Nominations open for 2016 Child Welfare Awards

The State Court Administrative Office’s Foster Care Review Board is now accepting nominations for the 2016 Child Welfare Awards, which are given every year in the fall to individuals who have demonstrated outstanding service to Michigan’s foster children.

“The awards program provides a forum for recognition of the excellent work that is performed by child welfare professionals who work diligently to overcome systemic barriers and go above and beyond policy, court rule, and statutory standards to help ensure the safety, well-being, and timely permanency for children and families served by our foster care system,” said FCRB Program Manager James Novell. 

One nominee from each of the following categories will be recognized:

• Jurist of the Year.
• Foster Care Worker of the Year.
• Lawyer-Guardian Ad Litem of the Year.
• Foster Parent of the Year.
• Parent Attorney of the Year.

Nomination criteria can be found online at www.courts.mi.gov/fcrb by clicking on “Child Welfare Awards.”

The nomination deadline is Sept. 6.  Finalists will be chosen by a panel of Foster Care Review Board members, and award winners are chosen by a panel of child welfare professionals and advocates, including award winners from the past year.  This year’s award recipients will be recognized at the FCRB annual training conference on Thursday, Nov. 3, at the Sheraton Detroit Metro Airport Hotel in Romulus.

The FCRB, which was created by the Michigan legislature in 1981, serves as a statewide system of third-party review of the foster care system.  The program is administered by the State Court
Administrative Office, the administrative agency of the Michigan Supreme Court.  Citizen volunteers serve on the FCRB’s 30 local review boards throughout the state.  Local boards review randomly chosen child abuse and neglect cases; the boards assess how these cases are being handled by courts, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, and private child welfare agencies. For additional information about the FCRB, and for information about volunteering, visit www.courts.mi.gov/fcrb.