chasfm11 wrote:There is another interesting question: where does the State get the authority to decide who raises a family member? In the past custodial care was often worked out among family members. While I can see that in the cases abandoned or completely orphaned children, some help may be needed to find an alternative. But churches and other institutions have always played a role in these matters and in many other countries today, play the primary role. It wasn't until the 18th century that the State really seemed to do more than provide funding. Then the birth of State run orphanages and the horrors of them lead to the dismantling of the physical institutions but governments seem to want a larger and larger share of the control in the process.
The recent news articles about the UK and the denial of medical support for the allegedly terminal infant should be a reminder of the grow of this power. The underlying theme of the OP is that the State knows better what is better for the child than the grandparents. We see CPS in Texas with the same mentality in the licensing of day care facilities. It isn't just the court and the judge with this mindset.
The article doesn't say, but my best guess is, that the child in question, was probably already in the system as a foster child. I don't know how Michigan agencies are set up, but here in Texas, if it was a simple case of a child moving in with grandparents, the only agency involved, would be child protective services, where they would do an investigation, and not remove the child unless there were extenuating circumstances. Since they have described this as a foster care issue, I am just assuming that the child was removed, from the home, placed in foster care, and the grandparents applied to be his/her foster parents. That's why it went to court. The odd thing to me, is that rather than just apply for full guardianship, they went through the foster care system, which, pays the foster parents a stipend for the care of the child. Full guardianship, or adoption, doesn't pay them. I know that if it were my grandchild, I would simply take over guardianship, which gives me full parental rights. Of course this is all conjecture since, the article, leaves out a lot of detail, and again, Michigan agencies, may differ from those here. JMHO
