Wayne County Friend of the Court’s Outreach Within Reach

By Erin Lincoln, Interim Wayne County Friend of the Court Director and 3rd Circuit Deputy Court Administrator

Imagine navigating a 30-mile route from your home to your county’s friend of the court (FOC) office simply to get your child support questions answered. Could you do so using public transportation? Even with your own vehicle, would you have the money to pay $20 for parking? Do you know which items you can bring into the courthouse? Do you know whether or not you will be arrested when you appear at the FOC to have a question answered? These are uncertainties and fears that many clients of the Wayne County FOC face when seeking answers to their child support questions.

Friend of the Court Employee Seminar January 23-25, 2019

By Michigan Judicial Institute

Michigan Judicial Institute (MJI), in collaboration with the Friend of the Court Bureau (FOCB), is pleased to again offer a three-day seminar for friend of the court (FOC) staff.  You may register to attend day one, two, three, or all three days. 

Positive Office Culture – One Baby Step at a Time

By Carol Montavon Bealor, J.D., Director, Cass County Friend of the Court

In 2013, I left behind my law practice to serve as the attorney referee for the Cass County Friend of the Court (FOC). As you can imagine, I was a little nervous to be joining a new team, taking on a quasi-judicial position making important decisions for families and children. I didn’t know that the director of the Cass County FOC would be going on administrative leave on the first day I was on the job as the attorney referee and that I would be appointed as the new director two short months later.

Child Support Calculations: Self-coverage Cost Deduction

By Hon. Nancy L. Thane, Presiding Judge, Tuscola County Family Division

When the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) individual mandate to maintain health insurance self-coverage became effective in 2014, there was some question of whether or not the cost of coverage should be deducted from a parent’s income when figuring a child support obligation. Some jurisdictions decided that, as a mandatory condition of employment, the cost should be deducted from income, while others decided not to deduct the cost because a parent’s insurance costs were not previously allowed as a deduction when calculating support.

Spock or Simpson? Michigan’s Child Support Program Learns about Behavioral Economics

By Amy Lindholm, Management Analyst, Friend of the Court Bureau

Behavioral science stole the show at Partner Forum this year.

Office of Child Support Director Erin Frisch introduces the topic for Partner Forum 2018.

Child support professionals gathered at the Lansing Hall of Justice from friend of the court and prosecuting attorney offices across the state, as well as the Office of Child Support (OCS) and the SCAO Friend of the Court Bureau. Office of Child Support Director Erin Frisch introduced the day’s keynote speaker as one of her “favorite people in child support” because “he “always has an idea for how to change things and make them better.”

Make Way for Self-Service Reporting!

By Amy Gilmore, Performance Management Specialist, Office of Child Support

Business Objects database users in Michigan Friend of the Court (FOC) offices will soon be enjoying MiCSES case management data at their fingertips. Self-Service Reporting (SSR) is now officially underway with an approved charter.  The goal of the SSR project is to enable FOC workers to create, manage, and share reports of MiCSES data without having to engage central development staff for each report. SSR will help support counties moving to more data-based decision making by allowing them to obtain the data most relevant to them in a timely manner.

2018 Michigan Family Support Council Fall Conference

By Jeanette Miracle-Leshan, Chief Assistant Friend of the Court, Oakland County

The Michigan Family Support Council (MFSC) convened more than 500 child support professionals at its Fall Conference at beautiful Boyne Mountain from October 17 to 19, 2018.

New Google Group for Enforcement

By Paul Gehm, Management Analyst, State Court Administrative Office (SCAO)

Michigan’s child support enforcement professionals have gained a valuable tool and effective way to communicate with each other.  SCAO recently created an Enforcement Google Group to assist Michigan’s IV-D enforcement staff in a forum-type setting to discuss often nuanced and in-depth case scenarios.

Legal Corner - December 2018

"The Legal Corner" provides a summary of recent Michigan Supreme Court and Michigan Court of Appeals decisions relevant to the child support program, as well as recently released state memoranda.