"It is easy to close our eyes to the hurt of the world or to look overseas and say it is there but not here. It is there, but it is here also and we need to step up to the plate and do our part without judgment. For us personally our part is not so tough. We teach and love. Raising children is the most important job there is. The responsibilities are enormous, but the rewards are even greater.”

~ Laurie C., foster parent

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When children are abused or neglected, they may be removed from their homes on a temporary basis by the State to protect them from further harm. Child and Family Services works with State agencies to find homes for children, to provide treatment and support to them and their birth families, and to resolve issues that have made their homes unsafe.

Family reunification in a safe home is always the goal of foster care. Child and Family Services offers foster care, treatment foster care, respite, and independent living skills building for teens in foster care.

Treatment Foster Care

Treatment Foster Care is a program through Child and Family Services that works to connect youth and families to community resources and structured treatments.  This program is ideal for foster kids who are preparing to transition out of foster care residential placement, or as an intervention when other placement options have not worked. The principle goal of Treatment Foster Care is to help families, through strength-based approach, to learn new skills to eventually lead their own processes of change.

Elements

The Elements program is a program that emphasizes/teaches Independent Living Skills for youth who are transitioning out of foster care.  Child and Family Services begins to work with the child in foster care around the age of 14 with the goal of teaching them important life skills they will require when they reach adulthood–including academic/vocational goals, parenting, employment, financial literacy, housing and household needs, etc.  The goal of the Elements program is to ensure that the foster child will be a successful and functional self-efficient adult–and will be prepared to transition out of foster care.

Referral Sources:  For Access Services please contact Liz Jones @ 231.946.8975 x 1033 or ejones@cfsmail.org

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Respite for Foster Families is a grant program that provides fun, supervised activities to foster families to give them a break from their 24/7 parenting responsibilities.  But sometimes they forego the opportunity for a break to join in the fun! 

Respite this year is generously underwritten by the Petoskey-Harbor Springs Area Community Foundation and St. John's Episcopal Church, Harbor Springs.