Counting Our Successes and Fixing Our Failures
March 21, 2016 – As another annual Michigan Kids Count Data Book is released, it gives us several opportunities. First, using county profiles available in the Data Book each year is a great way to...
View ArticleBoosting Michigan’s Literacy: No Time Like the Present
July 29, 2016 – This week, Governor Snyder signed an Executive Order creating the Michigan PreK-12 Literacy Commission. Like many previous efforts, this Commission is charged over the next two years...
View ArticleFamous Foster Care Story Brings International Attention to the Value of...
Aug. 11, 2016 – By now, those of us tuned into the Rio Olympics have heard of Simone Biles’ remarkable journey as the world’s most celebrated gymnast and as a child from foster care adopted by her...
View ArticleReading and Parenting in March
Wow, I have rarely seen so many legislators embracing March as National Reading Month as I have this year. I have seen lots of their newsletters highlighting their trips to their communities’...
View ArticleKeeping Family Voices in the Budget Conversation
April 5, 2017 – Michigan’s Children helped to facilitate two FamilySpeak opportunities at the State Capitol in February, continuing our long tradition of helping policy makers learn directly from the...
View ArticleChild Abuse Prevention Awareness and Action
April 10, 2017 – During the month of April, in honor of National Child Abuse Prevention Month, people across the country come together to raise awareness about the need to better focus resource and...
View ArticleLearning from Heroes of Michigan’s Children
With the annual Heroes Night dinner scheduled for later this month, Michigan’s Children hit the road recently for an inside look into the work of another group of Heroes through its first ever...
View ArticleWhat it Really Means to Put Kids First
October 2, 2017 – Community leaders and advocates convened at Wayne State University for a community forum hosted by the United Way for Southeastern Michigan and the Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute...
View ArticleCasting A Vote for Kids and Families
November 2, 2017 – I still remember the first time I ever voted – it was 2000, a waiter at a restaurant in Washington, DC passed a ballot to me, a first grader who had just learned the names of our...
View ArticleLeading for Kinship Caregivers
Growing up, I had an especially close relationship with my grandfather. Next, to my parents, he was my ‘go to’ person when I was sad, afraid, or just needed a hug. He was the person with whom I had the...
View ArticleThe Job Isn’t Finished: Preventing Human Trafficking
February 14, 2018 – The last few legislative sessions in Michigan have resulted in positive progress towards address human trafficking – tougher punishments for traffickers, more services for the...
View ArticleKinship Caregivers Need Support Too
March 29, 2018 – Over the past several months, I’ve been researching kinship care and talking to advocates to learn more about the issues caregivers face. I recently had the opportunity to meet with...
View ArticleElections Are Inspiring
I’m consistently educated and inspired by constituents and policymakers alike when the two groups are brought together. I’ve been so fortunate to have been part of Michigan’s Children’s intentional...
View ArticleVote Like Our Future Depends On It
Sometimes we lose track of the fact that our democracy is just like a hiring process. We look at different candidates for the job of representing our priorities in decisions about how to spend tax...
View ArticleListening When Students Speak
My grandfather has always told me, pick something you love and do it well. A wise adage that seems easy to follow but can always take a little twist or turn in life. For example, what if you don’t have...
View ArticleSupporting Families Isn’t Rocket Science
Child abuse and neglect cases in our state are rising. We’re seeing this not because parents have decided to care less about their children, but because the supports that families rely on for stability...
View ArticleA Hiker’s Guide to Citizen Engagement
When it comes to the work of improving our state, citizens deserve far more than just a chance to have their voices heard and their feelings placated. Citizens, with their countless unique and powerful...
View ArticleMeet Alexis Coleman, Intern Motivated by Advocacy
August 28, 2019 – Hello! My name is Alexis Coleman and I am so excited to be spending this upcoming year as an intern at Michigan’s Children. I am a second-year graduate student at Michigan State...
View ArticleFixing Michigan’s Child Care System – a Big Lift but What a Payoff
September 4, 2019 – In one my favorite coffee shops in downtown Lansing, I arrived far ahead of the crowd one morning and had the chance to chit chat with an affable shop worker while she set up for...
View ArticleMeet Zainab Jafar, An Advocate Motivated by Oppression
September 9, 2019 – My name is Zainab Jafar and I am beyond excited to be spending my last semester of undergrad interning at Michigan’s Children! I attend Michigan State University (GO GREEN!) and I’m...
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