Michigan father faces jail over child he does not have custody of

(CBS DETROIT) – An Okemos father could be facing jail time if he refuses to pick up his child from a mental health facility, but the twist that is confusing the Smith family is the father’s legal relationship with that child.

“I feel like it’s kind of a weird thing, but it feels like a witch hunt,” said Tammi Smith.

Tammi Smith and her husband Robert are in a frustrating situation in Shiawassee County.

“Very frustrating as a person who just wants to get my daughter taken care of and give her the help that she needs,” said Robert Smith.

The problem, according to the couple, is that Robert Smith’s daughter is in a mental health crisis.

The Smiths say that violent outbursts have landed the child in various temporary placement facilities, but the outcome remains the same.

“She has several interviews with placements and every time they come back rejected because of her violent offenses,” Robert Smith said.

“Every place they put her, she’s been violent. She was in a foster home, and she tried to take the foster mom’s baby out of her arms to harm her, things like that,” Tammi Smith said. “In Washtenaw County, she was in there and she took a chair to somebody … She’s threatened to kill all of us numerous times, her mother as well. People that she’s met in the center she’s at and I fully believe she’s capable of doing it. I mean, it just takes the right situation.”

Robert Smith says when it comes to a solution he was told by the state to try to find a placement through his insurance carrier.

“All they can use for the state is Medicaid. And so they’re limited, and I’m calling centers, and I’m doing all this stuff,” he said.

He says he’s been on the phone for hours a day but to no avail because of yet another major hurdle in front of him.

“I’m expending all these resources, which I’m more than willing to do because it’s my daughter. I take ownership of that. But I’m not the custodial parent,” he said.

He does not have custody of his daughter. He says the child’s mother maintained full custody until recently. Right now, the child is a ward of the state.

“I’m not the one who has any say. We talked to somebody on the phone, and they’re like, ‘Oh, well, I really can’t tell you very much because you’re not the one who’s in custody.’ Because the state actually has custody of my daughter right now,” he said. But I’m trying, I’m doing it like door shut, door shut, door shut, door shut. And they had a court that says you’re not trying to help your daughter, you’re guilty of neglect. How do you square those two with each other?”

If Robert Smith is unable to find a placement and refuses to take her home with him, he could be charged with abuse and neglect and face jail time.

“I feel like I’m under attack. And rightfully so. This court is not only treating me like the problem. They’re saying I’m the solution. To take her into my home. And then I’m going to wave a magic wand and this is not going to hurt anybody. She’s not going to do any violent offenses. But I’m the problem with the abuse and neglect. But I’m also the solution. How do you square that?” he said.

We reached out to Shiawassee County Court about the Smith case and heard back from presiding Judge Thomas Dignan. 

When asked about Robert Smith’s claims that he has been unable to enter a plea in the case against him and cannot access medical and court documents pertaining to the child, Dignan said any parent can “can surrender their parental rights” as long as they haven’t committed any abuse.

“If one parent has chosen to do that and the other has not, the remaining parent has the child or children placed with him/her. A parent can not choose not to be a primary parent and be free from the duties of DHHS. Any parent subject to a petition can plea at any time.”

Dignan says a parent is entitled to medical and court records but may have to file a court order due to HIPPA.

“The well-known reality is that resources for mental health, especially juvenile mental health, are lacking state-wide,” he added.

We sent a follow-up message noting the discrepancy between what the judge explained in comparison to what the Smiths say they’re experiencing but did not receive a response. 

“I think what you got is you got a group of people who probably when they first started, their job was like, ‘I’m gonna go out and change a system, I’m gonna help these wonderful kids.’ And then they’re just so frustrated that the goalpost doesn’t ever move because the system is broken. And they’re like, ‘I’m gonna start. I have to find somebody to blame.’ So they’re going after the parents. It’s an easy thing to do. But it’s not the right thing to do,” Robert Smith said.

“I don’t have custody. And I’m just a person with visitation and pretty much paying my child support. And I’m trying to be an active participant in this, getting up out of my chair, going to try to find these records. And then I get stonewalled at every turn. None of this is helping. 

“She’s sitting in the center waiting for there to be some kind of progress to give her the help that she needs. I’m fighting them with one hand, I’m trying to get her help with the other. I just want to get her the help that she needs no matter what it takes. And I’ve got to fight them off. And I can’t give them her my 100% resources that she needs because the courts are just after me for nothing.”