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Understanding Arrearages in Michigan Child Support Cases Involving CPS
By Attorney Brandy Thompson CPS involvement can trigger a child support order. Many parents land in arrears before making a single payment. Understanding why this happens can help you navigate your case. What Does “Arrearage” Actually Mean? In the context of Michigan child support law, an arrearage (MCL 552.605c) refers to any outstanding, unpaid balance…
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When CPS Can Skip Reunification and Go Straight to Termination of Parental Rights in Michigan
If you are a Michigan parent facing a Children’s Protective Services (CPS) investigation, one of the most important things you need to understand is that not all CPS cases follow the same timeline. In most cases, CPS provides parents with ‘services’ — parenting classes, counseling, and drug treatment — and allows them to work toward…
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The Hidden Crisis: Mortality Rates Among Former Foster Youth in Michigan
Michigan’s foster care system is designed to protect children from harm and provide stability when their families cannot. Growing research shows children in foster care face significantly higher risks of poor health and premature death. A Swedish longitudinal study found that individuals who had been in foster care were four times more likely to die…
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Does “Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child” Still Apply in Michigan? Understanding When Discipline Becomes Child Abuse
Disciplining Children Under Michigan Law: What Parents Need to Know In today’s legal landscape, physically disciplining a child can lead to serious consequences like criminal charges, CPS investigations, and even loss of parental rights. Michigan law allows parents to use reasonable physical discipline, but the line between discipline and abuse is razor-thin. What one parent…
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Can CPS Take My Newborn Just Because of a Prior Termination?
In Michigan, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) can petition to remove a newborn baby if a parent previously had their parental rights terminated to another child. However, the prior termination alone is not enough for the court to automatically remove the baby. CPS must still show, under Michigan law, that there is…
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Anticipatory Neglect in Michigan CPS Cases – When a Parent’s Past Impacts Future Rights
Michigan courts use the doctrine of anticipatory neglect to evaluate how a parent’s past conduct with one child may impact that parent’s rights to another child. It allows courts to look at a parent’s treatment of one child as evidence of how they may treat siblings, or even future children. What Is Anticipatory Neglect? If…
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Michigan CPS and the Revocation of Parentage Act: Understanding Fathers’ Rights in Child Protective Proceedings
When Child Protective Services (CPS) files a petition in court, complicated questions about paternity often surface. Michigan law recognizes that the man legally identified as a child’s father may not be the biological father, and in child protection cases, this distinction matters. The Revocation of Parentage Act (ROPA) and the Juvenile Code sometimes overlap, creating…
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How Michigan Handles Parenting Time Enforcement in CPS-Related Cases
Michigan law allows parents to actively enforce their parenting time orders, even when CPS has temporary wardship over a child or places the child in foster care. If you are facing this type of issue, you must contact an experienced Michigan CPS defense attorney as soon as possible. A Children’s Protective Services attorney can advise…
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Challenging Placement on the Michigan CPS Central Registry: How to Remove Your Name
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) maintains the Central Registry of Child Abuse and Neglect. It contains the names of individuals identified by Children’s Protective Services as perpetrators in confirmed cases of abuse or neglect, sexual abuse, medical neglect, educational neglect, sexual exploitation, or unexplained physical harm involving a child. When DHHS…
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The Role of a Lawyer-Guardian Ad Litem in Michigan Child Protective Cases
When Children’s Protective Services (CPS) files a petition in Michigan’s family courts, the stakes are incredibly high. Parents may be facing allegations of abuse or neglect, and children may be removed from their homes. In a worst-case scenario, the court can terminate parental rights. To ensure that children have a voice and that their best…
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