Foster Care
Volunteer for College Goal Sunday for Foster Youth: February 19
College Goal Sunday for Foster Youth is scheduled on Sunday, February 19th in Fairlane Center South. While our official hours are from 1:00-4:00 p.m., our families arrive as early as noon. We ask that volunteers arrive by 12:30 p.m. and sign in at the volunteer table. Other than your name tag picked up at the volunteer registration table, no special attire is required.
The University of Michigan-Dearborn sponsors the only College Goal Sunday for Foster Youth in the state. In addition to helping foster youth complete the FAFSA online, there is a special program with panelists from state, agency and non-profits who provide information on financial support available to foster youth attending college. In addition, we have a group of Seita Scholars (former foster youth) from Western Michigan University who speak about their foster youth and college experience. It is pretty inspiring. By the way, we are the only college in Michigan with a Foster Youth College Goal Sunday. The link to our campus website is http://www.umd.umich.edu/wwwumdumichedufinancialaid/.
If interested, volunteers can register at http://portal52.dnn2.host1.dynamitedashboard.com/Volunteers/Register.as . The Dearborn Foster Youth Program is listed last. Additional information will be provided to volunteers from EduGuide (coordinator of the Michigan College Goal Sunday effort).
Light refreshments will be available in Dining Area D. Both School of Education computer labs will be open.
April 18: Adoption/Licensing/Foster Care/Independent Living MIN Day
Members Event:
April 18:
Adoption/Licensing/Foster Care/Independent Living-Homeless Youth MIN meeting Day
May 21st: Rising Above the Odds Against Me: Girls Only Summit
Presenting the 3rd Annual Fostercare Youth Leadership Conference "Rising Above the Odds Against Me: Girls Only Summit"
There are many unfortunate consequences that foster care youth face as they prepare to “age-out” of the system. Intervention on behalf of this “At-Risk” population can play a key role in motivating such individuals to excel and to rise above the limitations that often arise because of their circumstances.
Mission: To offer a variety of interactive sessions that will promote independence, security, self-esteem and personal development. A special focus of the conference will be to provide youth with a forum to discuss their challenges and ambitions and to encourage them to develop a plan for achieving their goals.
Rising Above the Odds Against Me: Girls Only Summit
Saturday, May 21, 2011
8:30 AM - 6:30 PM (ET)
Dearborn, MI
Click here for more information and to register!
Sponsored By: Save Our Children Coalition, University of Michigan-Dearborn School of Education, H.I.S. Agency, Jack & Jill of Ypsilanti, University of Michigan School of Social Work-Ann Arbor and many more
Foster Youth Internship applications due January 7
The Foster Youth Internship Program of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) is for young adults who spent at least 24 consecutive months in foster care at any point in their life and who have completed at least four semesters of higher education by May 31, 2011. CCAI places these interns in Congressional offices in Washington DC for a nine-week internship program. Housing, travel, and a weekly stipend are provided by CCAI. Applications are accepted through January 7, 2011.
The program will run May 31-July 30, 2011. The goal of the program is to educate policymakers about the experiences of foster youth in an effort to inspire legislative improvements for foster care. Interns participating in this program benefit both personally and professionally, gaining experience and skills that will bolster their careers for years to come.
For more information and to apply, visit www.ccainstitute.org/fyiapply or contact Emily Collins at Emily@ccainstitute.org or 202-544-8500.
Special Review of Higher Risk Cases Period Three: 10/1/09-3/31/10
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.
Child Welfare Training Institute (CWTI) In-service Training in the Upper Peninsula
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.
Report from Chapin Hall: Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth
Report from Chapin Hall: Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth
http://chapinhall.org/research/report/midwest-evaluation-adult-functioni...
Mark E. Courtney, Amy Dworsky, JoAnn S. Lee, Melissa Raap, Gretchen Ruth Cusick, Thomas Keller, Judy Havlicek, Alfred Perez, Sherri Terao, Noel Bost
2010
The Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth (Midwest Study) is a prospective study that has been following a sample of young people from Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois as they transition out of foster care into adulthood. It is a collaborative effort involving Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago; Partners for Our Children at the University of Washington, Seattle; the University of Wisconsin Survey Center; and the public child welfare agencies in Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin.
The Midwest Study provides a comprehensive picture of how foster youth are faring during this transition since the Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 became law. Foster youth in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois were eligible to participate in the study if they had entered care before their 16th birthday, were still in care at age 17, and had been removed from home for reasons other than delinquency. Baseline survey data were collected from 732 study participants when they were 17 or 18 years old. Study participants were re-interviewed at ages 19 (n = 603), 21 (n = 591), and 23 or 24 (n = 602). A fifth wave of survey data will be collected when study participants are 25 or 26 years old.
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