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| Juan Rosario |
One dad whose story sticks with me is Deante.* When he first came in for an appointment to tell me about why he hadn’t been paying his support, he was really irritated with the friend of the court, and he didn’t trust me to help him.
He was well-spoken and told me about his dream job and the training he had done to get that job. But he had a felony on his record now, didn’t have housing, and didn’t get along with the mom on his case.
His case had been charging almost $700 per month, and he had only made a couple small payments. He said he had given up: “All I wanted to do, I gave it up.” His support order was based on his pre-felony earnings, so I started a support review to right-size support.
Something struck me about how Deante talked about his old dream job. I referred him to a transitional work program available through Goodwill. He was able to get full-time hours and more, but at minimum wage. It wasn’t a smooth transition. He struggled at first with attendance because he did not have reliable transportation. My contact at the Goodwill program asked if I thought they should keep Deante on. I asked them to give him another chance. Deante started showing leadership qualities in his work. When there was an opening for a lead position, Deante interviewed for it. He did great and he got the job. I talked to him after that, and he was proud of his accomplishments as a lead worker. He told me that he hadn’t realized how negative he had been before. I could tell that now he had confidence in himself; he finally had something of his own that he accomplished. Now he’s working on getting his own housing, too.
*Name changed to protect confidentiality.
I like to go the extra step and help people out, but it is not always easy. Trying to make employment work with Deante almost drained me. He was so negative in the beginning that I remember telling him before his first interview with the Goodwill program, “Man, you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.” Now for the first time in his case, Deante is earning enough to pay his full monthly obligation.
Introducing The Pundit's newest column
Whatever position we hold in the IV-D world, it can sometimes feel that we are all chasing dollars in some way or another. A child’s livelihood, a parent’s ability to care for a child, and even our offices’ ability to provide services can all be measured in cash. But beyond the numbers, every case is a story of a real family’s unique challenges, struggles, and sometimes because of our help...successes. These stories play out across Michigan, and child support professionals see them every day where they work and where they live.What stories motivate you? Submit your Beyond the Numbers article for the chance to share it with your colleagues across the state in the next Pundit edition.
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