Fostering Forward Michigan was founded in 2014 by a small group of foster families. Several of the founding members worked as Michigan’s original Foster Care Navigators. As Navigators, we helped hundreds of Michigan families through the process of becoming licensed and initial placement phases. Through our service, we noticed that most of the difficult issues foster families encounter are prevalent throughout the community. Working together with families and agencies we came to better understand the complex relationships between foster families, workers and birth parents. Using this professional experience and our personal knowledge, we set out to form a community who would work to find solutions to the common and prevalent problems facing our families and who would work to encourage a team approach that respects the rights and responsibilities of all stakeholders.
Today, Fostering Forward Michigan is a dynamic coalition of foster, adoptive and kinship families who actively engaged with our group members and provide direct support and service on a daily basis. We also actively advocate on behalf of our families on issues such as payments, services, permanency and equity.
The Fostering Forward Michigan community strives to be positive, supportive and community driven. We believe that the only way to make progress with the complex issues families involved with the child welfare system are facing today is to work together as one community and one voice. We believe that if we come together with a renewed faith that the system can be improved and that if we remain positive and steadfast; together we can make a difference and move this system forward for the future of our families, our children and our communities.