Prosecutor, police chief back early childhood education, dropout prevention programs

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 28, 2010) -- Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton and Mundy Township Police Chief James Petres traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with Representative Dale Kildee (D-MI) to discuss opportunities to reduce crime through the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Representative Kildee will be a key legislator in the reauthorization of that bill as the chair of the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education.

They said that providing at-risk kids with early education, keeping school-age kids on track to graduation, and reducing bullying, school violence and drug abuse would all have a positive effect on preventing later crime.

“I’d much rather focus our time, energy and taxpayer dollars on effective school reforms than pay room and board for career criminals,” Prosecutor Leyton said. “Public safety pays the toll when kids drop out of school and turn to crime rather than a career or higher education. We need to make sure kids get the right start to their education and stay on track through their school years.”

Research compiled by the anti-crime group Fight Crime: Invest in Kids also shows that a one-year increase of staying in school reduces murder and assault by almost 30 percent, motor vehicle theft by 20 percent, arson by 13 percent and burglary and larceny by about 6 percent. A study funded by the Gates Foundation found that high school dropouts are eight times more likely to be incarcerated than graduates.

Holy Cross Children's Services receives Civic Engagement Grant

Holy Cross Children's Services (HCCS), one of Michigan’s largest not-for-profit providers of services to children and families across the state, has been awarded a $6,000 grant to support civic engagement activities for youth between the ages of 17-21 who are receiving or have completed independent living services through the agency.

The grant, announced by the Alliance for Children and Families, will allow Holy Cross Children's Services to more effectively engage youth in independent living services programming as advocates with local and state officials and aid in educating the general public about the issues they face. With more than 310 members across the United States and Canada, the private, nonprofit member agencies and organizations of the Alliance for Children and Families represent a significant force in the human services sector. In all, over 3.4 million clients participate in Alliance member services annually.
Sadly, many citizens are completely unaware of the circumstances that these young people face because they are a forgotten segment of a statewide population reeling from economic woes, unemployment and related issues. The HCCS Civic Engagement Project will ideally bring a much sharper focus to the particular topic of youth in independent living, helping the public in general and policy makers specifically to better understand their circumstances and means of assisting them in succeeding. Project plans include face to face visits with members of the Michigan State Legislature, testimony to House and Senate committees, presentations to various civic groups and interviews with local media.

 WASHINGTON – As president and chief executive officer of Spaulding for Children, Addie D. Williams, LMSW, JD, sits at the helm of an organization with three service entities and one overarching belief – every child is adoptable and every child deserves a permanent family. For her outstanding work on adoption issues, Senator Carl Levin, D-Mich., nominated Ms. Williams as an Angel in Adoption. She will be honored along with more than 185 Angels in Adoption at an awards celebration tomorrow in Washington, DC, sponsored by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CACI).

“I’m proud to nominate Addie Williams as a 2009 Angel in Adoption,” Sen. Levin said. “Through her compassion and leadership she has had a broad and positive impact on the lives of thousands of children and families in Michigan. This award recognizes her years of service on this issue and is just one measure of our appreciation.”

Based in Southfield, Spaulding for Children operates three programs: Child and Family Services, the Spaulding Institute for Family and Community Development, and the National Child Welfare Resource Center for Adoption. With a mission of assuring that all children grow-up in safe, permanent families and have the help they need to be successful in life, Spaulding for Children has been responsible for the adoption of more than 1,000 children, permanency for more than 500 and has trained more than 135,000 persons nationwide in its permanency techniques.

A special red carpet screening of "America" will take place at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History on Saturday, Feb. 28, from 7:30 to 11:30 p.m.

Proceeds will help raise money for St. Peter's Home For Boys. For ticket information and to RSVP, call Everett or Norma Andrews at (313)-846-6942 or e-mail g.everett@sphb.org.

Michigan Chronicle
By Patrick Keating

Red carpet screening set at Wright museum

The film stars Rosie O'Donnell as a therapist and Ruby Dee as the first foster mother of the main character, a boy named America, who has endured both abuse and neglect in the child welfare system.

According to executive director Gregory Everett, the facility was contacted several months ago, before filming started, by a site location manager affiliated with Sony pictures and Lifetime Entertainment who wanted to do research on residential programs in Detroit. He said the filmmakers learned about St. Peter's by Googling residential agencies in Michigan.