Save these dates for another exciting national adoption conference for adoption professionals hosted by Bethany Christian Services. Featured presenters include: Dr. Joyce Pavao, Dr. Julian Davies, Susan Branco Alvarado, Karen Foli, Jim Henry, and Doug Cole.

The conference will include a special community event for families during the evening of October 2, titled “Ask the Doctor,” featuring Dr. Julian Davies of The Center for Adoption Medicine, The University of Washington Pediatric Care Center.

Social Work CEs are pending. The conference will be held at the Crowne Plaza in Grand Rapids. Registration details will be released in August. Stay tuned!

Attached is Wedgwood Institute's Summer, July – September 2013 brochure. Look through the brochure and contact me if you are interested in attending what is being offered.

Ruth Pohler
Administrative Assistant
Wedgwood Institute
(616) 831-5654

$1,000 Foster Youth Scholarship opportunity for an Ingham County youth: Deadline is Monday, June 3!

The Daniel J. Wright Foster Youth Scholarship is a $1,000 award for an Ingham County youth in foster care who plans to attend college in the fall of 2013. The nomination should include a short biography and an essay, written by the youth in 500 words or less, describing what he or she has overcome to finish high school and prepare for college. The nominees will be interviewed in mid-June, with the award following soon thereafter. Please submit applications to Kelly Howard at HowardK@courts.mi.gov, or via the online nomination survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6CMBBNJ by Monday, June 3, 2013. If you have any questions, please contact Kelly Howard at (517) 373-8671. All of the details needed are provided in the attachment.

Jennifer Flowers of Federation Corporate Sponsor Accreditation Guru will be providing a session on “Strategies for Recruiting, Recognizing and Retaining Volunteers” at the Foster Family-Based Treatment Association conference, being held July 28-31, in Nashville, TN. Click here for the full conference details and registration instructions.

Conference Goals:

• Understanding of the importance of developing and sustaining culturally competent and diverse services.
• Identifying elements of a comprehensive cultural competency and diversity policy.
• Identifying steps of an action plan to develop culturally competent services specific to a local community.
• Developing relationships and resources to continue practitioners’ professional growth in culturally competent knowledge and skill building.

Participants will gain knowledge of:

• Expectations regarding cultural competency and diversity-related policy and planning at the community level.
• Importance of providing culturally competent services in improving access and outcomes for persons served, particularly for underserved populations.
• Dimensions of cultural competency.

Educational Tracks: Proposed presentations should relate to the conference goal and address current issues and initiatives in one or more of the following educational tracks:

• Issues of faith-based cultural competency and diversity 
• Issues of gender and sexuality-based cultural competency and diversity
• Issues of ethnic/racial cultural competency and diversity
• Issues of socio/economic cultural competency and diversity
• Issues of aging related cultural competency and diversity
• Issues of evaluating cultural competency and diversity

The IARCCA...An Association of Children and Family Services and the IARCCA Institute for Excellence, in collaboration with the National Association for Children’s Behavioral Health present “Medicaid Training: Program Integrity Enforcement & Ensuring the Quality and Compliance of Treatment Services” on July 16-17 in Indianapolis, IN.

Presenters are Anthony H. Choe, JD, MPH, and Helene Boinski-Bartlett, PhD. This conference will provide attendees with an understanding of the basic building blocks of the Medicaid program; examples of the foundational concepts of medical necessity, medical appropriateness and active treatment, seven required components of a compliance program, and action steps to be taken to launch an internal quality and compliance review within their respective programs.

The target audience is CEOs, CFOs, compliance and clinical directors.

Find the details in the attachment below.

Throughout 2013, MSU School of Social Work is offering 10 free trainings for foster, adoptive and kin parents. Each training participant will receive a certificate for each three hours of training they attend. No CEUs are offered for these workshops.

Please make the flier available to your families and encourage them to take advantage of the trainings offered. The flier includes a registration form and is available in the attachment below. Remaining sessions are:

Comedy for a Cause
May 17, 2013

Benefit for Promise Village Home for Children

The complete brochure is out and registration is open for another fantastic Michigan Teen Conference! See attachment below.

Wednesday opening keynote presentation: Kinetic Affect combines the past experiences and powerful voices of two men from different walks of life. Although both at first had fiercely competed against each other on the stage, Gabriel Giron and Kirk Latimer later joined their voices to create an entirely new spoken word poetry experience…a bond that would prove to be more powerful than either one had ever expected.

Thursday general session: “The Music on the Elevator to the Top” presented by foster care veteran Reco Spencer. Having spent 18 years in foster care, Reco understands the lack of motivation and desire and low expectations foster youth can develop because of their circumstances. Reco now works to assist youth in re-acquiring their dreams, desires and motivation to succeed in life.

Workshops include:
Self-Advocacy; How to Make Sure YOUR Voice Is Heard
Youth Friendly Budgeting (beginner and advanced)
Young Adult Voluntary Foster Care Program
Student Rights and Preparing for Your Legal Future (beginner and advanced)
Goal Setting: Where Do You See Yourself?
Tweet It. Post It. Like It. Link It. Everything You Need to Know about Social Media
Getting What You Want, Not Just What They Give You!
Youth Empowerment & Resilience
How to Get and Keep a Job
Supportive College Programs for Foster Youth
Navigating Funding Sources for Youth Aging Out of Foster Care
Developing Relationships on the Elevator of Life
Renting – Learn Your Rights & Avoid a Nightmare

SPECIAL PRICE for Michigan Federation members - Save $40 per day

TLC Childhood Trauma Practitioner's Assesmbly
July 9-12, 2013
8:30 AM - 3:45 PM
Macomb ISD Education Center

Register by May 11th. Continuing Education credits included.

Assembly schedule:
July 9
• Children of Trauma
• Advanced Structured Sensory Interventions & Mind-Body Skills
• FEI Crisis Training
• Trauma-Informed workshops

July 10
• Structured Sensory Interventions
• Trauma-Informed Expressive Arts Therapy
• Trauma-Informed workshops

July 11
• Trauma Assessment
• Best Practices for Improving the School Climate
• Trauma-Informed workshops

July 12
• Putting It All Together: Practice Points & Tough Topics
• What If...Crisis Team Protocols for Schools
• Trauma-Informed workshops

Save the date: November 3-5, 2013

2013 Annual CANS Conference
Hilton San Francisco Financial District

The goal of this year's conference will be to assist in the development of specific skills involving the full use of Total Clinical Outcomes Management (TCOM) and its associated measures (The Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS), The Family Advocacy and Support Tool (FAST), Adult Needs and Strengths Assessment (ANSA)). There will be three tracks--clinical track for people who work in direct service. This track will include workshops on the use of these tools in treatment planning, trauma-informed care, strength-based work, integration with various evidence-based practices (e.g. motivational interviewing, collaborative problem solving). The second track will be a program management and supervisory track which will include workshops for supporting staff development and managing effectiveness. The third track will be designed for system administrators which will focus on the use of information collected with these tools to support system management, design and evolution.

With the learning tracks and an array of expert-led educational workshops and keynote speakers, this three day conference will provide an excellent opportunity for professional development for people involved at all levels of the system.

Stay tuned for more announcements.

Lutheran Social Services and the Department of Human Services will soon be hosting seven regional trainings across the State of Michigan. Each training will cover the Michigan Education and Training Voucher Program (ETV), the educational needs and newest education policy requirements for children and youth in care, and various college resources for Foster Youth.

Registration is now available on JJOLT at: http://www.michiganchildwelfaretraining.com, search forEducation Pl - College Scholarships and Resources. Attached is a flyer with dates, locations, and times…so mark your calendars now! SPACE IS LIMITED!! If you do not have access to JJOLT, please reply to this email to register and specify the preferred location and time.

This is a great opportunity for all workers and supervisors to learn about the resources available for foster youth who are aging out and pursuing college, as well as how foster youth can best be served to ensure they make it to post-secondary programs.

Jennifer Maurer
ETV Coordinator
Lutheran Social Services of Michigan
209 E. Washington Ave. Suite 284, Jackson, MI 49201
Phone: (877) 660-6388 Fax: (517) 789-6809
Serving People As an Expression of the Love of Christ - www.mietv.lssm.org

Michigan Child Death State Advisory Team Tenth Annual EXECUTIVE REPORT

Please find the attached report on child deaths in Michigan which provides county specific data as well as statewide recommendations.

The Michigan Federation for Children and Families presents the 2013 Directory of Residential Treatment Programs for Abused, Neglected and Delinquent Youth, featuring Federation member agencies operating residential treatment programs across the state.

The purpose of this directory is to inform judges, DHS, CMH and other potential purchasers of service about the many residential treatment programs available to Michigan's youth in their own regions and across the state.

This effort is recognized by the Michigan Department of Human Services Bureau of Juvenile Justice and the State Court Administrative Office Child Welfare Services Division as fulfilling a need for this type of resource.

We hope you find this directory helpful as you work to assist youth and families in need of services.

Best regards,
Janet Reynolds Snyder, MBA

Executive Director

The Michigan Juvenile Justice Collaborative invites you to attend the

Michigan Summit on Juvenile Justice
Explore how Michigan Communities are Getting Smart on Crime and Saving Money.

Thursday, March 14, 2013 (8:30am – 1:00pm)

Mackinac Room of the Anderson House Office Building
124 North Capitol Ave. Lansing, MI 48909

FREE Registration at: www.miccd.org

The event will feature Representative Jerry Madden, the recently retired former Chairman of the
Texas House Corrections Committee and leading legislator on criminal justice reform in
Texas. Madden’s innovative ideas on sentencing and corrections helped to transform Texas’
criminal justice system, contributing to lower crime rates and reduced recidivism at a lower cost
to taxpayers.

Agenda

8:30-9:30am: Keynote Address & Continental Breakfast: Texas Representative Jerry Madden will share his
experience improving the juvenile justice system in Texas through use of cost-effective
solutions to juvenile justice reform.

9:45-10:30am: Michigan Trends in Juvenile Justice: Local experts discuss how
Michigan is transforming research into real cost-savings and crime reduction.

10:45-12pm: 2013-2014 Policy Priorities: Advocates highlight strategies that the
Michigan Legislature can do this session to improve juvenile justice, reduce crime, and
save money.

12:00pm: Luncheon Meet-n-Greet: Legislators and staff are invited to meet with
constituents and juvenile justice experts over a free lunch.

1:00pm: Constituent Visits

The Michigan Summit on Juvenile Justice is sponsored by:

Association for Children's Mental Health
ACLU of Michigan
Michigan Association of United Ways
Michigan Council on Crime & Delinquency
Michigan League for Public Policy
Michigan Legislative Black Caucus
Michigan Protection & Advocacy Services
Public Policy Associates
Public Welfare Foundation
The Injustice Must End (T.I.M.E.)
TrueNorth Community Services