Sec. 5.

(1) Except as provided in subsection (3), the county from which the public ward is committed is liable to the state for 50% of the cost of his or her care, but this amount may be reduced by the use of funds from the annual original foster care grant of the state to the county, or otherwise, for any period in respect to which the department has made a finding that the county is unable to bear 50% of the cost of care. If the department reduces a county’s liability under this section, the director shall inform the respective chairpersons of the appropriations committees of the senate and house of representatives at least 14 days before granting the reduction. The county of residence of the public ward is liable to the state, rather than the county from which the youth was committed, if the juvenile division of the probate court or the family division of circuit court of the county of residence withheld consent to a transfer of proceedings under section 2 of chapter XIIA of 1939 PA 288, MCL 712A.2, as determined by the department. The finding that the county is unable to bear 50% of the expense shall be based on a study of the financial resources and necessary expenditures of the county made by the department.

(2) The department shall determine the cost of care on a per diem basis using the initial annual allotment of appropriations for the current fiscal year exclusive of capital outlay and the projected occupancy figures upon which that allotment was based. That cost of care applies in determining required reimbursement to the state for care provided during the calendar year immediately following the beginning of the current fiscal year for which the state expenditures were allotted.

(3) A county that is a county juvenile agency is liable for the entire cost of a public ward’s care while he or she is committed to the county juvenile agency.

History: 1974, Act 150, Imd. Eff. June 12, 1974 ;– Am. 1980, Act 305, Eff. Dec. 19, 1980 ;– Am. 1984, Act 325, Imd. Eff. Dec. 26, 1984 ;– Am. 1996, Act 417, Eff. Jan. 1, 1998 ;– Am. 1998, Act 517, Imd. Eff. Jan. 12, 1999