16.9Young Adult Voluntary Foster Care Act (YAVFCA)
The Young Adult Voluntary Foster Care Act (YAVFCA) “authorize[s] the Department of [Health and] Human Services [(DHHS)] to provide foster care services, adoption subsidy support,[1] and guardianship assistance[2] for eligible youth until they reach age 21[.]” SCAO Administrative Memorandum 2012-04, p 1, available at https://www.courts.michigan.gov/48d93b/siteassets/court-administration/administrative-memoranda/2012/2012-04.pdf.
“[T]he [YAVFCA] . . . offers 18-, 19-[,] and 20-year-olds who were in state-supervised foster care at the age of 18 or older the option of living in a licensed foster family home, a child care institution[,] or an approved setting in which the individual is living independently, until age 21.” DHHS’s Children’s Foster Care Manual (FOM), Foster Care - Young Adult Voluntary Foster Care FOM 722-16, p 1, available at http://www.mfia.state.mi.us/olmweb/ex/FO/Public/FOM/722-16.pdf. See also MCL 722.111(z), which defines a minor child to mean “[a] person who is a resident in a child caring institution, foster family home, or foster family group home, who is at least 18 but less than 21 years of age, and who meets the requirements of the [YAVFCA], 2011 PA 225, MCL 400.641 to [MCL] 400.671,” and under MCL 722.111(z)(iv) to mean “[a] person 18 years of age or older who is placed in an unlicensed residence under [MCL 722.115(4)3] or a foster family home under [MCL 722.115(7)].”
“[The] SCAO encourages courts to discuss the youth’s options for voluntary foster care at review hearings beginning when the youth is 17 years old.” SCAO Administrative Memorandum 2012-04, supra at p 2. “[The DHHS] policy recommends that the YAVFC[A] program be discussed with the youth and considered by the court as a potential component of the youth’s transition plan prior to the court closing the [child abuse/neglect (NA)] case.” Id. at p 3.
A.Extension of Foster Care Services
The YAVFCA was enacted to extend foster care services to children who are no longer under the court’s jurisdiction. See SCAO Administrative Memorandum 2012-04, supra at p 2. It “does not replace other existing law and policy allowing foster care to continue for foster youth until age 20.” Id. Rather, “[a] youth may not participate in [the] YAVFC[A] until [the] family/juvenile court jurisdiction is dismissed.” Foster Care - Young Adult Voluntary Foster Care FOM 722-16, supra at p 6.
Note: MCL 712A.2a(1) permits a court that has exercised personal jurisdiction over a youth under MCL 712A.2(b) before the youth’s 18th birthday, to continue its jurisdiction over the youth until the youth reaches 20 years of age unless the court terminates jurisdiction sooner. If the court terminates its jurisdiction over the youth4 and “the [DHHS] files a report with the court under . . . MCL 400.655, the court shall determine whether it is in the youth’s best interests to continue in voluntary foster care within 21 days of the filing of the report.”5 MCL 712A.2a(2).
MCL 400.203(1) allows a child who has been committed to the Michigan Children’s Institute (MCI) to remain a state ward until his or her 19th birthday, “unless the superintendent or the [DHHS] discharges the child sooner as provided in [MCL 400.208] or [MCL 400.209] or if the child is at least 18 years of age but less than 21 years of age and is participating in extended foster care services as described in [MCL 400.651]. MCL 400.203(1).
MCL 722.111(z)(iii) (governing child care organizations) permits a child who was placed in a foster home or foster care facility before his or her 18th birthday to continue placement in the foster home or foster care facility after the child’s 18th birthday.
If the court terminates its jurisdiction over the youth, the YAVFCA “allow[s] eligible youth between [the] ages [of] 18 and 21 (whose child abuse/neglect (NA) court file closed) to sign a voluntary agreement that will enable them to receive services until [the] age [of] 21.” SCAO Administrative Memorandum 2012-04, supra at p 2.
Under the YAVFCA, the DHHS may provide extended foster care services to a youth who meets the eligibility conditions set out under MCL 400.649 after the youth signs a voluntary foster care agreement.6 MCL 400.653.
“The voluntary agreement may not be signed until the youth reaches 18 years old and the court has terminated jurisdiction of the [child abuse/neglect (NA)] court case.” SCAO Administrative Memorandum 2012-04, supra at p 2.
1.Eligibility Conditions
Under MCL 400.649, the youth must meet one of the following eligibility conditions to be eligible for services under the YAVFCA:
“(a) The youth is completing secondary education or a program leading to an equivalent credential.
(b) The youth is enrolled in an institution that provides postsecondary or vocational education.
(c) The youth is participating in a program or activity designed to promote employment or remove barriers to employment.
(d) The youth is employed for at least 80 hours per month.
(e) The youth is incapable of doing any part of the activities in subdivisions (a) to (d) due to a medical condition. This assertion of incapacity must be supported by regularly updated information in the youth’s case plan.”
2.Voluntary Foster Care Agreement
The DHHS and an eligible youth choosing to participate in the extended foster care services must sign a voluntary foster care agreement that includes, at a minimum, all of the following information:
“(a) The obligation for the youth to continue to meet the conditions for eligibility described in [MCL 400.649] for the duration of the voluntary foster care agreement.
(b) Any obligation considered necessary by the [DHHS] for the youth to continue to receive extended foster care services.
(c) Any obligation considered necessary by the [DHHS] to facilitate the youth’s continued success in the program.
(d) Termination of a voluntary foster care agreement and program participation as described in [MCL 400.663].
(e) The voluntary nature of the youth’s participation in receiving extended foster care services.”7 MCL 400.651.
“If the youth meets the eligibility requirements [set out in MCL 400.649] and maintains compliance, the youth may enter or reenter the YAVFCA program at any time between the dismissal of the original [child abuse/neglect (NA)] court case and the age of 21.” SCAO Administrative Memorandum 2012-04, supra at p 2. See also MCL 400.647, which permits “[a] youth who exited foster care after reaching 18 years of age but before reaching 21 years of age [to] reenter foster care and receive extended foster care services.”
A child may be eligible to enter voluntary foster care under YAVFCA after termination of the child’s juvenile guardianship; termination of a child’s juvenile guardianship temporarily reinstates the DHHS’s legal custody of the child under MCL 712A.2(b), at which time the child could apply for voluntary foster care under YAVFCA, MCL 400.641 et seq. In re Hull, ___ Mich App ___, ___ (2023).
“Within 150 days after the signing of a voluntary foster care agreement, the [DHHS] shall file with the family division of the circuit court, in the county where the youth resides, an ex parte petition requesting the court’s determination that continuing in voluntary foster care is in the youth’s best interests.” MCR 3.616(E). See also MCL 400.655, which contains substantially similar language; MCL 712A.2a, the Juvenile Code provision requiring a court to make the best interests determination.
1.Petition Contents
“The petition shall contain
(a) the youth’s name, date of birth, race, gender, and current address;
(b) the name, date of birth, and residence address of the youth’s parents or legal custodian (if parental rights have not been terminated);
(c) the name and address of the youth’s foster parent or parents;
(d) a statement that the youth has been notified of the right to request a hearing regarding continuing in foster care;
(e) a showing that jurisdiction of a court over the youth’s child protective proceeding has been terminated, including the name of the court and the date jurisdiction was terminated; and
(f) any other information the [DHHS], parent or legal custodian, youth, or foster parent wants the court to consider.” MCR 3.616(E)(1).
The DHHS must prepare the ex parte petition on a form approved by the state court administrator. MCR 3.616(D). See SCAO form ccfd 20, Ex Parte Petition Regarding Voluntary Foster Care Agreement, available at https://www.courts.michigan.gov/4a2e66/siteassets/forms/scao-approved/ccfd20.pdf.
2.Supporting Documentation
“The petition shall be accompanied by a written report prepared pursuant to MCL 400.655 and a copy of the signed voluntary foster care agreement.” MCR 3.616(E)(2).
The written report prepared under MCL 400.655 must contain all of the following information:
“(a) The youth’s name, date of birth, race, gender, and current address.
(b) A statement of facts that supports the voluntary foster care agreement and includes both of the following:
(i) The reasonable efforts made to achieve permanency for the youth.
(ii) The reasons why it remains in the youth’s best interests to continue in voluntary foster care.
(c) A copy of the signed voluntary foster care agreement.
(d) Any other information the [DHHS] or the youth wants the court to consider.”
3.Service
“The [DHHS] shall serve the petition on
(a) the youth; and
(b) the foster parent or parents, if any.” MCR 3.616(E)(3).
4.Court Fees
A party is not required to pay a fee for filing an ex parte petition requesting an extension of foster care services under the YAVFCA. See MCL 600.2529(8).
“Upon the filing of a petition under [MCR 3.616], the family division of the circuit court has jurisdiction to review an agreement for the voluntary extension of foster care services after age 18.” MCR 3.616(B). See also MCL 400.657, which also extends jurisdiction to the court “to review the voluntary foster care agreement signed by the [DHHS] and the youth in [MCL 400.651].”
Once the DHHS files a report under MCL 400.655, “the court shall open a young adult voluntary foster care case for the purpose of determining whether continuing in voluntary foster care is in the youth’s best interests.”8 MCL 400.657. See also MCR 3.616(C), which also requires the court to open a voluntary foster care case following the DHHS’s filing of an ex parte petition under MCR 3.616(E).
1.Judicial Determination
“The court shall review the petition, report, and voluntary foster care agreement filed pursuant to [MCR 3.616](E), and then make a determination whether continuing in voluntary foster care is in the best interests of the youth.”9 MCR 3.616(F). See also MCL 712A.2a(2), which also requires the court, after receiving a written report from the DHHS, to determine whether “it is in the youth’s best interests to continue in voluntary foster care[.]”
“Following the court’s determination in [MCL 400.657], the court shall close the young adult voluntary foster care case and the [DHHS] shall provide extended foster care services to the youth[.]”10 MCL 400.659. See also MCR 3.616(C), which also requires the court to close the young adult voluntary foster care case “following the issuance of the court’s determination under [MCR 3.616](F).”
a.Findings
“If the court finds that the voluntary foster care agreement is in the youth’s best interests, the court shall issue an order containing individualized findings to support its determinations made under [MCL 712A.2a(2)] and close the case in accordance with . . . MCL 400.659.” MCL 712A.2a(3).
The court’s findings must be “based on the [DHHS’s] written report and other information filed with the court.” MCR 3.616(F)(1). See also MCL 712A.2a(3). The court must also submit its judicial determination on a form approved by the state court administrator. MCR 3.616(D). See SCAO form ccfd 21, Order Regarding Voluntary Foster Care Agreement, available at https://www.courts.michigan.gov/4a2e54/siteassets/forms/scao-approved/ccfd21.pdf.
b.Timing
Within 21 days of the DHHS filing the ex parte petition, the court must sign and date an order “that includes its determination and individualized findings that support its determination.”11 MCR 3.616(F)(1). See also MCL 400.657 and MCL 712A.2a(2), which contain the same 21-day requirement.
c.Service of Court Order
“The court shall serve the order on
(a) the [DHHS];
(b) the youth; and
(c) the foster parent or parents, if any.” MCR 3.616(F)(2).
2.Formal Hearing Not Required
“The court’s review of the petition and the entry of the order do not need to be conducted at a formal hearing on the record. It is sufficient that a judicial officer completes the review and authorization administratively (‘paper review’).” SCAO Administrative Memorandum 2012-04, supra at p 3. See also MCL 712A.2a(2), which states, “A hearing is not required under [MCL 712A.2a(2)], but may be held on the court’s own motion or at the request of the youth or the [DHHS].”
“The [DHHS] and the youth are entitled to access to the records contained in the [youth’s young adult voluntary foster care] file, but otherwise, the file is confidential.” MCR 3.616(G).
G.Termination of Extended Foster Care Services
“A youth may choose to terminate the voluntary foster care agreement and stop receiving extended foster care services at any time.” MCL 400.663(1). “If, at any time, the [DHHS] determines that the youth is not in compliance with the voluntary foster care agreement or any program requirements,[12] the [DHHS] may terminate the voluntary foster care agreement with the youth and stop providing extended foster care services to the youth.”13 MCL 400.663(2).
1 See the Michigan Judicial Institute’s Adoption Proceedings Benchbook, Chapter 10, for a detailed discussion of extending adoption subsidy agreements and medical subsidy agreements under the YAVFCA.
2 See Section 14.5(I) for a detailed discussion of extending guardianship assistance under the YAVFCA.
3 MCL 722.115(4) permits the “department [to] authorize a child placing agency or governmental unit to place a child who is at least [18] but less than 21 years of age [and who meets the requirements of the YAVFCA] in his or her own unlicensed residence, or in the unlicensed residence of an adult who has no supervisory responsibility for the child, if a child placing agency or governmental unit retains supervisory responsibility for the child.” For purposes of the Child Care Licensing Act, MCL 722.111 et seq., “[d]epartment means the department of health and human services and the department of licensing and regulatory affairs or a successor agency or department responsible for licensure under this act. The department of licensing and regulatory affairs is responsible for licensing and regulatory matters for child care centers, group child care homes, family child care homes, children’s camps, and children’s campsites. The department of health and human services is responsible for licensing and regulatory matters for child caring institutions, child placing agencies, children’s therapeutic group homes, foster family homes, and foster family group homes.” MCL 722.111(m).
4 The YAVFCA defines a youth as “an individual who is at least 18 years of age but less than 21 years of age.” MCL 400.643(c).
5 “A hearing is not required under this subsection, but may be held on the court’s own motion or at the request of the youth or the [DHHS].” MCL 712A.2a(2). See Section 16.9(E) for a detailed discussion of the court procedure.
6 “The [DHHS] shall implement the [YAVFCA] in accordance with the state’s approved [T]itle IV-E state plan.” MCL 400.645.
7 See DHHS form DHS 1297, Young Adult Voluntary Foster Care Agreement, at http://www.michigan.gov/documents/dhs/DHS-1297_381251_7.pdf.
8 “Upon receipt of a[n ex parte] petition, the court will open a case using [the] case code ‘VF.’” SCAO Administrative Memorandum 2012-04, supra at p 3.
9 “Federal guidelines require that there be a judicial determination that remaining in foster care is in the youth’s best interests if [T]itle IV-E foster care maintenance payments are to continue beyond the first 180 days of the voluntary placement.” DHHS’s Children’s Foster Care Manual (FOM), Young Adult Voluntary Foster Care (YAVFC) Funding and Payments FOM 902-21, p 2, available at http://www.mfia.state.mi.us/olmweb/ex/FO/Public/FOM/902-21.pdf. “If the order is not signed by the judge or referee within 180 calendar days of the date the youth signed the DHS-1297, YAVFC Agreement, the youth is no longer eligible for the YAVFC program[.]” Young Adult Voluntary Foster Care (YAVFC) Funding and Payments FOM 902-21, supra at p 2.
10 “[The DHHS] retains full responsibility for the YAVFC case[.]” SCAO Administrative Memorandum 2012-04, supra at p 3.
11 “If the best interests determination is not made within 21 days, the youth will not be eligible for Title IV-E funding[,] and [the DHHS] will cancel the agreement.” SCAO Administrative Memorandum 2012-04, supra at p 3.
12 “The [DHHS] shall conduct periodic case reviews not less than once every 180 days to address the status of the youth’s safety, continuing necessity and appropriateness of placement, extent of compliance with the case plan, and projected date by which the youth may no longer require extended foster care service.” MCL 400.661.
13 “The [DHHS] shall provide written or electronic notice to the youth regarding termination of the voluntary foster care agreement and the youth’s participation in the program.” MCL 400.663(2).