Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Child Welfare Case Services topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Judge adopts case-services plan, orders trauma and psychological assessments in Long children matter
Summary
Lenawee County Probate & Juvenile Court adopted a case-services plan for the Long children, ordered trauma and parenting assessments paid by DHHS, kept parenting time supervised with possible modification pending provider recommendations, and received a Native American heritage inquiry into the record.
A judge in Lenawee County Probate & Juvenile Court on record in the matter of the Long children adopted a case-services plan, ordered trauma and parenting assessments paid by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), and maintained supervised parenting time while allowing modification if service-provider recommendations support it.
The judge said the plan “appears to accurately reflect the services necessary for these two parents to overcome the barriers for purposes of reunification,” and ordered that the plan become part of the court’s disposition order. The judge also ordered a trauma assessment for the older child and parenting assessments, and instructed the agency to document any change in parenting time in subsequent court reports.
The caseworker Fostering Solutions supervisor Leslie Conrad testified that “the children are adjusting well,” adding that the older child has shown emotional distress but is “establishing a routine in her grandparents' home” and is doing well in school. Conrad said the infant is gaining weight, meeting developmental milestones, and that both children’s needs are being met in their current relative placement.
DHHS counsel Trey Tipton and the guardian ad litem Nicole Underwood (guardian ad litem counsel for the minors) told the court they supported adopting the case-services plan; Underwood said she was not opposed to an order giving DHHS discretion to modify parenting time pending service-provider recommendations. The mother’s counsel, Brandy Thompson, and the father, Tyler Long, indicated they have begun some recommended services: Thompson told the court the mother has taken parenting classes and been submitting weekly drug tests (all negative in 2025); counsel for the father reported he is employed and has taken parenting classes.
The court received into the file the court report, a DHS 69 placement/change notice, and a Native American heritage inquiry (the judge designated the Native American heritage inquiry as exhibit 3 after noting the Bureau of Indian Affairs receipt card was in the file). The judge declined to keep certain other documents that were described as attachments prepared in anticipation of trial (including two drug-screen attachments and some medical records) and directed they be disregarded from the official petition record.
On parenting time the judge ordered that visits remain supervised but that DHHS may modify parenting time to unsupervised only after receiving recommendations from the trauma and parenting assessments. The judge directed that, before expanding to unsupervised parenting time, DHHS should convene a family decision-making (FDM) meeting including the attorneys and the guardian ad litem, or obtain concurrence from the guardian ad litem or a stipulated order, to ensure attorney and guardian participation in any change.
Conrad said DHHS will begin the paperwork for psychological evaluations for both parents the following week and will provide the contracted psychologist with parents' contact information for scheduling. Conrad also said the agency will assist the father with referrals and that psychological evaluation recommendations will guide treatment steps. Regarding drug testing, Conrad said the agency plans to reduce the mother’s testing from about weekly to twice a month and, if results remain negative for a short period, to monthly.
The judge confirmed that the children will remain placed with relatives as the least-restrictive setting while services proceed and set a review hearing for 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 1, for the first report on parental progress. The judge asked the new caseworker to note any received assessment that leads to a parenting-time change and to keep counsel and the guardian ad litem informed.
Documents and orders adopted at disposition will be attached to the court order and filed with the clerk. The court emphasized vigilance given allegations in the petition and stressed that any movement to unsupervised parenting time carries risk that must be addressed through assessments and attorney/guardian involvement.
