Legislative Analysis
Phone: (517) 373-8080
GUARDIANSHIP ASSISTANCE
http://www.house.mi.gov/hfa
House Bill 6025 as reported from committee Analysis available at
Sponsor: Rep. Stephanie A. Young http://www.legislature.mi.gov
Committee: Families, Children and Seniors
Complete to 12-7-24
SUMMARY:
The bill would amend the Guardianship Assistance Act to allow a child to be placed with
relatives who are not licensed foster parents but have been approved by the Department of
Health and Human Services (DHHS).
Relative
Currently, whenever used in the act, the term relative means an individual who is at least 18
years old and is either of the following:
• Related to the child within the fifth degree by blood, marriage or adoption, including
the spouse of an individual related to the child within the fifth degree, even after the
marriage has ended by death or divorce, the parent who shares custody of a half-sibling,
and the parent of a man whom the court has found probable cause to believe is the
putative father if there is no man with legally established rights to the child.
• Not related to a child within the fifth degree by blood, marriage, or adoption but who
has a strong positive emotional tie or role in the child’s life or the child’s parent’s life
if the child is an infant, as defined by the department or, if the child is an Indian child,
as determined by the Indian child’s tribe.
The bill would additionally require the individual to have been approved for foster care
placement to be considered a relative for purposes of the act.
Prospective guardian
Currently, a prospective guardian (an individual seeking guardianship of a child if an order
appointing that guardianship has not been finalized by the court) may receive guardianship
assistance on behalf of an eligible child if all of the following requirements are met:
• The prospective guardian is the eligible child’s relative or legal custodian.
• The prospective guardian is a licensed foster parent and approved for guardianship
assistance by DHHS. 1
• The eligible child has resided with the prospective guardian in the prospective
guardian’s residence for a minimum of six months before the application for
guardianship assistance is received by DHHS.
The bill would remove the provision that allows a legal custodian to be a prospective guardian
and would allow a prospective guardian to be either the child’s relative or a licensed foster
parent (rather than, as now, requiring a prospective guardian to be a child’s relative or legal
custodian and a licensed foster parent).
1
Under both current law and the bill, the approval process must include criminal record checks and child abuse and
child neglect central registry checks on the guardian, all successor guardians, and all adults living in the guardian’s or
successor guardian’s home as well as submission of the guardian’s or successor guardian’s fingerprints to the
department of state police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a criminal history check.
House Fiscal Agency Page 1 of 3
 Under the bill, then, a prospective guardian could be approved by DHHS for guardianship
assistance on behalf of an eligible child if the child has resided with the prospective guardian
in their residence for a minimum of six months before the application for guardianship
assistance is received by DHHS and either of the following criteria is met:
• The prospective guardian is the eligible child’s relative.
• The prospective guardian is a licensed foster parent.
Guardianship assistance
Currently, only a relative who is a licensed foster parent caring for a child who is eligible to
receive Title IV-E-funded foster care payments for six consecutive months after licensure of
the family is eligible for federal funding under Title IV-E for guardianship assistance. A child
who is not eligible for Title IV-E funding who is placed with a licensed foster parent, related
or unrelated, and who meets the requirements of section 3(1)(a) to (e) of the act 2 may be eligible
for state-funded guardianship assistance.
The bill would revise these provisions, notably removing the requirement that relatives be
licensed foster parents from the first sentence, adding placement with relatives to the second
sentence, and removing the “related or unrelated” qualifier of licensed foster parents from the
second sentence. (In short, under the bill, relatives would not be required to be licensed foster
parents, but they would require approval as described in the bill’s definition of relative.)
Under the bill, then, a relative who cares for an eligible Title IV-E funded child in an approved
or licensed foster parent home for six consecutive months after relative approval or licensure
would be eligible for federal funding under Title IV-E for guardianship assistance when the
eligibility criteria are met. A child who is not eligible for Title IV-E funding who is placed with
relative or a child placed with a licensed foster parent, regardless of Title IV-E eligibility, and
who meets the requirements of section 3(1)(a) to (e) could be eligible for state-funded
guardianship assistance.
MCL 722.872 and MCL 722.874
FISCAL IMPACT:
House Bill 6025 would increase costs for the Department of Health and Human Services and
local units of government by an indeterminate amount. The fiscal impact of the bills would be
dependent on an increased number of relatives who become juvenile guardians as well as an
increase in the number of children placed under guardianship. Licensed foster parents,
unlicensed relative caregivers, adoptive parents, and juvenile guardians receive a daily
maintenance rate based on the age of the child placed in their care. Currently, caregivers of
children aged 0-12 are paid a maintenance rate of $22.35 per day. Caregivers of children aged
13-18 receive a maintenance payment of $26.69 per day. Caregivers may also receive
additional funds through determination of care (DOC) payments for children who require
additional care. Funding for daily maintenance payments comes from a combination of state,
federal title IV-E, federal TANF, and local funds. A federal rule change now allows unlicensed
relatives to receive federal title IV-E funding. If a child is not eligible to receive federal Title
IV-E funded maintenance payments, they may still be eligible to receive state funded
maintenance payments which would further increase state expenditures. A savings of $10.0
million GF/GP was included in the FY 2024-25 budget to account for the federal rule change.
2
https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-722-873
House Fiscal Agency HB 6025 as reported from committee Page 2 of 3
POSITIONS:
A representative of the Department of Health and Human Services testified in support of the
bill. (11-12-24)
Michigan Poverty Law indicated support for the bill. (11-12-24)
Legislative Analyst: E. Best
Fiscal Analyst: Sydney Brown
■ 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.
House Fiscal Agency HB 6025 as reported from committee Page 3 of 3


Statutes affected:
Substitute (H-1): 722.872, 722.874
House Introduced Bill: 722.872, 722.874
As Passed by the House: 722.872, 722.874