False Child Abuse and Neglect Complaints

Sometimes, co-parents take an overly aggressive approach to reporting perceived wrongs to their county Child Protective Services. If this becomes a habit, there are steps the target parent can take to protect their custody position in a high-conflict family court proceeding.

First, making a false claim of abuse or neglect is a felony. The target parent should contact local law enforcement to see whether a case can be charged.

Second, if a series of false or unfounded reports is made to CPS, ask the case worker to report this conduct to the Friend of the Court. This could result in a warning being issued or a modification of custody.

Third, the Court of Appeals has recognized that a co-parent that lodges false reports of abuse or neglect negatively impacts their own custody chances. The Court of Appeals has directed family courts to take this into account when making a custody determination in a high-conflict case.

The purpose behind these measures is not to punish the offending parent but rather, to advance the best interests of the minor children who are often in the middle of such disputes. When a CPS complaint is lodged, regardless of merit, interviews with the minor children are triggered as well as visits to the children's school and the parents' homes.

When a series of baseless claims are made, these interviews and visits become onerous and offensive. The offending parent need to be shut down.

If you are the target of false claims of child abuse or neglect, contact our law firm in order to discuss your options at a free consultation.

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The Economics of Child Support

DHS Director Maura Corrigan

The Michigan Auditor General gave a high grade to the arm of the state bureaucracy responsible for collecting and distributing child support.  In the two year audit period billions in child support dollars were collected and distributed with 99.9% accuracy according to the auditor.

Much of the credit for these good marks is attributable to the Office of Child Support, which is an arm of the Department of Human Services.  DHS is directed by former Michigan Supreme Court Justice Maura Corrigan, having been appointed by Governor Rick Snyder .

A quick story about Maura Corrigan.  When this blogger phased from a two-year stint with the Michigan Court of Appeals to one of Michigan's largest law firms in Detroit, one of the newly hired associates in the office just down the hall from mine was Maura Corrigan, transferred from the Detroit office of the U.S. Attorney.  Then former Governor John Engler appointed Corrigan to the Michigan Court of Appeals and the Michigan Supreme Court; she was re-elected in each position before being appointed DHS Director.

When she took over DHS, Corrigan was tasked with cleaning-up the rampant fraud that was draining cash and food assistance programs of their funds.  Under her leadership the Office of Child Support is an example of how a government bureaucracy is meant to function.

The recent audit -the second consecutive audit to give the Office of Child Support high marks- prompted Corrigan to make the following remarks:

I am proud of the work done by our Office of Child Support.  The audit confirms that we effectively collect and distribute child support dollars.  That means children have the support they need and deserve.  The $2.6 billion in child support received during the audit period is pumped into Michigan's economy and helps many families achieve financial independence rather than relying on public assistance - which saves taxpayers money.

No question, when child support is paid on time in the correct amount, the overall economy -an economy with every-other-household affected by divorce- gains.  The resources expended on child support enforcement are massive.

To assist child support payors with their monthly obligation, Michigan has contracted with a web portal service known as MiSDU that automates payments.

If you have questions as a recipient of child support, or as a child support payor, give us a call for a free consult; perhaps we can point you in the right direction.

www.clarkstonlegal.com
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Sex Offender Status Now Terminates Parental Rights

Murder, felonious assault resulting in serious injury to a child, voluntary manslaughter; these are convictions that cause parents to lose their parental rights while doing time in the penitentiary.  Now add to that list: registration on the Sex Offender Registry.

As of May 1, the applicable statute now states that the Department of Human Services is not required to take "reasonable efforts" to unify parent with child if the parent is required to register as a sex offender under what is known as SORA.

Of course, some controversy has surrounded this legislation.  On the one hand, critics observe that family court judges can now essentially terminate parental rights for no reason other than the SORA requirement.  On the other hand, those same family court judges apparently have the discretion to order the DHS to make "reasonable efforts" to reunify parent and child, same as always.  Apparently, in the passage of this law, there was significant consideration given to obtaining federal grant money available if this was the law in Michigan.

This leads to some interesting implications for us criminal defense attorneys.  For example, Ionia County Family Court Judge David Hoort asks:

In criminal cases does this then require advising a defendant that his/her plea to an offense resulting in registration under the SORA could result in a termination of his/her parental rights?  Even if unrelated to the existing charge?  

That's a good question.  No surprise that SORA will continue delivering harsh consequences for those caught-up in its net.

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