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Out-of-state guardianship, ICPC denial create legal questions in child-reunification review
Summary
Counsel and the court paused a review hearing after testimony that a Pennsylvania guardianship and an interstate-compact denial may limit the court’s ability to reunify an infant with her mother; the judge directed attorneys to confer and provide paperwork clarifying the guardianship’s effect.
During the same review hearing, attorneys and the presiding judge flagged legal and jurisdictional obstacles that complicated any immediate reunification decision.
Caseworker Macy Moore told the court she had "got a interstate compact report back, which does do a denial based on the fact that" the mother lives in the prospective Pennsylvania placement home, even though "in the report, it outlines that the home itself is appropriate." That ICPC denial, Moore said, is a barrier to placing the child with the Pennsylvania caregiver household.
Attorney Peter Winter, appearing for Mr. Amadeo, raised a separate legal concern about whether an out-of-state guardianship for the mother affects her parental authority. Winter argued that "if she's under guardianship, I don't think she's got legal authority to make any decisions regarding the child without the guardian's approval," and asked the court to consider how Pennsylvania law treats that guardianship before directing reunification or placement.
The judge acknowledged the complexity and directed the department to provide the Pennsylvania guardianship paperwork and for counsel to confer at sidebar. The court recessed to allow attorneys to discuss those legal issues and said objections to the court report packet would be held in abeyance pending clarification.
No final legal determination was made at the hearing; the court paused to obtain the guardianship documents and to clarify how the interstate-compact denial and the out-of-state guardianship interact with Michigan’s placement authority.
