Fostering Change: A New Vision for Family Engagement
Thursday, September 23, 2010
The Department of Human Services and the State Court Administrative Office are pleased to present a one-day conference on innovation and collaboration between the courts and service providers to promote engagement with families in the child welfare system.

Where: Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center, Big Ten Room A
East Lansing, Michigan 48824
Time: 8:45 am-4 pm

To Register: Registration will take place on a first-come first served basis on the Child Welfare Training Institute website:
http://www.michiganchildwelfaretraining.com/

If you have registration questions, contact Charon Hawley at (517) 241-7907.

DETROIT, MI, August 23, 2010 – The Foster Care Review Board is seeking nominations for its annual Child Welfare Awards, which honor judges, lawyers, foster care workers, and foster parents for exemplary service to children in Michigan’s foster care system.

FCRB Program Manager James Novell said that “The awards recognize those who protect, care for, and advocate for foster care children and their parents. These people have tremendous responsibilities, yet receive little, if any, recognition. The Child Welfare Awards were established to honor them and call attention to their difficult and demanding work.”

Categories include “Jurist of the Year” (judges and referees); “Foster Care Worker of the Year”; “LGAL of the Year” (lawyer guardians ad litem); “Foster Parent of the Year”; and “Parent Attorney of the Year.” Nomination forms are available online at http://courts.michigan.gov/scao/services/fcrb/fcrb.htm. The deadline is September 15. Award recipients will be recognized at the FCRB annual training conference on November 4, 2010.

Created by the Michigan legislature in 1981, the FCRB provides a third-party review of the foster care system. The program is administered by the State Court Administrative Office, the administrative agency of the Michigan Supreme Court, and is comprised of citizen volunteers who serve on one of 30 local review boards throughout the state. Local boards review randomly chosen child abuse and neglect cases to assess the performance of courts, the Michigan Department of Human Services, and private child welfare agencies.

This meeting is dedicated to the creation of a statewide network of support groups led by individuals and organizations interconnected with each other and supported with information, training, and technical assistance from the Kinship Care Resource Center.

Who should attend:
-Kinship Caregiver support group leaders (both professional and caregiver led groups)
-Community organizations
-Individuals and groups who are interested in developing support groups and other systems to support caregiver families

Download the below brochure for more information.

Starr Commonwealth is hosting this session, The Circle of Courage, creating environments of belonging, mastery, independence, and generosity. The 8:30-12:00 session in Albion is recommended for all who work with youth, including educators, treatment and juvenile justice professionals, child advocates, and parents. Dr. Brokenleg is dean of the Circle of Courage Institute, consults worldwide, and serves as a vice president of Reclaiming Youth International, providing training for individuals who work with youth at risk. Dr. Brokenleg has consulted and led training programs throughout North America, New Zealand, and South Africa. He is a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe practicing the culture of his Lakota people. For more information, email courage@reclaiming.com or call 1-800-285-7910.

The 2010 Salary & Fringe Benefit Survey Summary Report will reflect data current as of January 31, 2010, including a compilation of actual salaries of approximately 5,000 employees across 71 job classifications within 40 Michigan private, nonprofit child and family service agencies, presented geographically: statewide, SE Michigan counties and counties outside of SE Michigan.

This 120+ page report will include 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; there is no extra charge for participation and a copy of the summary report.

The 2010 report will be available to non-participating non-members for $200 per copy; $150 per copy 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. The printed report will be sent directly to you as soon as it is available.

This day-long session focuses on the role of board members in communicating the importance of mission and organizational impact to prospective donors within their personal networks. This high-level workshop will provide attendees with the tools to work most effectively with board members as ambassadors to potential donors. Attendees will learn how to empower board members to initiate comfortable conversations on mission and vision, as well as lay the foundation for the successful solicitation of charitable gifts.

Members of the Michigan Federation for Children and Families can register for the Alliance-member rate!

The seminar will be hosted at Starr Commonwealth in Albion.

Find all the details in the downloadable flier below.

Join Federation of Youth Services for their 2010 Annual Dinner Fundraiser:

“Dancing in September”

Friday, September 10, 2010
Laurel Manor Banquet Center
39000 Schoolcraft Road
Livonia, MI
6:00 P.M.
$75.00

RSVP – 313-571-4707

October 12 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m
Children and Families: Understanding Attachment and Attachment Theory
Cost $10
For 2.0 CE's, $10

Understanding Childhood Broken Attachments (intermediate - advanced)
November 9 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m
Cost $10
For 2.0 CE's, $10

Continuing the Journey Assessing Child and Family Attachments for Treatment Planning (intermediate - advanced)
December 7 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
Cost $10
For 2.0 CE's, $10

See attached flyer, for more information and registration.

Lansing Teen Court, a community-based and highly collaborative program of Child & Family Services, announced today that it has awarded Don LeDuc, president and dean of the Thomas M. Cooley Law School, with the organization's first-ever Community Recognition Award.

"To say the least, we are grateful for Don's civic-minded nature, his commitment to education and his support of creative and community-based methods of resolving juvenile justice and community challenges through collaboration," said Mike Botke, director of Teen Court.

The basis for the Community Recognition Award includes making a significant contribution to the community, whether monetary or in deed. LeDuc is the first to receive the award and was selected to honor his commitment, not only to Teen Court, but to community collaboration as well.

"Cooley is honored to be involved with the Teen Court program," said LeDuc. "Our staff, professors and students have embraced this program, as it gives a second chance to young people and provides an invaluable service to the Lansing community."

By the Midland Daily News

The Midland Area Community Foundation is collaborating with a local adoption agency to help children take a leap toward a successful academic future.

The MACF awarded Adoption Option Inc. a $30,000 grant that is to be spread over a three-year period to provide a summertime academic enrichment program for children who have lived in foster care or some other similar type of out-of-home placement. Middle school age adolescents who reside in Midland County and surrounding areas are the focus of the camp. The program's goal is to introduce new skills and strengthen existing ones in the effort to prepare foster children for success in college and later life.

Participants will receive support designed to improve their reading comprehension using the Remarkable Readers Program. They also will have the chance to cultivate leadership skills, character development, and psychosocial growth. Additionally, students will experience a taste of college life through half-day visits to universities within the region.
College students that have demonstrated their ability to be academically successful will serve as camp mentors. In addition to all the learning and interactive activities, camp participants will have a little fun through the opportunity to attend a Great Lakes Loons baseball game. The camp takes place Aug. 8-11 on the campus of Northwood University.

For additional information about Adoption Option Inc. or this program, contact DeLois T. Leapheart or Bryce Rucker at (989) 839-0534.

In September 2009, the State Court Administrative Office, Child Welfare Services Division published the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) Court Resource Guide. Drafting the Guide marked the beginning of a state-tribal collaboration to increase Michigan’s compliance with the federal ICWA and to improve communication between the tribes, courts, and DHS/private agencies.

This training will cover the history of tribal sovereignty, the new ICWA Court Resource Guide, the 1978 Federal ICWA, and Michigan’s 12 federally recognized tribes’ contacts and resources for helping Native American children. The training will utilize a team approach to encourage DHS, state court, and tribal collaboration. Attendees will work as teams, using a hands-on approach to resolve fact-based issues that require interpreting and applying the ICWA.

Even if you do not already have a team assembled for this training, please still plan to attend. You will be assigned to a team on the day of the training.
Download fliers below for the following day-long sessions:
August 24, 2010 at the University Center, Northern Michigan University, Marquette, Michigan
August 25, 2010 at the Ziibiwing Center, Mt. Pleasant, Michigan
August 26, 2010 at the Odawa Hotel, Petoskey, Michigan

There is no charge to attend, but pre-registration is required.

Attention families who adopted in 2007, 2008 and 2009

July 2010

Dear Adoptive Parent:

Member agencies of the Michigan Federation for Children and Families are pleased to partner with economics and social work researchers at Michigan State University to participate in a special research project involving families in Michigan who adopted within the past three years.

The purpose of this study is to encourage families to adopt children by understanding the full range of costs and subsidies associated with child adoption. We hope to identify the supports that might encourage adoption and better understand how families use existing supports. Understanding the costs and subsidies of adoption will help public and private adoption organizations to better serve potential adoptive families. Survey results may also reveal important implications for policy.

Your family’s adoption experience is an important component of the larger picture being sought through this research.

We encourage you to complete the posted survey and send it directly to MSU. Responses will be most useful if returned by July 31, 2010.

If you have any questions or concerns, please communicate directly with the MSU researchers. Contact information for MSU is provided in the cover letter from Dr. Mark Skidmore.

Thank you so much for your time, efforts, and support.

This report, submitted pursuant to 1997 PA 170, § 9, provides an overview of the review board’s functions and program activity details from this past year. Included are data, trend summaries, and observations gleaned by the board during 2009 from the review of cases involving over 1,300 children in foster care. These reviews were conducted by 200 dedicated and well-trained citizen volunteers. The information obtained from case reviews provides an objective, third-party evaluation of the care that Michigan’s foster care system provides to abused and neglected children.

This year’s report and recommendations address significant issues related to achieving safe and timely permanency for children in foster care, particularly in the area of parent-child reunification.

The Foster Care Review Board (FCRB) is a program established by the legislature to provide third-party review of foster care placements and related matters. There are 30 local review boards throughout the state, comprised of citizen volunteers. For those who are not familiar with the program, complete information can be found at
http://courts.michigan.gov/scao/services/fcrb/fcrb.htm

Calling all golfers! Vista Maria is hosting its 21st Annual George Blaha High Hopes Golf Invitational at Forest Lake Country Club on July 19. All funds from this prestigious event support Vista Maria’s 127 year-old mission of rescuing and restoring victimized children. Your participation will help our children to break the cycle of poverty and successfully transition to adulthood

There are several golf slots still available at $350 per person. For those that are interested in promoting their business, several opportunities are still available and going quickly. Only a few Hole Sponsorships remain at $275 and anyone interested in advertising may want to purchase a Program Book Ad at a cost ranging from $150 to $300.

Don’t golf? Join us for our Celebrity Cocktail Hour and Dinner. Tickets are available at $125 per person. You’ll enjoy live entertainment by Simone Vitale, mingle with celebrity guests such as last year’s attendees, sports greats George Perles and Lloyd Carr, and many of our own Detroit Pistons, past and present. You’ll also take part in a wonderful dinner featuring a fun and exciting live auction, lead by our own Master of Ceremonies, George Blaha.

Don’t miss out! You are the new face of hope for our children. For reservations or payment by phone, call 313-271-3050, ext. 0 or ext. 182 or rhermann@vistamaria.org. Becky and Kelly will be pleased to meet your needs. Register online here: http://www.vistamaria.org/events.php