Legislative Analysis
Phone: (517) 373-8080
OFFICE OF THE CHILD ADVOCATE
http://www.house.mi.gov/hfa
Senate Bill 432 as enacted Analysis available at
Public Act 303 of 2023 http://www.legislature.mi.gov
Sponsor: Sen. Roger Victory
Senate Bill 435 as enacted
Public Act 304 of 2023
Sponsor: Sen. Dayna Polehanki
Senate Bill 436 as enacted House Bill 4640 as enacted
Public Act 305 of 2023 Public Act 295 of 2023
Sponsor: Sen. John Damoose Sponsor: Rep. Jimmie Wilson, Jr.
House Bill 4639 as enacted House Bill 4643 as enacted
Public Act 294 of 2023 Public Act 296 of 2023
Sponsor: Rep. Kimberly Edwards Sponsor: Rep. Donavan McKinney
House Committee: Criminal Justice
Senate Committee: Civil Rights, Judiciary, and Public Safety
Complete to 1-24-24
SUMMARY:
Senate Bill 432 amends the Children’s Ombudsman Act 1 to replace the Office of Children’s
Ombudsman with the Office of the Child Advocate. In general under the bill, the child advocate
retains the powers and duties of the children’s ombudsman, with added responsibilities related
to residential facilities and juvenile justice services. The bill changes the name of the act to the
Office of the Child Advocate Act. The other five bills amend other acts to update references to
the office or the act accordingly. The bills take effect February 13, 2024.
The Office of Children’s Ombudsman is an independent agency housed in the Department of
Technology, Management, and Budget. The ombudsman is charged with investigating and
reviewing actions of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), child placing
agencies, or child caring institutions; monitoring and ensuring compliance with relevant
statutes, rules, and policies pertaining to children’s protective services and the placement,
supervision, treatment, and improving delivery of care of children in foster care and adoptive
homes; recommending and effecting changes in policy, procedure, and legislation; and
educating the public.
Among other things, the ombudsman can receive and investigate complaints regarding the
cases of children involved in the state’s child welfare system and is authorized to obtain records
from DHHS and other agencies, including public and private child-placing agencies. These
entities are allowed to respond to complaints, are required to cooperate with investigations and
provide relevant records, and are prohibited from penalizing complainants. The ombudsman
1
https://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/mcl/pdf/mcl-act-204-of-1994.pdf
House Fiscal Agency Page 1 of 5
 can request agency action in response to an investigation, request a licensing investigation, and
refer criminal matters to a law enforcement agency. The records of the ombudsman are
confidential. Upon closing an investigation, the ombudsman must issue a report and, in certain
cases, make recommendations.
Senate Bill 432 eliminates the Office of Children’s Ombudsman and creates the Office of the
Child Advocate, with the same powers and duties as described above. The child advocate is
appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. Under the bill, the child
advocate has an additional oversight and investigative role concerning children in residential
facilities providing juvenile justice services that is largely the same as, and is in addition to, its
oversight and investigative role with regard to protecting the safety and well-being of children
in need of protective services, foster care, or adoption services. To that end, the bill adds
residential facilities to provisions that describe other agencies or entities the office can
investigate and the procedures for those investigations, notifications, responses, information
sharing, findings, reports, and recommendations. The bill also makes other, or more specific,
changes as described below. 2
Residential facility means a facility that provides juvenile justice services and is state
operated, county operated, public, private and contracted, secure, or nonsecure.
Juvenile justice service means 3 a service, exclusive of judicial functions, provided by
a county for juveniles who are within or likely to come within the court’s jurisdiction
under section 2 of Chapter XIIA of the Probate Code (known as the “juvenile code”)
or within the jurisdiction of the court of general criminal jurisdiction under section 606
of the Revised Judicature Act, if that court commits the juvenile to a county or court
juvenile facility under section 27a of Chapter IV of the Code of Criminal Procedure. A
service includes intake, detention, detention alternatives, probation, foster care,
diagnostic evaluation and treatment, shelter care, or any other service approved by the
office or county juvenile agency, as applicable, including preventive, diversionary, or
protective care services.
Complainants
The following individuals may make a complaint to the child advocate alleging that an
administrative act with respect to a particular child is contrary to law, rule, or policy, imposed
without an adequate statement of reason, or based on irrelevant, immaterial, or erroneous
grounds: 4
• The child, if able to articulate a complaint.
• The child’s biological parent, foster parent, adoptive parent or a prospective adoptive
parent, or legally appointed guardian.
• A guardian ad litem of the child.
• An adult who is related to the child within the fifth degree by marriage, blood, or
adoption, as defined in the Adoption Code.
2
This summary does not describe all of the provisions where there is continuity between the new and former offices,
nor does it describe all of the provisions where the only difference in the powers and duties of the respective offices
is the addition of residential facilities to the applicable entities with regard to the child advocate.
3
This definition is the same as that in section 117a of the Social Welfare Act.
4
Except for the last two in the list (the judge and the governor), these are the individuals who may make a complaint
to the children’s ombudsman under current law.
House Fiscal Agency SBs 432, 435, and 436 and HBs 4639, 4640, and 4643 as enacted Page 2 of 5
 • A Michigan legislator.
• A mandated reporter of child abuse or child neglect under the Child Protection Law.
• A judge for a juvenile receiving juvenile justice services.
• The governor.
Scope of authority
The bill authorizes the child advocate to do things beyond the authority currently given the
children’s ombudsman. The child advocate may pursue all necessary action, including legal
action, to protect the rights and welfare of a child under the jurisdiction, control, or supervision
of a residential facility or a child who is the victim in a Child Protective Services maltreatment
in care investigation. The child advocate may review policies and procedures relating to a
residential facility’s involvement with children and make recommendations for improvement.
The child advocate also may mediate issues and educate the public regarding complaints
dealing with certain county and private agencies serving children, maltreatment in care
investigations, and investigations of lack of or insufficient services regarding a residential
facility. However, a court’s placement decision is not subject to the child advocate’s authority.
Requirements for residential facilities
The bill requires a residential facility to do all of the following: 5
• Upon the child advocate’s request, grant the child advocate or their designee access to
all information, records, and documents in the possession of the residential facility that
the child advocate considers relevant and necessary in an investigation.
• Upon the child advocate’s request, provide the child advocate information requested
above within 10 business days after the request.
• Assist the child advocate to obtain the necessary releases of those documents that are
specifically restricted.
• Upon the child advocate’s request, provide the child advocate with progress reports
concerning the administrative processing of a complaint.
• Provide information to a biological parent, legal guardian, prospective adoptive parent,
or foster parent regarding the provisions of this act.
• Conspicuously post in an area accessible to residents, employees, and visitors a
description of the office of the child advocate services and the contact information for
filing a complaint.
• During the course of an investigation conducted by the child advocate, ensure that a
resident has anonymity, privacy, and procedures in place to accommodate interviews
conducted by the office of the child advocate.
Child fatality cases
The child advocate must conduct a preliminary investigation into all child fatality cases that
occurred or are alleged to have occurred to due child abuse or child neglect in situations where
a child died while committed to a residential facility. 6
5
Except for the last two in this list (regarding posting and interviews), these are requirements of other relevant entities
under both current law (for the children’s ombudsman) and the bill (for the child advocate).
6
This is in addition to other child fatality investigations that the children’s ombudsman now must investigate, which
the child advocate is also responsible for under the bill.
House Fiscal Agency SBs 432, 435, and 436 and HBs 4639, 4640, and 4643 as enacted Page 3 of 5
 Mandatory training
The act now requires Office of the Children’s Ombudsman employees to receive mandatory
training conducted by the Michigan Domestic Violence Prevention and Treatment Board in
domestic violence and in handling complaints of child abuse or child neglect that involve a
history of domestic violence. The bill does not apply this provision to employees of the Office
of the Child Advocate, but instead requires those employees to receive training in the areas of
child abuse or child neglect as determined by the child advocate.
Findings and recommendations
Finally, under current law, if the ombudsman identifies action or inaction by the state, through
its agencies or services, that failed to protect children, the ombudsman must provide its findings
and recommendations to the agency affected by those findings. The bill would require the child
advocate to provide those findings and recommendations to the child placing agency affected
by those findings.
MCL 722.921 et seq.
Senate Bills 435 and 436 and House Bills 4639, 4640, and 4643 would amend the following
to change references to the children’s ombudsman, the office of the children’s ombudsman,
and the Children’s Ombudsman Act to the child advocate, office of the child advocate, and
Office of the Child Advocate Act:
• SB 435: 1973 PA 116, the child care licensing act (MCL 722.115a and 722.120).
• SB 436: Child Protection Law (MCL 722.627, 722.627b, and 722.627k).
• HB 4639: Social Welfare Act (MCL 400.115m).
• HB 4640: Probate Code (MCL 710.67, 710.68, and 712A.19b).
• HB 4643: Foster Care and Adoption Services Act (MCL 722.955 et seq.).
BACKGROUND:
The Michigan Task Force on Juvenile Justice Reform was created by Executive Order 2021-6
as a bipartisan advisory body in the Department of Health and Human Services 7 to “lead a
data-driven analysis of [Michigan’s] juvenile justice system and recommend proven practices
and strategies for reform grounded in data, research, and fundamental constitutional
principles.” In particular, in the words of its final report, 8 the task force was “charged with
developing recommendations to improve state law, policy, and appropriations guided by the
following objectives:
• Safely reduce placement in detention and residential placement and associated costs.
• Increase the safety and well-being of youth impacted by the juvenile justice system.
• Reduce racial and ethnic disparities among youth impacted by the juvenile justice
system.
• Improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the state’s and counties’ juvenile justice
systems.
• Increase accountability and transparency within the juvenile justice system.
• Better align practices with research and constitutional mandates.”
7
https://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2021-2022/executiveorder/pdf/2021-EO-06.pdf
8
https://micounties.org/wp-content/uploads/Michigan-Taskforce-on-Juvenile-Justice-Reform-Final-Report.pdf
House Fiscal Agency SBs 432, 435, and 436 and HBs 4639, 4640, and 4643 as enacted Page 4 of 5
 The task force issued its final report on July 18, 2022. 9
Among its unanimous recommendations was that the state “Establish an independent
ombudsman, or strengthen and expand an existing entity, for handling, investigating, and
reporting incidents in facilities” and “Establish policies and confidentiality protocols that
support youth/families to make complaints directly to this entity, anonymously, if necessary,
rather than having to go through the facility in which a youth is currently placed.”
FISCAL IMPACT:
Senate Bill 432 would lead to increased costs to the existing Office of Children’s Ombudsman,
or Office of the Child Advocate as proposed under the bill, within the Department of
Technology, Management, and Budget,. The bill would expand the office’s role by including
investigations of complaints from juvenile justice service centers among its responsibilities.
Additional staff would be required to conduct the increased investigations from the expanded
role. The State Budget Office has recommended an additional 8.0 FTE positions to the office
and $1.6 million in general fund revenues in the Executive FY 2023-24 budget to cover the
increased investigations as well as to increase oversight and outreach for youth in the juvenile
justice system.
Senate Bills 435 and 436 and House Bills 4639, 4640, and 4643 would not have a significant
fiscal impact on state expenditures to the Department of Health and Human Services or local
units of government.
Legislative Analyst: Rick Yuille
Fiscal Analysts: Sydney Brown
Michael Cnossen
■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency staff for use by House members in their
deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.
9
https://www.michigan.gov/whitmer/news/press-releases/2022/07/18/task-force-on-juvenile-justice-reform-
approves-blueprint-for-transforming-juvenile-justice
House Fiscal Agency SBs 432, 435, and 436 and HBs 4639, 4640, and 4643 as enacted Page 5 of 5


Statutes affected:
Senate Introduced Bill: 722.627
As Passed by the Senate: 722.627
As Passed by the House: 722.627
Public Act: 722.627
Senate Enrolled Bill: 722.627