[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 88 (Thursday, June 27, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S6241]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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   CHILDREN'S AID SOCIETY OF SOUTHEASTERN MICHIGAN CELEBRATES 14OTH 
                              ANNIVERSARY

 Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I would like to congratulate the 
Children's Aid Society of Southeastern Michigan (CAS) on its 140th 
anniversary. In that time CAS has been an organization dedicated in 
service to children, youth, and families. For nearly a century and a 
half, CAS has been a dynamic and compassionate presence in the Michigan 
community.
  CAS, the oldest child welfare agency in Michigan, is a non-profit, 
non-sectarian private organization dedicated to the preservation and 
quality of family life in Southeastern Michigan based in Detroit. Begun 
in 1862 by members of the Presbyterian Church to help Civil War 
orphans, CAS has expanded in the years since to help hundreds of 
thousands of troubled children and families. CAS aims to build strength 
within the family unit by providing a variety of comprehensive child 
and family-focused services, seeking to create the foundation for a 
better and healthier society.
  The services that CAS provides are innovative and humanistic, viewing 
each individual and problem as unique. For example, the Work Works 
program gives high-risk youth between the ages of 13 and 17 training in 
employment skills and helps them in finding a job. Alumni of the 
program help other staff teach the skills of positive self-esteem, work 
ethics, and job readiness. Another program, Moving Families in the 
Right Direction, aims to prevent delinquency and school dropout by 
strengthening family functioning and relationships. Staff go into 
homes, schools, and the community to conduct counseling sessions and 
group work with youth between the ages of 10 and 17 who have been 
referred to them by the Police Department or Juvenile Court. By giving 
at-risk children and families early attention, CAS tries to help 
prevent the family break-up and juvenile delinquency that plagues so 
much of our country today. CAS also provides day care and has programs 
for early childhood education, mental health, child abuse, teen 
families, and parents.
  Southeastern Michigan and the larger Detroit metropolitan area are 
deeply indebted to the work CAS has done for families and children over 
the last 140 years. Year in and year out CAS has fought to hold 
families together and ensure the welfare of children. The vital support 
services that CAS provides help children and parents deal with the 
difficult personal and societal issues they face in the 21st century. 
Having performed these important social services for over 140 years is 
indeed a tremendous accomplishment and deserves hearty commendation.
  I know my Senate colleagues will join me in congratulating the 
Children's Aid Society of Southeastern Michigan for 140 years of 
success and in wishing it a fruitful future that only adds to its rich 
legacy of compassion.

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