21.5​Confidentiality of Public Wards’ Records

MCL 803.308 provides:

“All records of a youth agency pertaining to a public ward are confidential and shall not be made public except as follows:

(a) If the person is less than 18 years of age, by the agency’s authorization when necessary for the person’s best interests.

(b) If the person is 18 years of age or older, by his or her consent.”

A public ward is either:

•​a youth accepted for care by a youth agency who is at least 12 years of age when committed to the youth agency under MCL 712A.18(1)(e),^[53] if the court acquired jurisdiction over the youth under MCL 712A.2(a) or MCL 712A.2(d), and the act for which the youth is committed occurred before his or her eighteenth birthday, or

•​a youth accepted for care by a youth agency who is at least 14 years old when committed to the youth agency under MCL 769.1,^[54] if the act for which the youth is committed occurred before his or her eighteenth birthday. MCL 803.302(c)(i)-(ii).

A youth agency is either the DHHS or a county juvenile agency,⁵⁵ whichever has responsibility over a public ward. MCL 803.302(d).

MCR 8.119(D) provides, in part:

“Documents and other materials made nonpublic or confidential by court rule, statute, or order of the court [sealing a record] pursuant to [MCR 8.119](I)^[56] must be designated accordingly and maintained to allow only authorized access. In the event of transfer or appeal of a case, every rule, statute, or order of the court under [MCR 8.119](I) that makes a document or other materials in that case nonpublic or confidential applies uniformly to every court in Michigan, irrespective of the court in which the document or other materials were originally filed.”