The Michigan House committee on Children Families and Seniors today voted unanimously to report out the package of House bills that extents foster care supports to youth until age 21. The bills will implement the federal Fostering Connections Act in Michigan. Lutheran Social Services provided critical testimony at two hearings about the bills.

Patricia Hartig, director of advocacy and public support, will be a guest at the White House on Friday, October 28 as part of a day‐long event with other leaders from Lutheran health and human service organizations across the country. Lutheran Services in America, which helped organize the event, expects more than 160 participants from almost 30 states and over 50 different Lutheran organizations. The leaders are coming to Washington to meet with Obama Administration officials; attend issue‐specific sessions with policy makers; and discuss questions, concerns, and recommendations about social service provision. Participants also will participate in a White House tour. Hartig says she hopes to learn more about the Obama Administration’s priorities and raise key issues facing Lutheran Social Services and the communities it supports.

A part of the ad signed by LSA, view the full ad here.

Lutheran Services in America, an umbrella organization of more than 300 Lutheran social ministries that includes Lutheran Social Services of Michigan, joined 178 other organizations in signing a two-page ad that ran on July 14 in Roll Call, a political newspaper read by many in Congress and their staffs. The ad highlights the need to retain funding in Medicaid for the nation’s most vulnerable older adults and people with disabilities. The ad says more than a quarter of all seniors and people with disabilities depend on Medicaid, and cutting the program could deny millions the choice to receive the services they need to live independently in their homes and communities. In addition, these cuts could cost thousands of direct-care jobs, putting a greater burden on individuals and families. To read the National Council on Aging’s press release about the ad, click here. To see the ad itself, click here.

Thanks to some very helpful feedback from an LSSM client we have added a link to The Social Security and Disability Resource Center to the resources page on our web site.

Many individuals will have the need to file for Social Security Disability benefits. The Social Security and Disability Resource Center website (www.ssdrc.com) provides information on the federal government's two disability benefit programs, title II social security disability benefits and title 16 SSI disability benefits.

Covered topics include disability applications, denials on claims, the filing of appeals, and how the disability claim evaluation process works.

Visit our Resources Page to view more valuable links!

Today, June 20, is World Refugee Day. Refugees are people who have been forced to leave their homelands because of war or persecution; they arrive in the United States with very little. Please contact your U.S. Congressman and ask him or her to join Senator Carl Levin in co-sponsoring the Refugee Protection Act of 2011. Take action here: http://capwiz.com/lssm/issues/alert/?alertid=50730691.

Here is a wonderful video about a generous landlord, Julio Puzzuoli, who is helping Episcopal Migration Ministries and its affiliate, Lutheran Social Services of Michigan, provide low-cost housing to new refugees: http://www.vimeo.com/24183319.

The Refugee Services program of Lutheran Social Services of Michigan in Grand Rapids is honoring refugee women at an event March 8 celebrating the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day. Participants at "Join Me On the Bridge" will meet downtown at 5 p.m. at (venue change) Calvin College’s Ladies Literary Club, 61 Sheldon Blvd. SE, then march to the Fulton Street Bridge. A group photo will be taken and posted online to with photos of dozens of other gatherings around the world. 

At the Ladies Literary Club in Grand Rapids, people will enjoy special music by local artist Brie Stoner, hear the survival story of Florence Bish, a refugee from Congo, and help decorate a banner for use in the march. "Join Me On the Bridge" was created by Women for Women International, whose mission is "helping women survivors of war rebuild their lives." Last year's event involved more than 20,000 women in 108 events on four continents, like the one that took place last year in Sarajevo, the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina (in photo, left). The Grand Rapids event is funded in part by a grant from the North Kent Chapter, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans.

For more information about the event, contact Chris Cavanaugh at ccava@lssm.org or (616) 356-1934.

To read a Grand Rapids Press article with more details about this Mar. 8 event, and plus information about a separate related event the next day, Mar. 9, both sponsored by LSSM, click here.

November is National Adoption Month. In Michigan, there are 4,000 children in foster care waiting for "forever families." You don't have to be perfect to be a perfect parent. You don't have to have super powers to be a hero to a child. It's not hard to adopt -- you can be married or single, a home-owner or renter -- and the cost is minimal when you adopt a child from foster care. If you love children, are patient and flexible, and want to make a lifelong difference in a child's life, consider adoption. For more information visit the Lutheran Adoption Service website or call them at (248) 423-2770.

Lutheran Social Services was named “Outstanding Provider of the Year” and seven Lutheran Social Services staff were honored October 8 at the annual awards dinner of The Mon-Arc of Monroe, an advocacy group for persons with disabilities. All award winners were nominated by people in the community. Laurie McKinney, support services supervisor in In-Home Services, received the Distinguished Service Award. Staffers Rita Livingstone, Jean (Margaret) Davis, Stephen Hakeous, Elizabeth Carroll, Candice Miller and Savanah Donnelly received Outstanding Caregiver Awards.

When people talk about the recession and the tough job market, it’s usually the plight of unemployed adults that springs to mind. But children in those fami¬lies are the ones who may suf¬fer lifelong consequences from poverty, driven by the worst recession since the 1930s. The ill effects have been worsened by the erosion of prevention and intervention programs designed to help vulnerable families through tough times. The latest Kids Count Data Book from the Annie E. Casey Foundation shows Michigan slipping from 27th place to 30th when it comes to overall child well-being. Jane Zehnder-Merrell discusses this in a recent op-ed piece in the Detroit Free Press. Read it here.