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.

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.

Residential Treatment MIN meeting
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
10:00 AM
Federation Office

For parking options, download the attached Downtown Lansing Parking Map. The structures closest to our location are:
A North Capitol Parking Structure
B North Grand Ave Parking Structure

Standard Parking Structure Rates
Rate Per 1/2 Hour $1.00 (The first 1/2 hour is free) • Maximum Daily Rate $8.25

10:00-12:00 Adoption MIN
12:30-1:30 Licensing MIN
1:30-3:00 Foster Care MIN
3:00-4:00 Independent Living/Homeless Youth MIN

For parking options, download the attached Downtown Lansing Parking Map. The structures closest to our location are:
A North Capitol Parking Structure
B North Grand Ave Parking Structure

Standard Parking Structure Rates
Rate Per 1/2 Hour $1.00 (The first 1/2 hour is free) • Maximum Daily Rate $8.25

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.

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.

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

The Dwayne B. v. Granholm consent decree requires DHS to develop and implement a statewide Quality Assurance (QA) program, directed by a QA Unit established within the DHS central office. The Child Welfare QA Unit has been established as a division of the Child Welfare Improvement Bureau to ensure the provision of service in accordance with DHS philosophy. The Child Welfare QA Unit’s aim is to foster a continuous quality improvement (CQI) culture throughout DHS by introducing CQI concepts to all levels of the child welfare system, training staff on improvement processes and integrating CQI philosophy into long-term and everyday decision making. The QA unit has developed an internal capacity to undertake data collection, verification, and analysis in addition to case record reviews for the higher risk cases identified in the consent decree.

After the submission of the CQI plan in April 2009, the QA Unit began to conduct special reviews as specified by the consent decree. The Data Management Unit (DMU) provides an initial list of identified cases for the high-risk categories. The QA Unit reviews each identified case in the Foster Care Services Worker Support System (SWSS-FAJ) to pre-screen for possible data errors, and ensure that the case meets the cohort definition. The DMU and the QA Unit will continue to refine the querying process to the fullest extent possible.

The QA Unit completed special reviews for Period Three: October 1, 2009 through March 31, 2010. This report is a summary of the findings for the special case reviews conducted for during this period.

To alleviate travel time and expense pressures, assist workers to comply with required in-service training hours, and to partner with colleagues, CWTI will be sending trainers to three separate regions of the U.P. this summer. CWTI trainers will provide half and full day sessions on a variety of topics. Dates, topics, and locations will be posted on JJOLT. It is recommended that supervisors consult with staff to facilitate registrations and maximize opportunity to attend and accrue in-service hours.

CWTI intends to provide three full days of training in each location. Individual session capacity will be posted on JJOLT with each of the dates and times. Staff may attend just one session or as many as interest and schedules permit.

The initial dates and locations are June 29 – July 1, 2010 at the DHS/OPD training center in Escanaba (Delta County).

Download June 7, 2010 below.

The Michigan Department of Human Services (DHS) is responsible for administering the state’s child welfare program. The DHS mission includes a commitment to ensure that children and youths are safe; to sustain a higher quality of life; and to give children in DHS permanent and stable family lives. The DHS Children’s Services Administration is responsible for planning, directing and coordinating statewide child welfare programs, including social services provided directly by DHS via statewide local offices and services provided by private child-placing agencies.

A settlement agreement was signed July 3, 2008 and a final consent decree was entered on October 28, 2008. Since then, DHS has made significant strides to improve the quality of service to children and families in the child welfare system by reducing caseloads for its workers, moving more children to permanency, reducing the number of children in out-of-home care, launching a continuous quality improvement system, increasing oversight of contracted providers, and developing extensive data reporting capabilities.

The consent decree requires DHS to ensure that qualified and competent individuals conduct a fatality review independent of the county in which the fatality occurred for each child who died while in the foster care custody of DHS. The fatality review process is overseen by the Office of Family Advocate.

Vistas Nuevas Head Start, a program of Matrix Human Services will host its’ annual Celebrations of Culture Parade on Thursday, June 3, 2010 at 10am. More than 1400 head start children will march from Holy Redeemer Church to Clark Park in celebration of the various cultures in the Detroit community.

The Celebrations of Culture Parade will represent several countries around globe in support the diversity that is among all of us each and every day. Those countries include: Spain, Trinidad and Tabago, Hawaii, Ecuador, Ghana, Mexico, Scotland, Puerto Rico, Native American, Lebanon, Brazil, France, Portugal.

Vistas Nuevas Head Start is the largest head start program in the city of Detroit. Vistas’ has more than 1400 children annually, teaches in 3 languages (English, Spanish and Arabic) and operates 13 locations all located in Detroit’s Southwest community.

“This annual event highlights the multi-cultural community we live and serve in everyday. It is important for our children to know, celebrate and embrace the differences within all of us.” – states Debra Spring, Vice President of Education and Director of Vistas Nuevas

The Celebrations of Culture Parade will end at Clark Park with children’s activities, free food (while supplies last), vendors and community organizations supporting this wonderful event. The event is from 10am – 2pm.

Matrix Human Services, inspired by its’ heritage since 1906, advocates and serves the most vulnerable in the metropolitan Detroit community and empowers individuals and families to enhance the quality of their lives and achieve self sufficiency.

Visit www.matrixhumanservices.org for more information

Back by popular demand, MSU School of Social Work is holding on July 14–16 the second annual Great Lakes Summer Institute (GLSI), a professional development experience comprised of two-day, one-day, and half-day intensive courses on a variety of current topics taught by experts in their fields. Designed to blend meaningful learning with maximum relaxation, the GLSI is held at the Great Wolf Lodge in beautiful Traverse City. A special room rate is available to GLSI attendees until June 15, 2010, so register today! Find details about the GLSI and the entire CE Summer 2010 Catalog at the School’s website: http://www.socialwork.msu.edu/ and/or download the full summer catalog below.