Are you considering providing foster care or adopting a child, teen, or sibling group? Are you willing to give of yourself to a child waiting to join a loving family?

There are many children in Michigan — from newborns to age 18 — who need a caring, supportive, long-term family, or who are waiting to be adopted. St. Joseph answered this call. We invite you to consider becoming a foster or adoptive parent.

93% of children in Michigan's foster care system are adopted by their foster family or a relative. Together, we can make a difference for the children still waiting.

An Extension of Love and Support

Many government agencies are involved in foster care and adoption. CCSEM assists those who want to open their hearts and homes to children in need. We answer the call — identifying stable, nurturing foster homes for children and teens, and providing resources, training, and support to foster families every step of the way.

While the goal in foster care is to reunite children with their birth families when possible, many foster families go on to transition to adoption. According to the Michigan Adoption Resource Exchange, most children who are adopted from foster care are adopted by the family already caring for them.

Serving the Child and Family

CCSEM provides a full spectrum of adoption and foster care services to support birth families, foster children, foster families, and prospective adoptive families — helping them navigate both the legal process and the emotional journey. Our services include:

• Foster care licensing, intake, and adoption support
• In-home studies for prospective adoptive or foster care parents
• Adoption searches
• Informational classes
• Supervised independent living for youth aging out of foster care
• Independent living support

Fostering Hope in Foster Care

Would you like to provide a child with love and stability during a time of uncertainty? Temporarily welcoming a child into your home is a generous gift — and the need for more foster parents is great.

As a foster parent through CCSEM, you will receive:

• State funding to offset the cost of foster care
• Consultative support and instruction from our trained team
• Gratification in giving of yourself to a child in need
• Pride in providing stability, safety, and support during a challenging time
• Satisfaction in seeing the outcome of your dedication to changing a child's life

We work to ensure children experience as few foster care placements as possible, since every move is complex and presents its own challenges. Because the goal is to return children to their biological home or family circle whenever possible, a foster parent's role is vital to a child's well-being along the way.

Building a Bridge: Supervised and Independent Living

Many young people age out of foster care, and CCSEM is there to help them bridge to adulthood through our Supervised Independent Living and Independent Living programs. These programs match families with teens and young adults no longer in foster care, giving them a supervised, supportive environment to build essential life skills.

The host family provides a home and helps with transportation and other day-to-day support, while the young adult grows in independence — maintaining a job, attending college, and building the skills for self-sufficient living. Many participants graduate high school through this program and go on to enroll in college.

"Train the young in the way they should go; even when old, they will not swerve from it." — Proverbs 22:6

Start the Conversation

The sooner you connect with one of our caring counselors, the sooner you can begin to change the life of a child in need — and yours. Contact us today to take the first step.