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Terms Used In Michigan Laws 722.875a

  • Child: means an individual less than 18 years of age. See Michigan Laws 722.872
  • Child placing agency: means that term as defined in section 1 of 1973 PA 116, MCL 722. See Michigan Laws 722.872
  • Department: means the department of health and human services. See Michigan Laws 722.872
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Guardian: means a person appointed by the court to act as a legal guardian for a child under section 19a or 19c of chapter XIIA of the probate code, MCL 712A. See Michigan Laws 722.872
  • Prospective guardian: means an individual seeking guardianship of a child if an order appointing that guardianship has not been finalized by the court. See Michigan Laws 722.872
    For a child whose permanency plan includes placement with a guardian and will include receiving guardianship assistance payments, the department, child placing agency, or tribal child welfare agency must include in the case service plan for the child all of the following:
    (a) The steps that the department, child placing agency, or tribal child welfare agency has taken to determine that reunification and placing the child for adoption have been determined not to be in the child’s best interest and ruled out as appropriate permanency options.
    (b) The reason for any separation of siblings during placement.
    (c) The reason a permanent placement through guardianship until the child reaches 18 years of age is in the child’s best interest.
    (d) The reason why reunification and adoption have or have not been ruled out.
    (e) The efforts the department, child placing agency, or tribal child welfare agency has made to discuss adoption by the prospective guardian as a permanent alternative to legal guardianship and documentation of the reason the prospective guardian has chosen not to pursue adoption.
    (f) In cases where the parental rights have not been terminated, the efforts the department, the child placing agency, or the tribal child welfare agency has made to discuss with the child’s birth parent or parents the guardianship assistance arrangement, or the reasons why the efforts were not made.