Thursday, December 20, 2018

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.

The average median household income in Wayne County is $43,464, and the average median household income in Detroit is $28,099.[1] Approximately 14 percent of Wayne County households and 25 percent of Detroit households do not include a vehicle.[2] Car insurance costs 45 percent more in Wayne County than Michigan’s statewide average.[3] The average household income and car ownership status for Wayne County residents—and more specifically for those who live in Detroit—can make going to the FOC offices a very difficult experience. Further, a growing percentage of parties with FOC cases handle their cases without a lawyer, which means it is even more important for them to have information about their case.

Realizing the significance of these obstacles, Wayne County FOC decided to bring child support information to the communities it serves rather than requiring the clients come to the FOC office.  Focusing on the goal of securing a location that would be viewed as “safe from arrest” and also easily accessible by public transportation, in 2012, Zenell Brown, Wayne County FOC director at the time, partnered with the Detroit Public Library to hold a seminar for parents with FOC cases to learn about FOC processes and procedures. There were also pro bono attorneys on site to help the parties fill out motion packets and paperwork.

This seminar became a biannual event and continues every April and October at the Woodward(Main) Branch of the Detroit Public Library. The first seminar drew approximately 50 participants, and it has grown to more than 200 participants at more recent events. Many community partners assist in this biannual event. Without the help of the William Booth Legal Aid Clinic, which has been involved from the inception, the seminar would not be possible.

Then in 2013 Ms. Brown reached out to the United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America union (UAW) with the goal of expanding outreach opportunities for the public. The UAW represents the FOC attorney’s Judicial Attorney Association, and the UAW’sRegion 1A Local 174 center is located in the heart of the 48238 zip code—an area where many parties to Wayne County FOC cases live. A partnership was formed, and FOC staff started appearing at the Region 1A Local 174 center twice a month to be available to answer child support questions for anyone with inquiries. 

Since then, Wayne County FOC’s outreach efforts have grown exponentially.  Friend of the Court staff appear at various locations throughout Wayne County at least one day a week to assist parties with their child support cases.  Partners for the regular monthly outreach program include: ACCESS in Dearborn; The Resource Network in Hamtramck; Focus: HOPE in Detroit; Latin Americans for Social and Economic Development(LA SED) in southwest Detroit; and Starfish Family Services inInkster.  Partner selection considered coverage of a wide geographical area, as well as offering opportunities for Arab-American and Hispanic populations, which make up a large portion of the Wayne County FOC’s litigants. ACCESS has Arabic interpreters available, and the FOC attorney who staffs the LA SED outreach is fluent in Spanish.

Friend of the Court outreach sites throughout Wayne County are indicated by green pins.
The Wayne County Friend of the Court office is indicated by the red gavel.
In addition to the regular monthly outreaches, Wayne County FOC will attempt to accommodate requests received from community partners and agencies for FOC staff to set up information tables or present at events. An outreach approval packet was created for a seamless approval process by court administration.  Some of the more interesting FOC presentations have been at various state correctional facilities, including Chippewa Correctional Facility in the Upper Peninsula, and Cooper Street and Parnall Correctional Facilities in Jackson. Dates, times, and locations of the outreach programs offered can be found on the Wayne County FOC website.

Wayne County’s outreach program operates on a minimal budget and utilizes current staff who volunteer for outreach events, working the outreach around their regularly assigned duties.  Advertising for the program is done through the court’s website, social media channels, word of mouth, and at times, radio ads. With the approval of off-site access to the state child support enforcement computer system, staff are now not only able to provide information on general FOC processes and procedures, but can now also provide case-specific information to litigants appearing with inquiries. Motion packets are provided at all of the outreach opportunities and a special “Public Information Packet” has been created to deliver a lot of FOC information in as few pages as possible. Having dedicated staff for these outreach opportunities often means that clients get lengthy, individualized, one-on-one attention that they often cannot receive during regular operations due to Wayne’s high-volume workload.

From January to October 2018, 3,375 individuals utilized the FOC outreach events. Likely those 3,375 people would not have received the information they needed without the outreach opportunities because logistics, fear, or lack of money would have prevented them from appearing at the FOC’s main offices. Wayne County FOC hopes to continue to reach these individuals and more in the future.

For more information on Wayne County FOC’s outreach programs or for information or assistance on starting an outreach program, please contact Erin Lincoln at Erin.Lincoln@3rdcc.org.

Erin Lincoln has worked for Wayne County Friend of the Court for ten years and currently serves as the Interim Friend of the Court/Deputy Court Administrator for the Family Domestic Division. Previously, Erin was the Assistant Friend of the Court/Legal Director for Wayne County Friend of the Court for five years.  She graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in sociology and attended Wayne State University’s Law School.


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