Kent County Friend of the Court Creates Programs to Address Community Concerns

By Dan Fojtik, Director, Kent County Friend of the Court

During the past year, the Kent County Friend of the Court (FOC) experienced important changes starting with the assignment of two sheriff’s deputies to handle child support warrants.  That prompted objections from some community members, voicing concern about deputies making door-to-door arrests in the inner city.

Kent County FOC Responsible Parent Program caseworker Deb Martis
helps a payer navigate job searching at a designated work station.

Members of the community had an opportunity to provide input about alternatives to arrest through discussions held in a community engagement task force whose membership also included county commissioners, county administrators, and 17th Circuit Court judges.  In addition to setting benchmarks and goals for the deputies to resolve most warrants without arrest, we also recognized the need to: (1) better address cases where payers are limited by their ability to pay before noncompliance leads to a bench warrant; and (2) better engage and educate payers proactively about what their support order means, expectations for communication with the office, and services available through the office.

Responsible Parent Program

To help parents struggling to comply with their support order because of limited income, we created the Responsible Parent Program (RPP). We have been deliberate about how to structure this new program. A full-time case manager with prior experience developing partnerships with different agencies and community resources was permanently assigned to the program, which has now grown to two case managers and an assistant.  The second case manager had extensive experience with a previous pilot project – the REACH (Referral for Employment, Asset Development, Cooperation, and Hope) grant project – that ended a few years ago.  Instead of securing a separate grant to fund RPP, we reallocated existing resources and personnel. This reallocation has enabled our office to adapt as needed rather than adhere to the sometimes limiting parameters and timelines of past grant projects.

Kent County FOC's RPP staff: (left to right)
Lisa Peterson, Deb Martis, and Juan Rosario.

Launched in August 2016, RPP has established partnerships with over 30 agencies and employers.  The goal of the RPP is to place 75 percent of those who complete the program into jobs.  In its first two years, 53 percent of those accepted into the program reported employment following their initial appointment with the case manager, 41 percent met their court-ordered obligation, and 67.5 percent made some payment.  These are cases where little to no payment was being made before participation in the program.

To be eligible for the program, parents must meet the following criteria:

• Unemployed or underemployed;
• Reside in Kent County;
• Able to work (and no substance or alcohol dependency);
• No pending child support-related felony warrant; 
• Expressing interest in voluntary participation.

There are important differences in the eligibility criteria of this program as compared to past programs. We have learned that some barriers to paying child support are too great for our child support staff to tackle through service referrals – such as substance and alcohol dependency. Experience also taught us to seek out payers who are already demonstrating motivation to change their situation.

Once admitted to the program, the case manager schedules an appointment with the participant to determine job readiness and appropriate referrals for job placement, whether the support order is based on the parent’s current ability to pay, and to offer information about parenting time issues.  The payer’s driver’s license may also be reinstated if it was previously suspended for non-payment of support.  RPP has partnered with a number of agencies and employers, and holds special outreaches and regular office hours in the community. Some of the key partner agencies include: Goodwill-Achieve Program; 70 x 7 Life Recovery; West MI Works!; and the Guiding Light Mission – the Job Post.

To assist payers with job searches, three work spaces with computer terminals and internet access are available.  Payers can update their resume, check out the large bulletin board for available employment, and follow through on job referrals.
In cases where a participant is interested in establishing a specific parenting time order or modifying the existing order, the caseworker assesses if the case is appropriate for mediation or facilitated parenting time.  This will sometimes include contacting the custodial parent.  If neither is appropriate, the participant is given information about the option to pursue a motion.

Early Engagement Program

Other community feedback led us to create a second program, the Early Engagement Program (EEP).  Launched in June 2017, the goal of this program is to quickly engage payers who have a new support order, especially orders obtained by default.  If unable to readily contact the payer by telephone, the worker will attempt to locate and engage through e-mail, regular mail, and sometimes even social media (through a distinct court employee account).  This is a significant change from former practice when the first engagement with nonresponsive payers was often at a show cause hearing or resolution of a bench warrant.

Kent County FOC’s Early Engagement Program worker Renee Evans-Lewis
makes contact with payers by phone when the office receives a new support order.

The response from payers of support to EEP has been overwhelmingly positive.  Most importantly, they are given a clear explanation of what obligations and rights are outlined in their order. Payers are also introduced to various friend of the court services available, including the opportunity to mediate parenting time orders if the custodial parent is willing to participate. These conversations aim to answer all the questions that new payers have, and refer the case to the assigned case manager if they want to schedule an in-person appointment.

Although some of the EEP phone calls can be quite lengthy, it is time well-invested at the beginning of the case, and it helps form a more positive perception of the friend of the court.  Other benefits of the early case attention include obtaining new information about the payer’s current address, employment/income, and other relevant factors. If the call reveals that the initial order was based on incorrect or outdated facts, the case can be referred immediately for a support review.

We are excited to find out over time whether our new specialized case management and early engagement techniques result in greater compliance with court orders. For more information about our new programs, please feel free to contact me at Dan.Fojtik@kentcountymi.gov.


Dan Fojtik is Director of the Kent County Friend of the Court. He previously served as Staff Attorney for 16 years.  He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Grand Valley State University and a Juris Doctor degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School.