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| Boyne Highlands Resort, fall conference site. |
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| Sheila Waldrop |
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| Pam Sala |
Pam Sala is currently the Chief Assistant Friend of the Court for Administrative Operations with Oakland County’s Friend of the Court office. She has also worked for Wayne County’s Friend of the Court and as a trainer for state-wide implementation of the MiCSES system. These experiences bring her a total of 27 years with the Michigan child support program. Sala is currently serving as the MFSC Program Chair, and she sees the fall conference as important because “it fills a void that the state can’t fill elsewhere because of funding constraints.”
Conference Agenda. This year’s conference will feature about 40 different workshops on topics ranging from the child support calculator, intergovernmental casework, leadership, and custody and parenting time. The conference opens on Wednesday, October 4th, with keynote speaker Linda Larsen. Also speaking at the conference are Erin Frisch, Director of the Office of Child Support, and Steve Capps, Director of the Friend of the Court Bureau.
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| Keynote speaker Linda Larsen |
You can look forward to having some fun between workshop sessions, including dancing, a photo booth, a coloring contest, euchre, and a silent auction with proceeds benefitting Ele’s Place – a healing center for grieving children and teens.
Scholarships & Volunteering. If you have never been to the conference, we hope you will consider attending this year! If the conference cost is an issue, there are scholarships available to cover the cost of conference registration and lodgings. Note that all scholarship recipients are obligated to volunteer at the conference. For those of you who have an urge to contribute or give back, MFSC is always looking for more conference volunteers to help manage the registration process, silent auction, and other tasks.
Awards Nominations. Did you know that MFSC gives out awards for outstanding child support professionals at the fall conference? Nominations are open until September 2, 2017, for a management and staff position from each agency: Friend of the Court, Prosecuting Attorney, and Office of Child Support. Many people are not aware that you can also nominate someone outside of your own agency. Sometimes we might feel that we are working thankless jobs – here’s a chance to give recognition to those who go above and beyond!
Why should you be excited about attending the conference? As child support professionals all across the state and working for different agencies, we often find ourselves unaware of how our work on a given case impacts a later action by a different agency, or why a case came to us in a certain condition. We also may not be aware of different methods used in other counties to accomplish the same task. And how often do most of us have the opportunity to mingle with program leadership? The fall conference provides a setting to meet your counterparts in other offices, learn about and discuss current challenges, and have some fun with your new acquaintances! When asked why she dedicates so much time and energy to MFSC as a volunteer, Pam Sala replied without hesitation, “The people.” Sheila Waldrop immediately echoed the sentiment, “I have to agree.” Waldrop added that the conference is “an opportunity to network outside of your 9 to 5.”
The deadline to register at the discounted rate is September 23, 2017 – don’t miss it!
Scholarships & Volunteering. If you have never been to the conference, we hope you will consider attending this year! If the conference cost is an issue, there are scholarships available to cover the cost of conference registration and lodgings. Note that all scholarship recipients are obligated to volunteer at the conference. For those of you who have an urge to contribute or give back, MFSC is always looking for more conference volunteers to help manage the registration process, silent auction, and other tasks.
Awards Nominations. Did you know that MFSC gives out awards for outstanding child support professionals at the fall conference? Nominations are open until September 2, 2017, for a management and staff position from each agency: Friend of the Court, Prosecuting Attorney, and Office of Child Support. Many people are not aware that you can also nominate someone outside of your own agency. Sometimes we might feel that we are working thankless jobs – here’s a chance to give recognition to those who go above and beyond!
Why should you be excited about attending the conference? As child support professionals all across the state and working for different agencies, we often find ourselves unaware of how our work on a given case impacts a later action by a different agency, or why a case came to us in a certain condition. We also may not be aware of different methods used in other counties to accomplish the same task. And how often do most of us have the opportunity to mingle with program leadership? The fall conference provides a setting to meet your counterparts in other offices, learn about and discuss current challenges, and have some fun with your new acquaintances! When asked why she dedicates so much time and energy to MFSC as a volunteer, Pam Sala replied without hesitation, “The people.” Sheila Waldrop immediately echoed the sentiment, “I have to agree.” Waldrop added that the conference is “an opportunity to network outside of your 9 to 5.”
The deadline to register at the discounted rate is September 23, 2017 – don’t miss it!
