[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 63 (Monday, May 7, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E712]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




ON THE OCCASION OF THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF ORCHARDS CHILDREN'S SERVICES

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. GARY C. PETERS

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 7, 2012

  Mr. PETERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark the 50th Anniversary of 
Orchards Children's Services of Southfield, Michigan. For five decades, 
Orchards has been providing critical support services to families and 
youth in need across Southeast Michigan.
  It was 1958 when the founding women of Orchards, all members of the 
National Council of Jewish Women, gathered to address a growing dilemma 
in communities across the region: inadequate resources available for 
families of at-risk youth. All too often, at-risk youth would end up 
being removed from their families and moved to facilities outside of 
Michigan. This led to the separation of many families and to moments of 
crisis for them. It was just four years later that Orchards was born--
first as a single residence serving just seven young boys, then later 
with additional homes serving adolescent boys and girls.
  After officially launching as an independent child care agency in 
1987, Orchards has grown and expanded its programs to meet the changing 
needs of at-risk youth in a community uniquely challenged by long-term 
economic uncertainty. However, in-spite of these obstacles, Orchards 
has endured and its thousands of clients have achieved a brighter 
future. Today, Orchards' programs include foster care and adoption 
services, a complete array of services for strengthening family 
cohesiveness and a set of programs geared toward providing at-risk 
youth with the opportunities necessary to ensure a well-rounded 
development.
  The importance of Orchards' services, in a time of unprecedented 
pressure and financial crisis for families across Southeast Michigan, 
cannot be overstated. Each year, Orchards serves over four thousand 
children and families, two thousand of them with its family 
preservation services, and all of them are at-risk. And even more 
telling, the average age of the youth Orchards supports is eight, which 
underscores the existing need for these critical services at an early 
age. In just one measure of its success, 96 percent of the youth in the 
Detroit School System that are served by Orchards complete their high 
school education and graduate--a figure almost three times the current 
rate system wide.
  Mr. Speaker, for half of a century, Orchards Children's Services has 
been an orchard for its clients; a place where they can grow and 
prosper. Many times, Orchards' employees and supporters have been there 
during seminal moments of crisis to support at-risk youth and their 
families with critical social services. There is no doubt that 
Orchards' work has strengthened the core of Michigan's communities, its 
families, and our greatest asset, our children. I am so pleased to 
recognize Orchards on achieving this significant milestone, and I wish 
its CEO Michael Williams, its Board Chairperson Carol Klein and its 
employees, supporters and clients many decades of success to come.

                          ____________________