basic Challenges of Adoptive Development

Full details and registration information can be found in the attached brochures (see link below).

Just issued, this Cornell University newsletter chronicles Holy Cross’s dramatic reduction in the use of restraints within its residential treatment programs—over 70% reduction within 12 months.