October 16, 2013, Introduced by Rep. Heise and referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
A bill to amend 1970 PA 91, entitled
"Child custody act of 1970,"
(MCL 722.21 to 722.31) by adding section 7c.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 7c. (1) A parenting coordinator is a person appointed by
the court for a specified term to help implement the parenting time
orders of the court and to help resolve parenting disputes that
fall within the scope of the parenting coordinator's appointment.
(2) The court may enter an order appointing a parenting
coordinator if the parties and the parenting coordinator agree to
the appointment. In a case involving domestic violence, the court
shall ensure that the order provides adequate protection to the
victim of domestic violence.
(3) The order appointing a parenting coordinator shall include
all of the following:
(a) An acknowledgment that the parenting coordinator is
neutral; that the parenting coordinator may have ex parte
communications with the parties, their attorneys, and third
parties; that communications with the parenting coordinator are not
privileged or confidential; and that by agreeing to the order, the
parties are giving the parenting coordinator authority to make
recommendations regarding disputes.
(b) A specific duration of the appointment. The order shall
provide that the parenting coordinator may resign at any time due
to nonpayment of his or her fee. The order may include a provision
for extension of the parenting coordinator's term by consent of the
parties for specific periods of time.
(c) An explanation of the costs of the parenting coordinator,
and each party's responsibility for those costs, including any
required retainer and fees for any required court appearances. The
order may include a provision allowing the parenting coordinator to
allocate specific costs to 1 party for cause.
(d) The scope of the parenting coordinator's duties. These may
include any of the following:
(i) Transportation and transfers of the child between parents.
(ii) Vacation and holiday schedules and implementation.
(iii) Daily routines.
(iv) Activities and recreation.
(v) Discipline.
(vi) Health care management, including determining and
recommending appropriate medical and mental health evaluation and
treatment, including psychotherapy, substance abuse and domestic
violence treatment or counseling, and parenting classes, for the
child and the parents. The parenting coordinator shall designate
whether any recommended counseling is or is not confidential. The
parenting coordinator can recommend how any health care provider is
chosen.
(vii) School-related issues.
(viii) Alterations in the parenting schedule, as long as the
basic time-sharing arrangement is not changed by more than a
specified number of days per month.
(ix) Phase in provision of court orders.
(x) Participation of other persons in parenting time.
(xi) Child care and babysitting issues.
(xii) Any other matters submitted to the parenting coordinator
jointly by the parties before his or her appointment expires.
(e) Authorization for the parenting coordinator to have all of
the following:
(i) Reasonable access to the child.
(ii) Notice of all proceedings, including requests for
examinations affecting the child.
(iii) Access to any therapist of any of the parties or the
child.
(iv) Access to school, medical, and activity records.
(v) Copies of all evaluations and psychological test results
performed on any child or any parent, custodian, guardian, or other
person living in the parent's households, including, but not
limited to, friend of the court reports and psychological
evaluations.
(vi) Access to the child's principal, teachers, and teachers'
aides.
(vii) The right to interview the parties, attorneys, or the
child in any combination, and to exclude any party or attorney from
an interview.
(viii) The right to interview or communicate with any other
person the parenting coordinator considers relevant to resolve an
issue or to provide information and counsel to promote the best
interests of the child.
(f) The dispute resolution process that will be used by the
parenting coordinator, explaining how the parenting coordinator
will make recommendations on issues and the effect to be given to
those recommendations. The process must ensure that both parties
have an opportunity to be heard on issues under consideration by
the parenting coordinator and an opportunity to respond to relevant
allegations against them before a recommendation is made. The
parties may agree that on specific types of issues they must follow
a parenting coordinator's recommendations until modified by the
court.
(4) The court may terminate the appointment of the parenting
coordinator if the court finds that the appointment is no longer
helpful to the court in resolving parenting disputes.
(5) The parenting coordinator may resign at any time, with
notice to the parties and to the court. If the court finds that a
party has refused to pay its share of the parenting coordination
costs as a means to force the parenting coordinator to resign, the
court may use contempt sanctions to enforce payment of the
parenting coordinator's fee.
(6) The parenting coordinator is immune from civil liability
for an injury to a person or damage to property if he or she is
acting within the scope of his or her authority as parenting
coordinator.
(7) The parenting coordinator shall make his or her
recommendations in writing and provide copies of the recommendation
to the parties in the manner specified in the parenting
coordination order. If a party attaches the recommendation to a
motion or other filing, the court may read and consider the
recommendation, but the recommendation is not evidence unless the
parties stipulate that it is.
(8) The court may allow the testimony of the parenting
coordinator if the court finds the testimony useful to the
resolution of a pending dispute. The parenting coordinator shall
not testify regarding statements received from a child involved in
the parenting coordination if the parenting coordinator believes
the disclosure would damage the child's relationship with 1 of the
parties.
(9) The state court administrative office shall develop
standards for the qualifications and training of parenting
coordinators. Parenting coordinators must complete the training
within 2 years of the promulgation of the standards described in
this subsection.