17.12Effects of Termination of Parental Rights
Parental rights to a child include the rights to custody, control, services, and earnings. See MCL 722.2. See also In re Beck, 488 Mich 6, 14-16 (2010). “[I]f all parental rights to [a] child are terminated, the child [will be] placed in [the] permanent custody of the court.” MCL 712A.19b(1).
If the court terminates parental rights, the court must order that additional efforts for the reunification of the child with the respondent-parent must not be made. MCL 712A.19b(5). The court may then commit the child to the Michigan Children’s Institute (MCI)1 for adoptive planning, supervision, care, and placement.2 See MCL 400.203(1)(a).
Note: See SCAO form JC 63, Order Following Hearing to Terminate Parental Rights, at https://www.courts.michigan.gov/49c114/siteassets/forms/scao-approved/jc63.pdf.
A.Reinstatement of Parental Rights Following Rehearing
Parental rights may be reinstated by a supplemental order of disposition entered after a rehearing under MCL 712A.21(1). MCL 712A.21(1) requires the petition for rehearing to be filed within “20 days of the entry of the order terminating parental rights.”3
Voluntary or involuntary termination of a parent’s parental rights does not automatically terminate the parent’s obligation to provide support for the child; rather, a parent’s “obligation to support the child will continue until a court of competent jurisdiction modifies or terminates the obligation, an order of adoption is entered, or the child is emancipated by operation of law.” See MCR 3.971(B)(5) (requiring that the court advise a parent of this obligation before accepting a plea of admission or no contest); MCR 3.977(J)(1)(e) (requiring that the court advise a parent of this obligation after entry of an order terminating parental rights).
1 “Wherever commitment to the Michigan [C]hildren’s [I]nstitute [(MCI)] is mentioned in any law of this state, it shall be construed to mean commitment to the [DHHS].” MCL 400.204(1).
2 “Within 30 days after an order is made committing a child to the superintendent of the Michigan [C]hildren’s [I]nstitute [(MCI)], the court shall send to the superintendent a certified copy of the petition, the order of disposition in the case, and the report of the physician who examined the child. Upon receipt of the order the superintendent of the [MCI] shall notify the court of the child’s placement[.]” MCL 400.204(1).
3 See Section 12.12 for a detailed discussion of motions for rehearing.