Social media is a valuable tool for support specialists, prosecutors, and friend of the court investigators. Social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, have been used as effective means to locate parents and to clarify information received from parties.
Nicole Summers, a mediator and evaluator at Kent County Friend of the Court, said, “Facebook has been used to help the custodial parent search for the other parent. It is a great tool to identify the person, his or her location, employment status, and to confirm identification by photographs."
Summers added that social media is used to “investigate certain claims, allegations, or concerns the parties raise during the initial meeting. Doing this helps to confirm a variety of issues, such as relationship status, extra-curricular activities (drug use, partying, etc.), and the parties’ residence.”
An online investigation system, CLEAR, is used by support specialists and the “locate team” members at the Office of Child Support (OCS). This system is used to verify the information posted on Facebook. Support specialist, Anita Smith, uses social media and CLEAR to verify the parent’s name, birthdate, city, and state during the interview. Facebook is a great tool if the parent uses his or her legal name. However, if the parent uses a nickname on Facebook, that presents a challenge. The other parent can usually provide information about the party’s use of different aliases to assist in the search or find the parent through mutual friends on Facebook. CLEAR, however, is often more effective because the two parents may not be friends on social media.
CLEAR can help support specialists find a parent’s legal name and date of birth. Smith stated she takes information from Facebook and verifies it through CLEAR. Facebook can also be effective when the custodial parent does not cooperate, provides false information, is unsure about the information, or denies information about the noncustodial parent. Smith searches the noncustodial parent online, prints pictures from his or her Facebook profile for identification purposes, and sends it to the prosecutors so that the child support case can be started.
While other outlets such as Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter are available and may provide insight about a parent’s lifestyle, Smith does not find these as helpful because people tend to include more information on Facebook. Overall, social media and other technology provide support specialists with information to begin their search or confirm information.
Prosecutor Jennifer Granzow has used social media to help locate and gather information on parties for establishment and enforcement of a case. Granzow stated that although people exaggerate their personal information on social media, it is a good starting point to investigate a party’s assets and employment. Social media is helpful to locate people who have routine contact with the party to find out where the party resides. In other instances, Facebook can also be used as confirmation that parties have been in contact.
Summers finds social media quite helpful in other ways, including when she prepares reports and makes recommendations for custody and parenting time. The information from Facebook and other sites will help strengthen and add to Summers’ parenting time recommendations. Social media is very useful as it “helps me figure out if a party is employed and where. Social media can be a very useful tool in preparing reports and recommendations for custody and parenting time, as well as with child support calculations,” she explains.
Social media is also beneficial to confirm support determinations. For example, a party might post a picture of a new car or vacation pictures. This helps to look at the lifestyle and determine ability to pay for show cause hearings or for imputation of potential income.
Social media outlets aid specialists in various stages throughout the child support case. Facebook can potentially help child support professionals find out the following information: birthdates, pictures of drug use, or other improper activities, employment information, location information, and sometimes posts indicating a party’s intentions and feelings about the other party.
For more information, contact Paul Gehm at gehmp@courts.mi.gov.
