The major purpose of this descriptive report is to provide an overview of the structure, capacity, and roles of educational service agencies (ESAs) across five states--Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin--in the Great Lakes region, within the context of the broader statewide systems of support for educational improvement and progress.…

Illustrates how family systems theory has influenced the adoption services for infants at a family services agency, Catholic Social Services of Washtenaw County (Michigan), and describes the evolving practice of open communication between biological families and adoptive families. (BB)

Describes the Supervised Independent Living Orientation Program (Michigan), which provides a transition into relatively unstructured independent living to adolescents and youths with a history of behavioral and emotional disturbances, including delinquency and psychiatric hospitalization. Discusses contracts used in the program. (BB)

General and targeted programs and agencies in the Michigan Departments of Education, Social Services, and Labor that address the employment and training needs of the State's Hispanic population are described and analyzed in this report. Three different papers, each dealing with programs offered by one of the three departments, are bound together…

This book describes the establishment, organization, and policies of Spaulding for Children, a small, voluntary, specialized adoption program in Michigan that works at placing hard-to-place children who are legally free for adoption. The agency was created to supplement existing public and private child placement services. Topics covered include:…