Two organizations, each with over a century of service to some of Michigan’s neediest, merge to expand their capacity to provide residential services to children and families.

Lutheran Child & Family Service (LCFS) of Michigan and Boys and Girls Republic (BGR), Farmington Hills, MI announced today they have signed a definitive agreement combining their operations. LCFS of Michigan will continue operations as Lutheran Child & Family Service of Michigan, Inc. and will adopt and maintain use of the name “Boys and Girls Republic” with respect to programs and services conducted on the campus located at 28000 West Nine Mile Road in Farmington Hills.

According to Dr. Robert G. Miles, President/CEO of LCFS of Michigan, “The merger is a wonderful opportunity for two organizations with tremendously rich histories to come together. This will expand our capacity and capabilities resulting in a more robust, diverse and enhanced array of services to better meet the changing needs of youth and families in the 21st century. Ultimately, the success of this merger will be realized in the achievement and advancement of people’s dreams. Brighter and more productive futures are our goals.”

The merger agreement, which is expected to take effect in mid- to late April 2008, has been submitted to the Michigan Attorney General’s office for final approval. For further information, please see our website at www.lcfsmi.org.
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On January 2, 2008, Janet Reynolds Snyder assumed her new role as executive director of the Michigan Federation for Children and Families.

Janet brings to the Federation extensive advocacy skills and knowledge of both the public child welfare system and private, nonprofit human services sector. For the past 14 years, she served as executive director of Hear My Voice, a nonprofit child advocacy organization based in Ann Arbor, whose mission focused on safe, permanent families for children in foster care, kinship placements and contested adoptions.

While leading Hear My Voice, Janet built successful collaborations with courts, agencies, legislators, state child welfare administrators and individual experts in the field as well as credibility with state and national media markets as subject matter experts regarding child welfare matters. Her work led to the organization’s national recognition for outstanding work in the field of child welfare from the Congressional Coalition for Adoption Institute (2004 Angel in Adoption Award).

She is a member of Michigan’s Foster Care Review Board Statewide Advisory Committee and co-chairs its Subcommittee on Legislative Issues. She is also a member of the State of Michigan’s Citizen’s Review Panel on Prevention.

Janet earned her MBA from Spring Arbor University and her Bachelor’s in Education from the University of Michigan. Additionally, she earned in 2007 a Mediation Certification from the Michigan State Court Administrative Office (SCAO) and completed Domestic Violence Protocol Screening Training for Mediators through SCAO.

The Michigan Federation for Children and Families is a statewide association of private, nonprofit child and family serving agencies, advocacy and coordinating organizations and individuals devoted to protecting children, building families and strengthening communities. The Federation has advocated for vulnerable children and families since 1969.

Janet Reynolds Snyder

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Elizabeth Carey, Executive Director
September 10, 2007
Michigan Federation for Children and Families
(517) 485-8552

Longtime Child and Family Advocate Makes Move to National Stage
Elizabeth Carey Accepts Position with the Alliance for Children and Families

LANSING — Elizabeth Carey, executive director for the Michigan Federation for Children and Families (the Federation), a statewide association for non-profit human service agencies, will be leaving her post on Oct. 12. She has accepted an offer as senior vice president and chief operating officer for the Alliance for Children and Families, a national membership organization for human service non-profits and economic empowerment organizations across America.

“I have truly been blessed to work with such an outstanding staff, board of directors and membership,” Carey said. “Although it will be hard to leave Michigan, I am honored to have a new opportunity to continue advocating for non-profit human service providers on the national stage.”

Carey has been the executive director for the Michigan Federation for Children and Families since March 2004, and prior to that was the director of government relations for the Council on Accreditation, a New York-based non-profit accreditation firm for child welfare and behavioral health care organizations.

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In a letter to DHS staff on August 1, 2007, Marianne Udow, Director of the Michigan Department of Human Services announced “as of August 31, I will be leaving the department to become the director of the Center for Health Care Quality and Transformation at the University of Michigan Health Center. Read her letter here.

LANSING – Foster youths aging out of care are just a click away from services and support as they transition to self-sufficiency, Department of Human Services officials announced today.

A new Web site, www.michigan.gov/fyit, offers information on a variety of issues and resources important to current and former foster youths, including housing, education, legal assistance, transportation, financial management, health and more. The site is the result of recommendations made by the Statewide Task Force on Youth Transitioning from Foster Care in 2006 and included input from foster youths.

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