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SENATE BILL NO. 885
A bill to create a parent and child legal representation
commission and an office of parent and child legal representation;
to prescribe the commission's and office's powers and duties; and
to provide for appropriations.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 1. This act may be cited as the "parent and child legal 1
representation act". 2
Sec. 2. As used in this act: 3
(a) "Commission" means the parent and child legal 4
March 25, 2026, Introduced by Senator SINGH and referred to Committee on Civil Rights,
Judiciary, and Public Safety.
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representation commission created in section 3. 1
(b) "Consumer Price Index" means the most comprehensive index 2
of consumer prices available for the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn area 3
from the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department 4
of Labor. 5
(c) "Office" means the office of parent and child legal 6
representation created in section 5. 7
Sec. 3. (1) The parent and child legal representation 8
commission is created as an autonomous entity in the department of 9
licensing and regulatory affairs. 10
(2) The commission must consist of the following members 11
appointed by the governor: 12
(a) One individual from a list of 3 individuals submitted by 13
the senate majority leader. 14
(b) One individual from a list of 3 individuals submitted by 15
the speaker of the house of representatives. 16
(c) Two individuals from a list of 4 individuals submitted by 17
the supreme court. 18
(d) The director of the state budget office or the director's 19
designated representative. 20
(e) The director of the department of health and human 21
services or the director's designated representative. 22
(f) One individual who is an attorney licensed to practice law 23
in this state and who has experience working as a prosecuting 24
attorney from a list of 3 individuals submitted by the Prosecuting 25
Attorneys Association of Michigan. 26
(g) One individual recommended by the Children's Law Section 27
of the State Bar of Michigan who is an attorney licensed to 28
practice law in this state and who has experience as a parent 29
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attorney. 1
(h) One individual recommended by the Children's Law Section 2
of the State Bar of Michigan who is an attorney licensed to 3
practice law in this state and who has experience as a child's 4
attorney. 5
(i) One individual recommended by the Children's Law Section 6
of the State Bar of Michigan who is an attorney licensed to 7
practice law in this state and who has experience as an appellate 8
attorney. 9
(j) One probate court judge from a list of 3 individuals 10
submitted by the Michigan Probate Judges Association. 11
(k) One circuit court judge from a list of 3 individuals 12
submitted by the Michigan Judges Association. 13
(l) One representative from a list of 3 individuals submitted 14
by the Michigan Association of Counties. 15
(m) Two members of the general public to represent the 16
interests of individuals who have been impacted by the child 17
welfare system. 18
(3) The governor shall appoint the first members of the 19
commission not later than 90 days after the effective date of this 20
act. 21
(4) The governor shall appoint 5 of the first members to 1-22
year terms, 5 of the first members to 2-year terms, and 5 of the 23
first members to 3-year terms. After the first appointments, the 24
term of a member of the commission is 4 years or until a successor 25
is appointed under subsection (2). 26
(5) If a vacancy occurs on the commission, the governor shall 27
appoint an individual to fill the vacancy for the balance of the 28
term. 29
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(6) The governor may remove a member of the commission for 1
incompetence, dereliction of duty, malfeasance, misfeasance, or 2
nonfeasance in office, or any other good cause. 3
(7) The director of the department of licensing and regulatory 4
affairs shall call the first meeting of the commission. At the 5
first meeting, the commission shall elect a member as a chairperson 6
and may elect other officers that it considers necessary or 7
appropriate. The commission shall meet at least quarterly, or more 8
frequently at the call of the chairperson or at the request of the 9
majority of the members. 10
(8) A majority of the members of the commission constitutes a 11
quorum for transacting business. A vote in favor by the majority of 12
the members of the commission serving is required for any action of 13
the commission. 14
(9) The commission shall conduct its business in compliance 15
with the open meetings act, 1976 PA 267, MCL 15.261 to 15.275. 16
(10) A writing that is prepared, owned, used, possessed, or 17
retained by the commission in performing an official function is 18
subject to the freedom of information act, 1976 PA 442, MCL 15.231 19
to 15.246. 20
(11) A member of the commission is not entitled to 21
compensation for service on the commission, but the commission may 22
reimburse a member for actual and necessary expenses incurred in 23
serving. 24
Sec. 4. The commission shall do all of the following: 25
(a) Create standards of practice for attorneys eligible for 26
appointment by the office of parent and child legal representation. 27
The standards must include, but are not limited to: 28
(i) Establishing maximum caseloads to allow for quality 29
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representation. 1
(ii) Establishing minimum training requirements to improve 2
quality of legal representation for indigent children and parents 3
in child welfare cases and appeals. 4
(iii) Defining legal representation and nonlegal advocacy tasks 5
that are eligible for payment by the office. 6
(iv) Establishing minimum standards for frequency and format of 7
attempted contact with clients. 8
(b) Once the initial proposed standards are generated, the 9
commission shall invite public comment on the standards and hold a 10
public hearing to consider public comment. 11
(c) Standards will only become effective when sufficient 12
funding is appropriated, as determined by the commission. 13
(d) Review the standards created under subdivision (a) 14
periodically. Any proposed revisions to the standards must undergo 15
the public comment process required for the initial standards and 16
are not effective until sufficient funding is appropriated. 17
(e) Establish a system to facilitate the appointment of 18
counsel for indigent parents and children in child welfare cases 19
that includes both of the following: 20
(i) The opportunity for attorneys, firms, and organizations to 21
apply for placement on a roster of attorneys eligible for 22
appointment by the office. 23
(ii) Incorporate the location of available attorneys and allow 24
flexibility to accommodate varying needs across court systems. 25
(f) Establish standards for determination of indigency that 26
include both of the following: 27
(i) That an individual is indigent when they are unable, 28
without substantial financial hardship to the individual or the 29
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individual's dependents, to obtain competent, qualified legal 1
representation. Factors that the court may consider include, but 2
are not limited to, income or funds from employment or any other 3
source, including personal public assistance, to which the 4
respondent is entitled, property owned by the respondent or in 5
which the individual has an economic interest, outstanding 6
obligations, the number and ages of the individual's dependents, 7
employment and job training history, and the individual's level of 8
education. 9
(ii) A rebuttable presumption of substantial financial hardship 10
if the individual is any of the following: 11
(A) Receiving personal public assistance including food 12
assistance program, temporary assistance for needy families, 13
Medicaid, or disability insurance, resides in public housing, or 14
earns an income that is less than 140% of the federal poverty 15
guideline. 16
(B) Under the age of 18. 17
(C) Currently serving a sentence in a correctional 18
institution. 19
(D) Currently receiving residential treatment in a mental 20
health or substance abuse facility. 21
(g) Establish a standardized rate of pay for appointed counsel 22
and a process for payment of counsel that includes both of the 23
following requirements: 24
(i) Local funding units shall continue to contribute their 25
local contribution equal to the local funding unit's average 26
contribution to legal representation for child welfare cases over 27
the prior 3 years. The local contribution must be adjusted annually 28
by the rate of inflation as established by the Consumer Price 29
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Index. Local funding units must not be required to contribute more 1
than the determined local contribution. 2
(ii) A mechanism that allows the commission to secure 3
additional funding from legislative appropriations. 4
(h) Establish a process to provide experts to assist attorneys 5
in their cases. The process must include receiving, evaluating, and 6
approving requests for expert assistance, connecting attorneys with 7
necessary experts, and providing funding necessary to retain expert 8
assistance. 9
(i) Establish a process to provide ancillary legal services to 10
clients that might address underlying issues in their child 11
protective proceeding. The process must include receiving, 12
evaluating, and approving requests for ancillary legal services, 13
connecting attorneys with necessary supports, and providing funding 14
necessary to retain ancillary legal services. 15
(j) Hire an executive director for the office. The executive 16
director must be an attorney. 17
(k) Determine appropriate staff for the office consistent with 18
annual appropriations. 19
(l) Identify and encourage best practices for delivering 20
effective assistance of counsel to children and parents in child 21
protective proceedings. 22
Sec. 5. (1) The office of parent and child legal 23
representation is created within the department of licensing and 24
regulatory affairs. 25
(2) The purpose of the office is to do all of the following: 26
(a) Implement and oversee the system to facilitate the 27
appointment of counsel at the trial and appellate levels for 28
indigent parents and children in child protective proceedings once 29
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established by the commission. 1
(b) Implement and oversee the process for payment of counsel 2
once established by the commission. 3
(c) Implement and oversee the process for providing experts to 4
assist attorneys in cases once established by the commission. 5
(d) Implement and oversee the process for providing ancillary 6
legal services once established by the commission. 7
(e) Provide technical assistance to support compliance with 8
standards and best practices, once determined by commission. 9
(f) Establish a process for routine performance reviews of 10
attorneys on the roster to determine continued eligibility to serve 11
on the roster. The process must include a mechanism for receipt and 12
review of complaints related to an attorney's actions on appointed 13
cases. 14
(g) As approved by the commission, collect data regarding 15
child protective legal representation statewide and provide an 16
annual report to the governor, legislature, and supreme court. 17
(3) The office may receive grants from governmental and 18
nongovernmental sources. 19
Enacting section 1. This act takes effect 90 days after the 20
date it is enacted into law. 21