A Lenawee County judge modified the permanency goal for 1-year-old Kenzie Wright in a permanency planning hearing, directing that adoption or juvenile guardianship be added as concurrent goals while continuing to recognize reunification and ordering the child to remain in her current foster placement.

The child, who has been in care for about a year, will remain in placement and the court set the next review for Sept. 30 at 1:30 p.m., the judge said. Guardian ad litem Nicole Underwood and the department recommended steps toward permanency after hearing testimony about the child’s development, parental progress and ongoing concerns about the father’s engagement and substance use.

Underwood, the court-appointed guardian ad litem, reported that the child is “continuing to just grow and thrive, where she is placed,” and described age-appropriate development: walking, making animal sounds and identifying colors and objects during book reading. Foster-care worker Macy Moore told the court the placement is meeting the child’s needs and said the child’s caregivers reported strong attachment to them.

Moore also described efforts and barriers to engaging the parents. She said mother Christina Lemley has complied with many elements of her case service plan, attends parenting time and has maintained sobriety, and that Lemley recently secured a one-bedroom apartment. Moore said Lemley remains on a waiting list for parenting-education services and that transportation assistance has generally been provided via gas cards every other week, though there was a three-week gap once.

By contrast, Moore said father Matthew (Matt) Wright has been “non compliant” with his case service plan, noting missed contacts and two unsuccessful home-visit attempts when staff could not safely make contact at his residence. Moore told the court that a drug screen in the file was positive; during questioning a participant read a list of substances into the record as “ham, vitamin, methamphetamine, and THC.”

Mother Christina Lemley testified about her recovery and logistics. She said she is “now celebrating almost a year and a month clean,” that she recently moved into independent housing and that she is working toward full-time employment with a plan to expand available work hours so she can travel for visits. Lemley described frequent weekly travel to attend parenting time and said she has tried to arrange overnight or longer visits but faces obstacles related to distance and child-care logistics.

Counsel for the department, Sasha Thomas, asked the court to set a concurrent permanency goal of adoption or juvenile guardianship, saying progress toward reunification has stalled in important areas and that the child’s best interest requires steps toward permanence. The department recommended that the placement be licensed if the caregivers are willing and that the department explore visitation changes and possible consultation with a visitation specialist to address the child’s dysregulation after visits.

Counsel for both parents asked for continued review periods and urged that goals not be changed prematurely. Father’s counsel and mother’s attorney emphasized transportation and other practical barriers that they said have limited parents’ ability to complete services.

The judge emphasized the child’s stability in the current home and the importance of continuing work toward a stable, permanent arrangement. The judge directed the department to begin discussions with the placement about licensing and asked the department to evaluate whether further visitation planning could improve the parent-child bond. The court stated that reunification remains recognized alongside adoption and juvenile guardianship as concurrent goals.

Formal court orders recorded at the hearing included keeping the child in her current placement as the least restrictive setting, directing the department to consult on licensing the placement and visitation planning, and scheduling the next permanency review for Sept. 30 at 1:30 p.m.

The court record reflects ongoing monitoring: the judge instructed the department to continue referrals and follow-up and set another permanency review to reassess progress on licensing, visitation and parental compliance.

The hearing was conducted in Lenawee County Probate & Juvenile Court. All parties, attorneys and caseworkers were present for testimony and argument.