There are two types of guardianship that can be granted under Mille Lacs Band Statutes, emergency and general guardianship. In an emergency guardianship the Court may appoint an emergency guardian for the purpose of providing a temporary placement for a child. An emergency guardianship order is issued for up to a period of 180 days. A general guardianship is granted when the Court finds by clear and convincing evidence that a child is in need of a placement that is not with the parents. Under both types of guardianship types the parents and family shall be granted liberal visitation unless the Court deems that visitation is inappropriate. A third-party guardianship is when a grandparent is seeking guardianship of their grandchild. In these types of guardianship, the grandparents are subject to the same requirements as a guardian as listed below.

A person seeking guardianship of a child may file for guardianship. A child of age 14 or older may file for themselves. Any person may file on behalf of the child seeking a guardianship.

A guardian must be a person who is willing to submit to a Department of Human Services Background review. A guardian must not have been convicted of any crimes of homicide or attempted homicide, rape, sexual assault, molestation, exploitation, offenses committed against a child; must nor have been convicted in the last five years of physical assault, battery, spousal abuse, or drug related offenses. If the proposed guardian has been diagnosed with a mental health illness that will affect their ability to fulfill the duties of a guardian the Court will not grant guardianship. If the guardian has had any chemical dependency issues within the past ten years may be required to submit to a chemical assessment and proof sobriety and relapse preventive services before the Court will grant guardianship to them.

If you are seeking guardianship, please contact BMLS at 320-532-7798 to complete an intake for services.