Michigan Senate Bill SB0035

Michigan 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/4/25
• Refer: 2/4/25

Caption

Children: child abuse or child neglect; mandatory reporting of certain events at birth of a child; modify. Amends sec. 3a of 1975 PA 238 (MCL 722.623a).

Summary

Senate Bill 35 would amend Michigan’s Child Protection Law to change how newborns exposed to alcohol or controlled substances at birth are handled by mandatory reporters. The bill requires a report to the Department of Health and Human Services when a newborn is shown to have any amount of alcohol, a controlled substance, or a metabolite in the infant’s body, and directs the department to develop a plan of safe care for the infant and parents. The plan must address needs during and after pregnancy and may be coordinated with the hospital where the child was born. The bill also clarifies when a report is and is not required. A notification must still be made even if the substance exposure resulted from medical treatment given to the birth parent, but a report is not required if the only basis is the presence or suspicion of a substance in the newborn’s body. A report is required only when the newborn is affected by a substance and the infant’s health or welfare is threatened by the parent’s substance abuse. The bill further exempts cases where the substance or symptoms are known to result from medical treatment administered to the newborn or birth parent.

Impact

SB0035 would amend MCL 722.623a in Michigan’s Child Protection Law, narrowing and clarifying mandatory reporting rules for substance exposure at birth. It would shift the focus from automatic abuse/neglect reporting based solely on a positive substance finding or suspicion to a more specific standard tied to the newborn’s health or welfare, while still requiring notification to the department and a safe-care response. The bill would affect mandatory reporters, hospitals, child welfare agencies, and families of newborns with prenatal substance exposure, and it aligns state practice with federal CAPTA safe-care planning requirements.

Sentiment

Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee testimony or votes, the overall sentiment appears procedural and policy-driven rather than overtly partisan. The bill is framed as a child-protection measure that preserves reporting and intervention for at-risk newborns while reducing unnecessary reports in cases involving medical treatment or isolated substance findings. The structure suggests an effort to balance child safety, family support, and clearer reporting standards.

Contention

The main point of contention is likely the threshold for mandatory reporting: whether any substance exposure at birth should trigger a child abuse/neglect report, or whether a report should be limited to cases where the infant’s health or welfare is actually threatened by parental substance abuse. Another likely issue is the treatment of medically administered substances, since the bill excludes reports when exposure is known to result from legitimate medical treatment to the newborn or birth parent. Supporters would likely emphasize clarity, safe-care planning, and avoiding unnecessary child welfare referrals, while critics may worry that narrowing reporting could miss some at-risk infants.