Michigan In-State Resources

The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children is a national organization whose mission is to enhance the ability of professionals to respond to children and families affected by abuse and violence.  MiPSAC is the Michigan State chapter of APSAC.  The APSAC Site includes links to many national and international child abuse and neglect resources.
http://www.apsac.org/mc/page.do

American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Child Abuse with information on medical child abuse Diagnostic Centers in Michigan:

http://www.aap.org/sections/scan/medicaldiagnostic/michigan.htm

Child Abuse Council of Muskegon County including information on the Claudia Fairbanks Children’s Advocacy Center

http://www.childabusecouncil.org/

Child Abuse and Neglect Council of Saginaw County including the Children’s Advocacy Center Children’s Advocacy Center

http://www.cancouncil.org/programs/united_for_kids.php

Child Abuse Training Services of the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan provides cross-professional training in the area of child abuse investigation, focusing on effective interviewing of children.  PAAM is a voluntary association of Michigan’s 83 elected prosecutors and their staffs, comprising over 700 prosecutors in Michigan.
http://www.micats.org/default.asp

Lawyers and law students, who are members of the Child Advocacy Law Clinic, Michigan Child Welfare Law Resource Center and Michigan Poverty Law Program-Clinic at the University of Michigan Law School in Ann Arbor, have assembled information on family law for the web site provided by the State Bar of Michigan under its Justice Initiatives Committee and its Equal Access Initiative.

http://www.michbar.org/programs/Juvenile/main.pdf

Children’s Charter Of The Courts Of Michigan addresses a variety of child and family concerns through:

  • General Education Efforts
  • Professional and Technical Training
  • Assisting Communities in Developing Services & Programs
  • Public Policy Advocacy

http://www.childcrt.org/

Children’s Hospital of Michigan Child Protection Center, provides forensic medical exams and interviews, colposcopy, case tracking and review, professional training, education, research and collaborative partnerships. CHMCPC works with families, law enforcement, child protective services, courts, community professionals and the child welfare system to protect children and families in our community, region and state.

http://www.chmkids.org/?id=460

The Office of Children’s Ombudsman is an independent government agency with the authority to investigate complaints about children in Michigan’s child welfare system.

http://www.michigan.gov/oco

Costs of Child Abuse vs. Child Abuse Prevention: Michigan’s Experience

http://www.msu.edu/user/bob/cost.html

The Kalamazoo County Child Abuse and Neglect Council:

http://www.kcan.org/

Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health (MI-AIMH) is devoted to nurturing and strengthening relationships between infants and their caregivers.  MI-AIMH believes that each infant needs to be nurtured and protected by one or more consistent and stimulating caregivers who enjoy a permanent and special relationship with the infant. This relationship is not just a luxury over and above the basic physical necessities of life, but is the essential and necessary context within which every human infant learns basic emotional, cognitive and social attitudes that will influence development.

http://mi-aimh.msu.edu/intro/index.html

Michigan’s Children is a statewide, independent voice for children and their families. They work with lawmakers, business leaders, and communities to make Michigan a place where all children have the opportunity to thrive. They provide information for individuals and organizations to effectively advocate for the priorities and needs of Michigan’s children.

http://www.michiganschildren.org/

Michigan Children’s Trust Fund (CTF) The manager of the money obtained through check offs on income tax returns and children’s license plates.

http://www.michigan.gov/ctf/

Michigan Child Protection Law and the Michigan Department of Human Services Policies for Children’s Protective Services

Department of Human Services policies on child abuse and neglect reflect laws of the state of Michigan, enacted by the state Legislature to safeguard children.

In Michigan, the Department of Human Services is responsible for investigating reports of suspected child abuse and neglect.  Michigan’s Child Protection Law defines child abuse and neglect as harm or threatened harm to a child’s health or welfare by a parent, legal guardian or any other person responsible for the child’s health or welfare.

http://www.michigan.gov/dhs/0,1607,7-124-5452_7119-21208–,00.html

Michigan Coalition for Children and Families, Home of the Michigan Children’s Agenda is a statewide, non-partisan network of more than 70 child-focused organizations and individuals with a shared mission of improving the quality of life for Michigan children and families.  MCCF provides up to date legislative and policy information to allow individuals and organizations to effectively advocate for children.

http://www.miccf.org/

The Michigan Federation for Children and Families unites private, nonprofit human service providers, advocates, customers, individuals and funders to influence public policy in support of children, families and individuals’ reaching their full potential; identify, develop and implement efficient and effective services to Michigan’s most vulnerable children and families; and support and enhance the ability of Michigan’s private, nonprofit agencies to provide human services.

http://michfed.org/

The Michigan Governor’s Task Force on Children’s Justice is charged with reviewing and evaluating Michigan’s investigative, administrative and both civil and criminal judicial handling of cases of child abuse and neglect, particularly child sexual abuse and exploitation, as well as cases involving suspected child maltreatment related fatalities and cases involving a potential combination of jurisdictions, such as interstate, Federal-State, and State-Tribal.

Make policy and training recommendations for Investigative, administrative, and judicial handling of cases of child abuse and neglect in a manner which reduces the additional trauma to the child victim and the victim’s family and which also ensures procedural fairness to the accused.

Experimental, model and demonstration programs for testing innovative approaches and techniques which may improve the prompt and successful resolution of civil and criminal court proceedings or enhance the effectiveness of judicial and administrative action in child abuse and neglect cases, particularly child sexual abuse and exploitation cases, including the enhancement of performance of court-appointed attorneys and guardians ad litem for children, and which also ensure procedural fairness to the accused.

Reform of State laws, ordinances, regulations, protocols and procedures to provide comprehensive protection for children from abuse, particularly child sexual abuse and exploitation, while ensuring fairness to all affected persons.

The Task Force, under the leadership of Justice Elizabeth Weaver, Michigan Supreme Court, continues to identify problem areas, assess potential solutions, and make recommendations to the Department of Human Services.

http://www.michigan.gov/dhs/0,1607,7-124-5452_7119_7195-15589–,00.html

The Michigan State University, Chance at Childhood Program is an initiative between MSU Graduate School of Social Work and MSU School of Law, designed to protect and serve the rights of children.  Lawyers and social workers collaborate to strengthen the knowledge base, practice and advocacy skills to meet the needs of children, youth, families and communities.

http://chanceatchildhood.msu.edu/index.html

The Michigan Supreme Court created a Child Welfare Services division (CWS) within the State Court Administrative Office (SCAO) to help courts expedite permanent placement for children through programs such as the Court Improvement Program, Training and Development, and the Foster Care Review Board Program. CWS helps courts implement the recommendations from the Child and Family Services and Title IV-E reviews, which include safety and permanency goals.

http://courts.michigan.gov/scao/services/cws/cws.htm

The Southwest Children’s Trauma Assessment Center assesses the impact to children following exposure to traumatic events. The target population is children, ages three months to 14 years, entering foster care due to experiences of child abuse and/or neglect. Children with other traumatic experiences are also considered for assessment.

http://www.wmich.edu/traumacenter/

Child Protection Team (CPT) at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital provides forensic medical examinations for all forms of suspected child maltreatment. The CPT also provides 24/7/365 emergent child sexual abuse medical services for Kent County and the surrounding 12 counties. The CPT accepts referrals from medical providers, Department of Human Services, law enforcement and the court system. The Team provides colposcopy, photo documentation, case reviews, second opinion reviews, expert testimony, professional and community education, and prevention services.

The CPT has a collaborative relationship with the Children’s Assessment and Advocacy Centers in Kent, Ottawa and Allegan counties to provide medical services in their local communities.

The CPT also serves as a resource to local, statewide and federal jurisdictions for reviews of items related to child pornography. The CPT is available 24/7/365 for professionals with questions related to child maltreatment.

Please contact tracy.cyrus@devoschildrens.org, or, call 1-877-391-2345 and ask for the Child Protection Team. www.devoschildrens.org

State Child Welfare Policy Database

This easy-to-use website provides state-by-state policy information on a range of child welfare topics. Visitors can access up-to-date information on individual state policies and can compare their own state’s policies to those of other states. New topics will be included in the database in the coming months.

SCAO Child Welfare Services Publications

Email Child Welfare Services staff liaison: Maribeth Preston - Prestonm@courts.mi.gov

SCAO Index of Training Materials

The Child Welfare Policy and Practice Group

We have attached the three issues in a series of practice focused newsletters from The Child Welfare Policy and Practice Group. They are devoted to Family Team Conferencing, Engaging Children, Youth and Families and Understanding Underlying Needs.

  1. Vol1_Issue1.pdf
  2. Vol1_Issue2.pdf
  3. Vol2-Issue1.pdf

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