Michigan Laws 552.526 – Grievance procedure; record; powers and duties of citizen advisory committee
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Terms Used In Michigan Laws 552.526
- Bureau: means the state friend of the court bureau created in section 19. See Michigan Laws 552.502
- Chief judge: The judge who has primary responsibility for the administration of a court but also decides cases; chief judges are determined by seniority.
- Chief judge: means the following:
(i) The circuit judge in a judicial circuit having only 1 circuit judge. See Michigan Laws 552.502Citizen advisory committee: means a citizen friend of the court advisory committee established as provided in section 4. See Michigan Laws 552.502 County board: means the county board of commissioners in the county served by the office. See Michigan Laws 552.502 Court: means the circuit court. See Michigan Laws 552.502 Friend of the court: means the person serving under section 21(1) or appointed under section 23 as the head of the office of the friend of the court. See Michigan Laws 552.502 Friend of the court case: means a domestic relations matter that an office establishes as a friend of the court case as required under section 5a. See Michigan Laws 552.502 in writing: shall be construed to include printing, engraving, and lithographing; except that if the written signature of a person is required by law, the signature shall be the proper handwriting of the person or, if the person is unable to write, the person's proper mark, which may be, unless otherwise expressly prohibited by law, a clear and classifiable fingerprint of the person made with ink or another substance. See Michigan Laws 8.3q
(1) A party to a friend of the court case who has a grievance concerning office operations or employees shall utilize the following grievance procedure:
(a) File the grievance, in writing, with the appropriate friend of the court office. The office shall cause the grievance to be investigated and decided as soon as practicable. Within 30 days after a grievance is filed, the office shall respond to the grievance or issue a statement to the party filing the grievance stating the reason a response is not possible within that time.
(b) A party who is not satisfied with the decision of the office under subdivision (a) may file a further grievance, in writing, with the chief judge. The chief judge shall cause the grievance to be investigated and decided as soon as practicable. Within 30 days after a grievance is filed, the court shall respond to the grievance or issue a statement to the party filing the grievance stating the reason a response is not possible within that time.
(2) Each office shall maintain a record of grievances received and a record of whether the grievance is decided or outstanding. The record shall be transmitted not less than annually to the bureau.
(3) In addition to the grievance procedure provided in subsection (1), a party to a friend of the court case who has a grievance concerning office operations may file, at any time during the proceedings, the grievance in writing with the appropriate citizen advisory committee. In its discretion, the citizen advisory committee shall conduct a review or investigation of, or hold a formal or informal hearing on, a grievance submitted to the committee. The citizen advisory committee may delegate its responsibility under this subsection to subcommittees appointed as provided in section 4a.
(4) In addition to action taken under subsection (3), the citizen advisory committee shall establish a procedure for randomly selecting grievances submitted directly to the office of the friend of the court. The citizen advisory committee shall review the response of the office to these grievances and report its findings to the court and the county board, either immediately or in the committee’s annual report.
(5) The citizen advisory committee shall examine the grievances filed with the friend of the court under this section and shall review or investigate each grievance that alleges that a decision was made based on gender rather than the best interests of the child.
(6) If a citizen advisory committee reviews or investigates a grievance, the committee shall respond to the grievance as soon as practicable.
(7) A grievance filed under subsection (3) is limited to office operations, and the citizen advisory committee shall inform an individual who files with the committee a grievance that concerns an office employee or a court or office decision or recommendation regarding a specific case that such a matter is not a proper subject for a grievance.