Sylvia Santana
State Senator
District 2
Loving Homes Needed During Foster Care Month
This May is Foster Care Month, and the Michigan Dept. of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) wants to spread the word that more loving foster families are needed to temporarily care for children while the state works to reunify them safely with their parents.
Michigan has approximately 10,000 children in foster care and temporary foster homes are needed for children of all ages, especially teens, sibling groups and youth who have special needs. These children have been victims of abuse and neglect and need a nurturing environment until they can be safely reunified with their parents or — in a smaller number of cases — until they can find adoptive homes when it’s not safe for them to return home.
MDHHS has shared several stories about people who have made a difference in the lives of youth in Michigan in Faces of Foster Care. To learn more about foster care, visit Michigan.gov/HopeforaHome.
EPA Awards Michigan With Historic Investment in Solar Energy for Low-Income Residents
Local and state leaders from the Michigan Dept. of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), Michigan Infrastructure Office (MIO), City of Detroit, community organizations and state legislators are celebrating a historic $156 million investment in solar energy by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to the State of Michigan to accelerate the deployment of community and rooftop solar for thousands of low-income households across the state.
The initiative, known as the Michigan Solar for All (MISFA) program, aims to reduce utility costs for families, foster job creation, and strengthen Michigan’s advanced clean energy sector — all while moving the state toward its MI Healthy Climate Plan goals. The program is expected to make a substantial impact by providing low-income households across Michigan with access to affordable renewable energy and by enabling home repairs, reducing their energy bills by up to 20%.
To stay informed with MISFA updates, please sign up via the MI Solar for All Interest Form.
Michigan Dept. of Education and Library of Michigan Seek Nominations for Next Michigan Poet Laureate
The Michigan Dept. of Education (MDE) and the Library of Michigan are seeking public nominations for the next Michigan Poet Laureate.
The poet laureate will meet with students, teachers, and residents across the state in schools and libraries to promote poetry, spoken word, and literary arts.
Nominations can be submitted through the online form found at Michigan.gov/PoetLaureate. To be considered, nominees must:
- Be 18 years or older with current primary residency in Michigan.
- Have a robust and sustained body of work.
- Be an experienced and skilled poet within the literary and/or performance formats.
- Have the ability to work independently and have good rapport with various audiences.
- Be skilled at communicating in public and with the media.
- Have strong social media and promotional skills.
- Have experience working with audiences of all ages.
Nominees must submit a list or provide links to three work samples and a statement of why they should be considered for the position of Michigan Poet Laureate. Self-nominations are also accepted. The selected nominee will serve a two-year term starting in 2025. All nominations must be received by May 20, 2024. A selection committee of MDE staff, Michigan poets, and literacy experts will review all nominated poets. The committee will provide a list of finalists to Michigan’s state librarian and superintendent of public instruction, who will decide the final candidate.
Michigan’s first state poet laureate was Edgar A. Guest, who was bestowed the title of poet laureate by the Michigan Legislature in 1952. Guest held the position until his death in 1959.
After several decades with no appointed poet laureate, the Library of Michigan and Michigan Department of Education selected award-winning poet Nandi Comer as the Michigan poet laureate in 2023. Comer’s term concludes at the end of 2024.
Find a list of upcoming poet laureate events at Michigan.gov/PoetLaureate.
Send questions about the nomination and selection process to PoetLaureate@Michigan.gov.
Working to Deliver Innovative “Building up Michigan” State Budget
Last year marked a significant milestone for Michigan Democrats as we capitalized on their first trifecta in 40 years to spearhead a transformative budget — directing vital resources into historically neglected sectors like infrastructure, education, and local communities. This comprehensive budget, encompassing various offices, departments, initiatives, projects and programs, follows an annual funding cycle, necessitating the State Legislature to craft a new budget each year.
Crafting this state budget is a collaborative effort involving negotiations between both legislative branches and the governor, resulting in a new state budget being signed into law each year to distribute funding to residents, schools, communities, businesses, local governments and more.
Currently, we’re in an exciting moment with our budget process with the Senate completing the passage of our budget proposal this week, continuing the transformative investments of the previous year and taking an innovative approach to addressing the needs of all Michiganders. Highlights of our “Building Up Michigan” budget proposal includes record school funding, increased access to community college for students, significant funding for local communities and efforts to lower costs for state residents.
As we work to deliver a final budget by the end of June, I encourage you to learn more about the process and the investments we’re looking to make to support communities across Michigan — read more here. We will have more updates to share on the budget process this week.
Senate Democrats Introduce Bills to Codify Capitol Weapons Ban
Earlier this month, Sen. Dayna Polehanki (D-Livonia) and Sen. Rosemary Bayer (D-Keego Harbor) introduced SB 857 and SB 858, respectively, which would codify a weapons ban enacted by the Michigan State Capitol Commision in 2023 and expand it to include the state Senate and House office buildings. This legislation is vital to protecting all visitors to our State Capitol, especially children and school groups, and making sure people aren’t intimidated out of participating in democracy and attending committee hearings and visiting their lawmakers.
The legislation also would maintain an exemption allowing sitting members of the Legislature to carry concealed firearms. The bills were referred to the Senate Civil Rights, Judiciary and Public Safety Committee.
70th Anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education Decision
