Welcome

Thank you for your interest in the For the Seventh Generation program of the
Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association and its Foundation. We are proud to be the
administering organization for a program that has been fully endorsed and sup-
ported by the 3rd Judicial Circuit Court and the Michigan Department of Human
Services. Our goal is quite simply to provide important and needed services to
Wayne County children in foster care that cannot otherwise be secured from any
other source.

Foster care is a service provided to children who have been removed from their
homes because of risk of neglect or abuse. Every year in Wayne county hundreds
of children are made wards of the court and placed into foster care. Wayne
County accounts for nearly 40 percent of the statewide foster-youth caseload of
19,000 children. These children range from newborns to age 18. They come from
many racial, religious and socio-economic backgrounds. Some have never had a
stable home. Some but not all children may have emotional, behavioral and
medical problems. Foster parents receive reimbursement every month to provide
food, clothing and other basic necessities their foster children require, but there is
no provision for additional services or items that enable a child to do more than
survive, but to actually thrive.

For the Seventh Generation is a unique program designed to meet the needs of
any child in the foster care system or transitioning from care, regardless of the
nature of the need, the professional who is identifying the need, or the established
limitations of care funds that are already available. It is electronically driven and
web-based, so that a minimum amount of time, energy and bureaucratic paperwork
will be needed to connect a child or family with the needed service or benefit.
The program asks donors to contribute to children at the level of the donor's
available time and expertise, without requiring a long-term commitment on the
part of the donor. However, our experience with the referrals that have been
made suggests that donors are so happy with their participation in the program
that they have exceeded their original commitment and developed an on-going
relationship with the child referred to them. They have also recruited additional
donors as a result of their positive experience.

Whether you are considering donating your time and talents to benefit the foster
children of our community or are a juvenile justice professional seeking additional
support for a child or family in need, we are committed to offering you the highest
quality service we can. We look forward to being your partner in this important
endeavor and encourage you to contact us if you have any questions or concerns
not addressed by the information contained in our Frequently Asked Questions.

Like the child returning the starfish to the sea, For The Seventh Generation seeks
to save one child at a time. When we work together we can save many when each
of us saves only one.

It is as simple as One Child – One Contribution – One Year.

Sincerely,
Lorraine H. Weber, JD
Executive Director