Child Protection Law — Child Neglect Definition

Current understanding

Michigan’s Child Protection Law (1975 PA 238, MCL 722.621 et seq.) defines child abuse and child neglect for purposes of mandatory reporting, CPS investigation, and central registry listing. HB5163 (103rd Legislature) would amend section 2 (MCL 722.622) to add exceptions to the statutory definition of child neglect, narrowing what conduct or circumstances qualify. The bill has been introduced. Families potentially affected by CPS investigation or registry listing are the primary population impacted by definitional changes.

Evidence log

• 2026-08-27 — Children: child abuse or child neglect; initial screening for suspected child abuse and neglect cases; require. Amends sec. 3 of 1975 PA 238 (MCL 722.623).: cross-connection with child-abuse-neglect-screening: Both bills amend the Child Protection Law (1975 PA 238) — one adds an initial screening requirement, the other adjusts the neglect definition. (novelty: 2)
• 2026-06-23 — Children: child abuse or child neglect; priority of reports made by school employees; require. Amends sec. 3 of 1975 PA 238 (MCL 722.623).: SB1059 amends a different section of the same Child Protection Law (1975 PA 238) — sec. 3 (MCL 722.623) on mandatory reporting — to require priority handling for reports from school employees, complementing the neglect-definition amendments at sec. 2. (novelty: 2)
• 2025-10-29 — Children: child abuse or child neglect; exceptions to the definition of child neglect; provide. Amends sec. 2 of 1975 PA 238 (MCL 722.622).: cross-connection with child-abuse-neglect-prevention-act: The Child Protection Law (1975 PA 238) defines abuse/neglect and governs reporting/CPS response, while the Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Act (1982 PA 250) funds community prevention programs — HB5163 narrows the definitional trigger that ultimately feeds cases into the system prevention programs try to reduce. (novelty: 2)

Open questions

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