LANSING - A new state task force, which meets for the first time today, will look at ways to connect foster youths with caring adults and help them transition into independent living.

Michigan Department of Human Services Director Marianne Udow and Supreme Court Justice Maura Corrigan will serve as co-chairs of the task force. The task force will meet on Thursday, January 26 from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Michigan Hall of Justice, located at 925 W. Ottawa Street in Lansing. The meeting will take place in the main conference room (1S-74) on the first floor of the Hall of Justice.

“Every year, hundreds of children age out of our foster care system without a connection to a caring adult,” Udow said. “They face enormous challenges staying in school, finding safe and stable housing, supporting themselves financially, and getting needed physical and mental health care.”

The task force will look at ways to ensure that foster care youths have permanent connections with caring adults, as well as the state and community supports they need to become successful adults. The task force will address services needed by transitioning youths and will prepare recommendations to the Michigan Legislature by September 2006.

The meeting will include a presentation, “VOICE: Discussing Issues and Concerns of Michigan Foster Youth” by members of the State Youth Policy Board, who will talk to the task force about their own experiences in foster care.

“Even 18-year-olds from stable homes are rarely able to be truly independent,” said Corrigan. “They need their families for emotional and financial support. While some are able to succeed on their own, young people who have spent their adolescence in foster care, without the benefit of a permanent and caring connection to an adult, are usually less prepared to meet the challenges of adulthood.”

Members of the task force are:

Marianne Udow,Co-chair	Director Department of Human Services
Hon. Maura Corrigan,Co-chair	Supreme Court of Michigan
Tonya Allen	Skillman Foundation
Tom Atwood	Nat'l Council for Adoption
Tom Bernthal	Michigan Community College Association
Elizabeth Carey	Mich. Federation for Children and Families
Sue Carnell	Education Advisor to Governor
Brian DeVos	Bethany Christian Services
Mike DeVos	MSHDA
Brenda Fink	Department of Community Health
Mary Alice Galloway	Department of Education
Jessica George	State Youth Policy Board
Kirsta Grapentine	Michigan Adoption Resource Exchange
Sally Harrison	MSHDA
J.J. Hitch	State Youth Policy Board
Cameron Hosner	Vista Maria
Janet Howard	Dept. of Labor & Economic Growth
Ann Jefferson	Jim Casey Youth Initiative
Irene Kazieczko	Bureau of Community Mental Health Services
David LaLumia	Mich. Community Mental Health Boards
Jim Lewis	ChildHelp USA
Nancy Lindman	United Way of Michigan
Christine McPherson	Sault Ste. Marie Band of Chippewa Indians
Bob Miles	Lutheran Social Services of Michigan
Jackie Moffat	Homes for Black Children
Lynn Nee	Mich. Network for Youth & Families
Kathryne O'Grady	State Courts Administrative Office
Mona Perdue	State Youth Policy Board
Sharon Peters	Michigan Children
Shawn Semelsberger	State Youth Policy Board
Veda Thompkins	Families on the Move
Alice Thompson	Black Family Development Inc
Lisa Webb Sharpe	Mi. Dept. of Management & Budget
Derrick White	State Youth Policy Board
Addie Williams	Spaulding for Children
Mike Williams	Orchard's Children's Services
Mary Wood	Michigan Assoc. of Adoptive, Foster and Kinship Parents
Jane Zehnder-Merrell	Michigan League for Human Services