Chapter 7: Preliminary Steps and Mediation
In this chapter. . .
This chapter discusses how to initiate child protective proceedings and the requirements for filing a proper petition. It also discusses the required procedures for conducting a preliminary inquiry, which is an informal proceeding that may be used when a child has not been taken into protective custody and the petitioner does not request that the child be placed.
If a child is in protective custody or the petitioner requests placement of the child, a preliminary hearing must be conducted. The court must make two major decisions at a preliminary hearing: whether to authorize the filing of the petition and, if so, whether to order pretrial placement of the child. This chapter deals only with the procedures leading up to the decision to authorize the filing of the petition. The procedures governing the determination of whether the child should be placed pending trial are covered in Chapter 8. In addition to, or as an alternative to, placing the child outside his or her home, the court may order an alleged abuser to leave the child’s home, and the court may also enter orders affecting nonparent adults.
This chapter also discusses child protection mediation, the appointment of attorneys for respondents, and the appointment of lawyer-guardians ad litem (L-GAL), attorneys, guardians ad litem (GAL), and court-appointed special advocates (CASAs) for children.
In an effort to provide trial courts with a quick practical guide through the process of preliminary hearings, the State Court Administrative Office (SCAO) developed the Toolkit for Judges and Attorneys: Preliminary Hearing (MCR 3.965/MCL 712A.11). The SCAO also developed professional training videos to illustrate mock court hearings that “identify the statutory timelines, procedural requirements, legal findings, and other information relevant to” preliminary hearings.
7.1Initiating Child Protective Proceedings
Absent exigent circumstances, a request for court action to protect a child must be by petition.1 MCR 3.961(A). MCR 3.903(A)(20) provides that a petition is “a complaint or other written allegation, verified in the manner provided in MCR 1.109(D)(3), that a parent, guardian, nonparent adult, or legal custodian has harmed or failed to properly care for a child[.]”
Note: See Section 3.1 for a detailed discussion of exigent circumstances warranting removal of a child before a petition is filed.
The purposes of a petition are to frame the issues for the court and to provide notice of the allegations to a respondent. See generally MCL 712A.11(2)-(3); MCR 3.914(B)(1); MCR 3.931(A); MCR 3.931(B)(3)-(5).