Judge releases children from court jurisdiction, keeps father's parenting time suspended

A judge in Lenawee County Probate & Juvenile Court on an uncontested permanency planning review ordered that four children be released from the court's jurisdiction and the case closed, while leaving a respondent father's parenting time suspended under friend-of-the-court orders.

The decision followed unanimous admissions of the court report and agreement from the guardian ad litem, the agency, and both parents' attorneys that the family had shown sufficient progress. "Everything seems to be going well," the guardian ad litem told the court, adding a recommendation to close the case.

The agency's ongoing case worker, Chelsea Grant, testified that during the review period the children met developmental benchmarks and that parents Faith Double and Jeffrey Patterson had complied with their case service plan. Grant said the family had benefited from in-home therapeutic (IHT) services, with the oldest child — identified in court as JJ — preferring to remain with his mother and showing enough improvement that community mental health services discharged him.

Grant also reported that the respondent father, Austin Dubey, had limited progress because of periods of incarceration and treatment. She told the court she received a call that Dubey said he was at Harbor Light and that the child's therapist had concerns about Dubey being unsupervised with the children given impulsive behavior noted by the therapist.

The court admitted the written court report and attachments with no objections. Counsel for the agency, Nastasia Thomas, asked the court to release jurisdiction, saying there were sufficient safeguards in place and no additional services the court could offer through the protective proceeding. Attorneys for the parents and counsel for the respondent father also said they supported case closure.

The judge concluded: "It is the order of the court that the children are released from the jurisdiction of the court in this case filed to parents, Jeffrey Patterson and Faith Double," and stated that any parenting-time matters for Austin Dubey remain governed by friend-of-the-court orders going forward.

The court record reflects that Dubey's parenting time had been suspended previously in October 2023; the suspension will remain unless modified through the friend-of-the-court process. The record also notes discussion of using a third-party communication method or parenting app if any future contact between the parents is necessary solely for child-related matters.

No additional hearings were scheduled at the close of the session. The court's order releases the family from juvenile-court oversight while preserving the friend-of-the-court's authority over parenting-time modifications and enforcement.