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Judge releases Esterline family from court jurisdiction and closes juvenile case
Summary
The Lenawee County Probate & Juvenile Court granted a request to release Joshua Esterline’s family from court jurisdiction and closed the juvenile case after court-appointed and departmental reports said reunification goals had been met.
A judge in the Lenawee County Probate & Juvenile Court released Joshua Esterline’s family from the court’s jurisdiction and closed the juvenile case after finding that the goals of reunification had been accomplished.
Court-appointed guardian ad litem Nicole Underwood reported at the review and emergency planning hearing that the child is comfortable and “the child's needs are being met” at the mother’s new residence, noting the family’s improved living space and that the child was settling into summer routines.
Megan McVay, a caseworker for the department, told the court that Esterline had “been doing really well,” had completed the My Family Together program, obtained housing and a full-time job, and had childcare arranged through a family member. McVay said an unrelated complaint concerning the father was investigated by another worker and was denied for lack of a preponderance of evidence. McVay also reported that services associated with this case had already ended.
Sasha Thomas, counsel for the department, confirmed the department had filed a court report and supporting documents, including a case service plan, a My Family prevention plan and a letter from the child’s therapist; no updates or modifications to those filings were reported at the hearing. The department indicated it did not believe continued court jurisdiction was necessary.
The court admitted the report into evidence with no objections. The judge then said, “I will grant the request to release the family from the jurisdiction of the court and, close the case effective today,” and signed an order releasing the family from jurisdiction and closing the case. The court thanked the guardian ad litem and department staff for their work.
Participants noted that a separate custody order for another child in the broader family file was on the record and that Daisy Brown, who joined the hearing, resides in Ohio and is not receiving services from the department.
No further hearings or directions from the court related to this matter were announced at the hearing.
