Judge orders dual goal of adoption with concurrent reunification in Jamal Gale case; next review July 8

A Lenawee County Probate & Juvenile Court judge on the record set a dual permanency goal—adoption with a concurrent goal of reunification—for the infant identified in court as Jamal Gale and kept the child in the same foster home, while scheduling the next permanency review for July 8 at 9 a.m.

The move came after the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) asked the court to change the child’s goal from reunification to adoption because of what agency counsel described as the mother’s continuing instability and inconsistent engagement with services. Tasha Thomas, counsel for the department, urged the court to make adoption the primary goal, saying the evidence in the report and recent testimony did not support a safe return “within any reasonable amount of time.”

The change matters because the court also directed DHHS to be prepared to file a petition for termination of parental rights if the mother’s circumstances have not meaningfully improved at the next review. The judge said that if conditions are unchanged at the July review, the department will be ordered to file a termination petition within 28 days.

The guardia…