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.
A Google Group is a web-based forum hosted on Google’s browser. This setting allows users to post questions (non IV-D information), answers, and search through prior topics. Before the Enforcement Google Group, there was no other organized way for enforcement staff to communicate with one another on enforcement-related topics. The Google Group settings allow past topics and posts to be saved, tagged (with topical keywords), and searched. The Google Group is a secure site, with limited membership (by request only); once your role as a IV-D professional is confirmed, you may gain access.
The Enforcement Google Group has four moderators: Shannon Kapala, of Ottawa County Friend of the Court; Laura Keeth, of Macomb County Friend of the Court; Bill Bartels, of SCAO; and Paul Gehm, of SCAO. The moderators have the ability to approve new members of the group, and they can mark certain answers as “best answers.” Any IV-D professional can become a member of the Google Group, although the group primarily targets enforcement staff. If you would like to join the Google Group, e-mail Paul Gehm at GehmP@courts.mi.gov.
Paul Gehm is a management analyst at SCAO's Friend of the Court Bureau (FOCB). He earned his undergraduate degree at Calvin College and his law degree at Valparaiso University School of Law in Indiana. He previously worked as a Departmental Analyst in the Executive Division of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and in the DHHS Legislative Liaison Office. Paul's projects at FOCB are primarily in the areas of child support enforcement and the Michigan Child Support Formula.
